 First edition cover | |
| Author | Michael Morpurgo |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | George Butler |
| Language | English |
| Genre | |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | 30 September 2021 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Pages | 192 |
| ISBN | 978-0-00-835218-9 |
When Fishes Flew: The Story of Elena's War is a British children's novel written by Michael Morpurgo, and illustrated by George Butler [1] It was published by HarperCollins and released in 2021. [2]
Nandi, an Australian-Greek seventeen-year-old girl, decides to visit her great-aunt Elena in Ithaca, because Elena no longer travels to Australia to visit her family there, due to her age. Upon arrival on the island, Nandi discovers that her aunt is missing. She sets out to find her missing aunt, and as she walks on the beach pondering just how to do that, she encounters shoals of small black fish, and one much bigger flying fish, a "magical fish", who is the incarnation of the Greek god Proteus, who can speak, and who can explain to Nandi the reasons her Aunt Elena is missing, and how she came to be a Greek hero of World War II.
Morpurgo said he was inspired to write the novel because of "two strange stories that happened in the same day". [3] He noted how he went on holiday with his wife to Ithaca, and the couple was staying at a house on the beach, and they came to realize that this beach was where, according to legend, Odysseus walked when he came back from the Trojan War. [3] [4] In the first strange story, he explained as he was sitting on the beach with his wife in the evenings, reading a book, he also observed a Greek family who came down to the shore about the same time every day. On one of those evenings, "the older lady of the family beckoned us to come over". So the couple went over to visit, and the woman "cupped her hands in the water and picked up a flying fish. She said, 'they talk, you know', and stroked the top of the fish's head and the fish made a blabbing, gibberish sort of talking noise". [3] [4]
After witnessing this event, Morpurgo stated they ended up strolling around that night "thinking of nothing else but that flying fish". He remarked how he was firmly attached in the Odyssey and Greek gods mindset, and he came to believe that "this fish must have been Proteus – the son of the sea-god Poseidon – a God who could change into whatever he wanted to be". [3] [4] He went on to tell how in the second strange story that happened to the couple that same evening, they met an old man sitting outside his house, and they struck up a conversation with him, and upon hearing his "strong Australian accent, asked him if he was Australian". The man said no, "I'm a Greek, but a Greek Australian". [4] The man proceeded to tell him and his wife how he had to move from the island to Australia to live with relatives there, when he was five years old, due to an terrible earthquake in 1954. The man explained he ended up living in Australia for a number of years, but had made a promise to himself that he would return to Ithaca and rebuild his old house and live there. [4] Morpurgo said these two stories served as his inspiration for the book, and also noted how sometimes "writers need a lot of luck to write, you'll have extremely flat times where you can't write anything, then other times you'll come across the extraordinary". [3]
I'm not sure how else young people can discover about the world out there unless they read about it. With books you have to make an effort to place them in your imagination and your intellect. By doing this, it grows your take on the world. You learn to look at the world through your own eyes and experience, then realise that there are other cultures, other languages, and they have much to give to the world.
Bridget Carrington from IBBY UK remarked that Morpurgo "introduces his readers to the centuries of civil war and insurrection in Greece, and links it with the outcome for people around the world who currently face recent or ongoing civil wars, and, like some Aunty Ellie helped, who flee their own country to find safety and support from elsewhere in the world". She thought the allusion to Homer and the Odyssey defined the "setting of the story both mythically and historically". She concluded that the novel "specifically offers readers a deeply thoughtful, often heart-wrenching, but ultimately comforting narrative ... and it perfectly reflects the humanitarian core of the work of this author". [5]
Alex O'Connell from The Times noted that Morpurgo "is known for his emotionally packed animal stories and his historical novels for children". He went on to say that this story "combines the two, but also throws in a generous pinch of classical history". He also complimented George Butler's "evocative illustrations; for weaving together Greek myths and the horrors of war with the story of a quiet hero who, in old age, continues to help those in need. Much like one of his flying, talking fish, he makes the incredible a reality". In closing, he thought the novel would "appeal especially to those who enjoyed Victoria Hislop's Maria's Island". [6]
Peter Andrews of the School Librarian wrote that "Morpurgo's storytelling is direct, grabbing readers' attention immediately. The introductory section could perhaps have been edited to avoid some repetition, but the impression of all things Greek is pervasive and vivid. The use of Proteus, one of the more attractive of the ancient gods, as a story-telling device lends an element of magic to a serious subject, making the book perhaps more suitable for an older age-group than the fantasy would suggest". [7]
The Telemachy is a term traditionally applied to the first four books of Homer's epic poem the Odyssey. They are named so because, just as the Odyssey tells the story of Odysseus, they tell the story of Odysseus's son Telemachus as he journeys from home for the first time in search of news about his missing father.
Grand Duchess Alexandra Iosifovna of Russia was the fifth daughter of Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg and Duchess Amelia of Württemberg.
Sir Michael Andrew Bridge Morpurgo is an English book author, poet, playwright, and librettist who is known best for children's novels such as War Horse (1982). His work is noted for its "magical storytelling", for recurring themes such as the triumph of an outsider or survival, for characters' relationships with nature, and for vivid settings such as the Cornish coast or the trenches of the First World War. Morpurgo was the third Children's Laureate, from 2003 to 2005, and is President of BookTrust, a children's reading charity.
How I Live Now is a novel by Meg Rosoff, first published in 2004. It received generally positive reviews and won the British Guardian Children's Fiction Prize and the American Printz Award for young-adult literature.
Jerry Yulsman was an American novelist and a photographer best known for his photographs of Jack Kerouac, notably the cover illustration on Joyce Johnson's memoir Minor Characters.
Private Peaceful is a novel for older children by British author Michael Morpurgo first published in 2003. It is about a fictional young soldier called Thomas "Tommo" Peaceful, who is looking back on his life so far and his going to war. The story focuses on the harsh realities of English rural life and warfare, and highlights the British Army's practice of executing its own soldiers during the First World War. Morpurgo was inspired to write the novel after learning about the around 300 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were shot for crimes like desertion and cowardice. The novel helped further the campaign to grant posthumous pardons to the men, which were agreed and implemented by the UK Government in 2006.
Kensuke's Kingdom is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, illustrated by Michael Foreman. Following a fictionalised version of Morpurgo as he is stranded on a desert island as a child, it was first published in 1999 by Egmont UK. It was subsequently released by various other publishers, such as Scholastic.
A Bridge to Wiseman's Cove (1996) is a novel by Australian author James Moloney. The novel features the life of a 15-year-old boy, Carl Matt, and his dysfunctional family, who begin to suffer from physical and emotional problems after his mother's disappearance.
The Butterfly Lion is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Collins in 1996, and won the 1996 Smarties book prize. The book was adapted into a stage play by Daniel Buckroyd of the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, which toured the UK in 2013.
War Horse is a British war novel by Michael Morpurgo. It was first published in Great Britain by Kaye & Ward in 1982. The story recounts the experiences of Joey, a horse bought by the Army for service in World War I in France and the attempts of 15-year-old Albert, his previous owner, to bring him safely home. It formed the basis of both an award-winning play (2007) and an acclaimed film adaptation (2011) by Steven Spielberg. The novel is often considered one of Morpurgo's best works, and its success spawned a sequel titled Farm Boy, which was published in October 1997.
Alone on a Wide, Wide Sea is a book by Michael Morpurgo, first published in 2006 by HarperCollins. It was inspired by the history of English orphans transported to Australia after World War II. The book's title is taken from a line in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.
The Grandmothers: Four Short Novels is collection of four novellas published in 2003 by 2007 Nobel laureate Doris Lessing.
Starcrossed is a fantasy paranormal romance novel by American author Josephine Angelini. The story follows a girl named Helen Hamilton, who is gradually revealed to be a modern-day Helen of Troy. After discovering her heritage, Helen learns that a union with the boy she loves may trigger a new Trojan War. The novel was followed by the sequels Dreamless and Goddess, and received praise from critics and fantasy authors amidst its release.
Private Peaceful is a 2012 British war drama film directed by Pat O'Connor and starring Jack O'Connell and George MacKay. It is based on the 2003 novel of the same name by Michael Morpurgo. The film marks the final released performance of Richard Griffiths as well as his last credited film before his death the following year.
Running Wild is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo first published in 2009. It recounts the adventures of a boy who has to survive in the Indonesian jungle after being rescued from a tsunami by an elephant.
Farm Boy is a children's novel by Michael Morpurgo, best known as being the sequel to the popular novel War Horse. The book was first published in the United Kingdom in 1997 by Pavilion Books Limited and is illustrated by Michael Foreman. It was not initially planned for Morpurgo to write a sequel to War Horse, but the story was inspired after receiving many enquiries about what happens to Joey, a horse in service of the Army after the Great War. In an article in ChronicleLive Michael Morpurgo also stated that his favourite of his own works was Farm Boy. The book captures modern life on a farm in rural Devon, where Michael Morpurgo lives, while having retrospective flashbacks to the lives of Albert and Joey. He stated in the article in ChronicleLive:
George Butler is a British artist and reportage illustrator known for drawing conflict zones, climate issues, humanitarian crisis and social issues. His work, done in-situ in pen, ink and watercolour, has won multiple awards and seen him labelled “the Paul Nash of our era” by Michael Morpurgo.
Toto: The Dog-Gone Amazing Story of the Wizard of Oz is a children's fantasy and adventure novel written by Michael Morpurgo, and illustrated by Emma Chichester Clark. It was first published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins in 2017. The novel retells L. Frank Baum's 1900 novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz through the eyes of Dorothy's dog Toto. The book was adapted into a musical feature film with Alex Timbers directing the project. As of December 2024, the film has not been released yet.
Flamingo Boy, also known as The Day the World Stopped Turning, is a British children's novel written by Michael Morpurgo. The book was first published in the United Kingdom as Flamingo Boy by HarperCollins in 2018. The book was inspired in part by Morpurgo's grandson, who is autistic.
An Elephant in the Garden is a British children's novel written by Michael Morpurgo, and illustrated by Michael Foreman. It was originally published in the United Kingdom by HarperCollins, and released in May 2010. The book is based on actual events that took place in Belfast during World War II, and is inspired by the story of Denise Weston Austin. The novel was also adapted into a stage play with the same name, that had its debut in 2014 in the United Kingdom.
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