Alan Clark (6)

My thanks to Nudge readers and the Publishers who provided a Paperback copy of this book to read and honestly review.
According to the cover the true account of a heart-stopping journey and a heart-breaking decision, now the saying goes that you should never judge a book by it's cover, so how to choose a book to read. Well I personally use what I call 'the first page test' which as it suggests involves reading the first page, and if after that I want to carry on reading then i buy the book, show more and 95% of the time it works. In this case I ended up reading all five pages of the prologue, that's how attention grabbing and intriguing the start was.
Absorbing compelling and memorable this is a riveting read. A tale of honour and love, as two men from very different backgrounds become prisoners of War, and firm friends who refuse to just accept their fate, and plan an audacious and frankly amazing plan of escape. We learn the back story of the lives of our escapees prior to the start of the Second World War, their eventual capture and incarceration in a Polish prison camp. Part detective story, always interesting sometimes funny often sad, a tale of resilience and strength of character that remains with you as you close the book for the final time. Well written and descriptive with excellent characterization throughout.
WARNING :- As is often the case with Non Fiction stories there a several pages of photos mid way through the book, but don't look at them as they spoil the end of the book.
Recommended reading. show less

What a delightful, laugh out loud, and tissues handy read. Well deserving of its longlist nomination for Polari First Book (which bought it to my attention)