Hilary McKay, author of The Swallows` Flight, has that rare gift of writing books for children which, while they often tackle dark and difficult subjects, do so through a lens of compassion, joy, laughter and warmth. She achieves this through the characters she creates and in particular the families that populate her books. In this case the families come from different sides of World War 2 but by the time they connect we are so completely immersed in their respective stories that it turns out there are no "sides" to be taken.
Instead we watch while essentially decent people, of all ages and personalities, try to negotiate their way through the tragedy and loss that war inevitable brings while embracing whatever happiness can also be found.
The result is a story, or rather multiple stories, of coping with adversity and opportunity (the latter sometimes even resulting from the former) against a background of family bonds and personal friendships that McKay portrays with such understanding and wit that the reader, or this one anyway, becomes completely invested in "what happens next", surely the hallmark of genius storytelling.
I closed the book with much regret at having to leave the characters behind but then (for the second time in as many months - see previous post) the realisation dawned that The Swallows` Flight is actually the sequel, or, as described on the flyleaf, the companion, to The Skylarks War. Thus I was able to discover the "backstory" to some of the central characters in The Swallows` Flight which only added to the experience.
Perhaps it is worth noting that both books are classified as Junior Fiction and are excellent examples of why (as Katherine Rundell says**) adults should read children`s books. Not only are they beautifully written, they also deal with the traumatic subject of war in a careful, understated but nevertheless honest way and provide a persepective on early 20th century life which must be as far removed from a young person`s life now as it is possible to be!
**Why You Should Read Children`s Books, Even Though You Are So Old And Wise (Never get tired of recommending this book!)
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