When the Sky Falls
This is a moving tale of a boy and an ape in war-time, based on a true story.
Angry, disturbed Joseph, a boy seemingly born to be in trouble, finds himself evacuated not from, but to, war-torn Manchester in the worst months of the Blitz. His grandmother has sent him away to stay with an old friend he has never met before, a redoubtable older woman who he is to call ‘Mrs. F’. Joseph, who permanently ‘seethes under his breath’, resents her and everyone else, including his father for being called-up and deserting him. However, Mrs. F has a few tricks up her sleeve. It turns out that she still works at the city zoo, and soon Joseph finds himself helping her there, and introduced to Adonis, a great silver-back gorilla. Adonis is revealed as both a threat—should an air-raid accidentally free him—and a potential ally, as some of the reasons for Joseph’s anger are explored and the friendless boy and lonely ape begin to form a friendship.
This is a book that is strikingly good at dealing with issues around abandonment and alienation. Written in well-paced chapters and with a character-driven plot, this novel combines excellent historical detail with a flawed but sympathetic narrator. The story moves through the terror and confusion of war to its emotional conclusion, driven by spare and authentic dialogue. Joseph is full of bitterness: ‘Well, I wouldn’t have expected you to help, that’s for sure,’ which Mrs. F counters with practical instruction: ‘You must never EVER turn your back on [Adonis].’
Joseph may lose Adonis in the end, but the affection that has grown between the abandoned child and the acerbic old woman looks like one that will last a lifetime.
Highly recommended for 8 – 12-year-olds.
