The Wooden Horse

The Wooden Horse is a work of fiction, based on a factual event. I read the 30th anniversary edition which the author edited to be closer to the truth as he regretted some of the fictional excitement he added to the tale, particularly involving the murder of a guard. But how much of the story is 'real' I now have no clue.

It is an interesting story, though the structure is rather odd. This is explained somewhat by the author in the prologue because he couldn't clearly remember certain parts of his escape (the final part) and that really comes across in this story. We start in the prison camp, watching the excruciating progress of a very unpleasant escape tunnel. Then we follow two of the three escapers as they travel by train away from show more the camp to the port, where their plan falls to pieces because it is all very well to say 'escape to the port and jump on a boat for Sweden' but it turns out in practice HOW are you supposed to do that? Half the book is following these two English guys wandering aimlessly around a German port for a week, somehow not getting caught despite the fact that they keep conversing in English. It's actually an enlightening part of the story that is often skipped in escape tales. It's one thing to get outside of a prison but THEN WHAT. Once they do actually get on a boat and lose most of their agency, the story skips about in an oddly disjointed fashion and I found it difficult to follow. A few blanks have been filled in from the memories of other people involved, but these sections are so brief I'm not sure they add anything. Overall it is a fascinating read.

My only real issue with the book, and it is unfortunately a big one, is that I could not tell the characters apart. Partly because within the camp there are a lot of names mentioned and partly because most of the names are common dull British names, but perhaps at the end of the day the characters themselves just aren't that different from each other. Our main characters are Peter and John. One of them is from the army, one from the RAF, one of them speaks French and German, the other does not, one is in his twenties, the other is ten years older. But remembering which one is that and which one is not in any given scene was lost on me. I'd probably follow it all better if I reread it. show less

True story written as a novel

I decided to read The Wooden Horse because it was mentioned in The Great Escape. The Wooden Horse was more interesting when the tunnel was being built, when the POWs escaped and during the trek across Germany. The story slowed a bit when John and Peter were trying to get to Sweden. It was a good story, although the last quarter of the book dragged until the end - which came rather suddenly.

A classic for a reason. Brilliant escape story that should be required reading for school age boys.

Wonderfully written - telling of the true story of POWs in German prison camps and their quest to escape.

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