Status
Available
Call number
Genres
Publication
COLLINS (1983), Edition: New Ed, 224 pages
Description
Partly autobiographical, this is the second title in Judith Kerr's internationally acclaimed trilogy of books following the life of Anna through war-torn Germany, to London during the Blitz and her return to Berlin to discover the past... It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an "enemy alien". Those bombs are coming from Germany - the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive? This was previously published as The Other Way Round.
User reviews
LibraryThing member AbigailAdams26
Picking up three years after the conclusion of When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, this second autobiographical children's novel from Judith Kerr - originally published in 1975 as The Other Way Round, it has recently been re-released in the UK as Bombs On Aunt Dainty - follows the story of Anna, her
Immensely engaging, often heartwarming, and sometimes deeply poignant, The Other Way Round is a worthy sequel to When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, offering a further exploration of the emigrant experience, as Anna and her family must contend with all the difficulties of life in WWII Britain - food rationing, bombings - as well as the experience of being considered foreigners, even though they want (at least in Anna and Max's case) to be English. The reversal hinted at in the title, is of the role of the parents and children in the family, as Max and Anna must move to support their mother and father, who never quite adjust to life in England. There are moments of extreme pathos here - the story of Uncle Victor (the husband of the "Aunt Dainty" mentioned in the new title), who survived a concentration camp, but was completely broken in body and spirit, had me in tears - and moments of deep satisfaction, as when Anna completes her first big artistic project, in the form of a series of murals on the walls of a local cafe. Most powerful of all, for me however, was Anna's evolving relationship with her parents, particularly her father, and her growing sensitivity to their life struggles. As someone who recently lost my own father (the one year anniversary of his death just passed), I found myself immensely moved by some of the scenes toward the end of the book, in which Anna realizes that her father will not live forever, and contemplates life without him.
A marvelous family story and an important work of historical fiction, The Other Way Round is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend, particularly to those readers who enjoyed When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Sadly, it does not have any of the author's illustrations, as that earlier work did, but then, I think this is really more of a young adult novel, than one for children. I will definitely be tracking down the third and final installment of this family's saga, A Small Person Far Away!
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brother Max, and her mother and father, as they struggle through the war years in England. Now a teenager, and fully assimilated into the English life and language, Anna must find a job quickly when the wealthy family friends with whom she has been living return to America, and she must move in with her parents at the run-down refugee hotel where they have been living. As the war progresses, all three must contend with the horrors of the Blitz. Max, in the meantime, finds his life as a promising Cambridge scholar interrupted, when he is interned as an enemy alien. The family carry on, each trying in their own way to find a place to belong, although this time it is the children - Max, with his interest in the law, and his desire to join the British Air Force, and Anna, with her newly discovered passion for drawing and painting, and her very first love "affair" - that are more successful...Immensely engaging, often heartwarming, and sometimes deeply poignant, The Other Way Round is a worthy sequel to When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit, offering a further exploration of the emigrant experience, as Anna and her family must contend with all the difficulties of life in WWII Britain - food rationing, bombings - as well as the experience of being considered foreigners, even though they want (at least in Anna and Max's case) to be English. The reversal hinted at in the title, is of the role of the parents and children in the family, as Max and Anna must move to support their mother and father, who never quite adjust to life in England. There are moments of extreme pathos here - the story of Uncle Victor (the husband of the "Aunt Dainty" mentioned in the new title), who survived a concentration camp, but was completely broken in body and spirit, had me in tears - and moments of deep satisfaction, as when Anna completes her first big artistic project, in the form of a series of murals on the walls of a local cafe. Most powerful of all, for me however, was Anna's evolving relationship with her parents, particularly her father, and her growing sensitivity to their life struggles. As someone who recently lost my own father (the one year anniversary of his death just passed), I found myself immensely moved by some of the scenes toward the end of the book, in which Anna realizes that her father will not live forever, and contemplates life without him.
A marvelous family story and an important work of historical fiction, The Other Way Round is a book I would wholeheartedly recommend, particularly to those readers who enjoyed When Hitler Stole Pink Rabbit. Sadly, it does not have any of the author's illustrations, as that earlier work did, but then, I think this is really more of a young adult novel, than one for children. I will definitely be tracking down the third and final installment of this family's saga, A Small Person Far Away!
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Awards
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
1975
Physical description
224 p.; 6.93 inches
ISBN
0006712347 / 9780006712343