Pied Piper

I finished reading Pied Piper by Nevil Shute (or Nevil Norway). As I've often said, I always have to read 'story' amongst my other readings. I usually read them at night so my mind can switch from the day's activity and thoughts into another gear and can more easily go to sleep. (Monte always teases me about my talk of my mind, as if it's separate from my body, but it is - it rules. I can be physically bone-tired and my mind will still be quite active, not shutting off letting me go to sleep!)

I so enjoyed the the 70-year-old Englishman in this story, trying to get over his son's death, Howard takes a fishing holiday to Switzerland. It's the summer of 1940 and he finds himself the leader of a band of children trying to escape the German invasion of France.

Howard agrees to take two children with him home to England. But war closes in. Trains fail, roads clog with refugees, and other children join in Howard's little band. As he walks you through war-torn Europe you get caught up in his wonderful storytelling and love of humanity and acceptance of children as they came.

Apparently the book was made into a movie in 1942 but not on DVD. And it sounds like he's written lots of other similar style books - stories of regular people thrown into extraordinary circumstances. So I'm going to my library website and see what other books of his I can find!