2015-03 Paul Gallico: The Snow Goose - A Story of Dunkirk
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| Paul Gallico [1897-1976] |
Paul William Gallico [1897-1976] was an American novelist, short story and sports writer. Many of his works were adapted for motion pictures.
He is perhaps best remembered for the mini epics, The Snow Goose [1940] and The Small Miracle [1950], written in simple, lyrical prose and for the novel The Poseidon Adventure [1969] primarily through the 1972 film adaptation.
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Philip Rhayader
lives alone in an abandoned lighthouse on the desolate Great Marsh of Essex.
One afternoon, a hauntingly beautiful child, Fritha, visits Rhayader, bringing
with her an injured snow goose.
At first Fritha is scared of Rhayader, with his
sinister hump and crooked hand, but he is gentle and kind and Fritha begins to
visit regularly. When the snow goose departs for home, Rhayader is left alone
again.
The following winter, the snow goose and Fritha return to the
lighthouse. Time passes and one year Fritha is frightened to discover her
feelings for Rhayader. But this is 1940 and Rhayader is setting sail for
Dunkirk to help the soldiers trapped on the beaches. Fritha never sees Rhayader
again. But the story of the saviour with the snow goose passes from soldier to
soldier and into legend...
When you finish
reading The Snow Goose you are left with conflicting emotions. You are
uplifted, but the tragic events that have just unfolded also leaves you
with a tear in your eye. The story of the man whose physical deformities
prevent others from seeing the beauty within is as old as time but the way in
which Gallico weaves it together with the maturing life of a young girl, the
migration of a Canadian snow goose and the evacuation at Dunkirk make it
unique.
"The Snow Goose is
beautifully poetic; set prior to and during the Second World War. It is written
in simple, lyrical prose. The ending, a tribute to the indomitable human
spirit, is unforgettable and the illustrations are perfect in
the way they portray the remoteness and raw beauty of the Great Marsh."
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