Kingdom by the Sea by Robert Westall

[byslantedlight]

I've always liked Robert Westall's stories, so when I saw this on the library shelf and realised I hadn't read it, I picked it up straight away. It didn't hurt that it involves a couple of my favourite themes - World War II history, and a boy who is surviving on his own in the world Harry's house was bombed in a raid, and when he realises that he's the only one of his family who made it to their bomb shelter in time, and that he has no one left, he runs away, still in shock.

One of his first adventures is making friends with Don, an alsatian who has also been bombed out of his home, and together the two look for the next thing in life. They meet kind people, abandoned people, unstable people, and the lonely, as well as a number of very unkind people who cause Harry to act unkindly in response. There's no judgement in the book about this, it's very much a case of showing the situation, and then showing why Harry was worried about it and how he reacted, that's all. There are several brushes with men who were either accused of (because they lived alone, or spent time alone with Harry) something that is never named in the book, and one close call with someone who not only made Harry feel uncomfortable, but was universally disliked by the other men in his unit - though it's never said that it's for this reason, he's unpleasant in other ways - and who did hint that as Harry spent time with another of the men, he should do the same with him. It was published in 1990 - a product of its time, or were these from the same memories Westall put into his other stories, I wonder?

The end was rather fascinating - I don't want to spoil it, but Harry finds that his adventure has taken him in completely unexpected directions, and that he's a completely different person than when he first left Tyneside, and always will be. There's hope there, but there's something else too - that life is unexpected just when you think you're on safe ground, and perhaps that the unexpected might throw you, but doesn't always have to be bad.

Comments

[solosundance.livejournal.com]

Nice cover! The kind of thing that might have attracted me as a kid - well the dog friend in particular, not so much the war-planes. Funny that now the WW2 theme would attract me more than the dog (although arggh I do hope Don makes to the last page...) Both my two were set The Machine-Gunners to read in about Y5 - boy really enjoyed it (WW2, dog friend), girl hated it (WW2, dead family)!

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Isn't it a glorious cover! There's some lovely descriptions of how the sunset makes Harry feel full of hope, too... *g*

Dogs don't attract me to books, and never particularly did, though I don't mind reading about them - WW2 was just something interesting when I was a kid, more so now... Oddly I don't remember The Machine-Gunners particularly, except that I know I've read it. Interesting that girl didn't like it, but boy did, for the different reasons - personality-connected, I presume! There was more dog in it than warplanes though... right up to and beyond the very last page, which is only kind of a spoiler... *g*

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

I've not heard of this author at all, not sure why. Frightening that I assume this kind of situation did arise in the war. I always assumed someone - relations, the authorities etc. - took these poor kids in but did they always I wonder? Have you read Saplings by Noel Streatfield? I thought it was one of the best books I've ever read on the effect of the war on families and children in particular.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Yes, I assume it probably occurred too, though I think the authorities did do as good a job as they could, bearing in mind the stress they were under as well. Even today kids slip through gaps, it can only have happened more easily in wartime... Sad stuff, but then war always is...

I don't think I have read Saplings, though I liked Noel Streatfield since I was a kid, and read Ballet Shoes... actually it may have been Ballet Shoes for Anna, come to think of it... Anyway - oh, I see that's an adult book too - I must look it up!

[caffyolay.livejournal.com]

Yes, it must have happened more easily in wartime. Really hard for us to contemplate from the perspective of our very different lives these days. Reading books about the war you just wonder how on earth they ever coped, I suppose they had no other choice.

Yes, Saplings is aimed at adults. I don't think Streatfeild (I just looked her up on Fantastic Fiction and noticed the odd spelling of her name...) wrote many books for adults, though it's hard to tell from her FF page. Many of the covers look like children's books. Saplings is a Persephone book but I got it via the inter-loan library reserves thing. I love Persephone books but they're not that cheap to buy.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

We have such easy lives here, most of us - even when they don't seem easy to us at all... But yeah, as with everything, I think humans do just cope - because there's no choice but to cope (well, except to curl up and die I guess, but people mostly seem to not choose that - go us!)

Ha - I've never spotted the inside-outness of Streatfeild before, though I do always stumble over typing it - maybe that's why! *g* She seems to have quite a list of adult books over at Wiki in fact. I shall try and add her to my library request list (none of which seem to have come in yet, or at least I've had no notification...) Thanks for the rec!

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Oo, wow, I had never ever come across this one, although I have read quite a few Robert Westalls. (Personal favourites: 'The Wind Eye', and one that stuck in my mind from the library with an older teen protagonist on a motorbike whose name I can't remember). I am not actually a fan of WWII stories, so 'The Machine Gunners' was a story more inflicted upon me than presented to me, but I am curious about this.

You don't mention - is this one of his set in the north-east? I know, many (most?) of them, are, but...

I am also absolutely intrigued by your comments about the ending of the story.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

I liked The Wind Eye too - it may even be in my storage, somewhere...

Like most good books, Kingdom of the Sea isn't "a World War II" book, it's about people who happened to be alive at that time... *g* But then that comes back to me wanting to read about people rather than about events when I read fiction. It's not so much what happened as the background, it's how people lived their lives with that as the background (whatever "that" might be).

You don't mention - is this one of his set in the north-east?
Well, I hinted it, when I said that he starts off in Tyneside, but yes, the rest is also set in the north east. *g*

[moonlightmead.livejournal.com]

Well, 'WWII stories' was shorthand for 'books involving WWII' I could extend it to books involving WWI, come to think of it - or books involving war, even. I think we have very different tastes in reading, really...

I wondered whether it was set locally because I was surprised I hadn't come across it on publication. Not surprisingly, he was well represented in local libraries. But I see it was published in 1990, so that'll be why.

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

So you don't want to read books that are set in either of those periods..? I've never thought about avoiding whole historical periods, though I could understand not wanting to read books about war... But a book set against the background, that's about a person and may really have nothing to do with the war is quite different to me. I'm trying to remember what books you like now, and whether I disliked them, so I can work out whether we really do have different tastes in reading!

And yeah - I strongly suspect that most of the books I post about will have been written and published quite some time ago... (that said, one arrived today fresh off the out-in-paperback van, so yeay!)

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Hmm, of course this caught my eye because of the dog. *g* I may need to read it just because of that!

I did wonder about him being in a unit. Does he join the army?

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Lol - see, the dog didn't enter my consciousness as a potential reason for reading the book at all, it's the people that interest me! Mind you, the planes stood out to me too, because they meant that the boy would be dealing with WWII, but again it's the boy dealing with, that interested me. Isn't it interesting what grabs people in book covers and the like, though! *g*

I did wonder about him being in a unit. Does he join the army?
No - it's not Harry in the unit, it's the "someone who made Harry feel uncomfortable": and one close call with someone who not only made Harry feel uncomfortable, but was universally disliked by the other men in his unit. Harry meets up with the men in the unit, and spends some time with them on his journey, that's all. The lad's only 13!

[gilda-elise.livejournal.com]

Ah, okay, I was slightly confused. *g*

[byslantedlight.livejournal.com]

Hee - many apologies for the confusingness of my writing!