LISTEN TO THE MOON

War invades a peaceful English fishing community.

In May 1915 a fisherman and his son, Alfie, from the Scilly Isles west of Great Britain, find a little girl near death on a deserted island, take her home, and care for her. She does not speak but clings to a teddy bear and a blanket with a German name sewn on it. Naming her Lucy Lost, Alfie and his parents and a kindly and wise doctor nurture her with love, music from a gramophone, and drawing material. Months go by, and still no one can uncover any details about her life. But World War I is raging, the British harbor fierce anti-German sentiments, and when news of the name on her blanket spreads, the family is shunned. Morpurgo returns to the World War I of his much-lauded War Horse in a beautifully crafted, multivoiced novel about the sinking of the Lusitania, the strength of family bonds, the vicissitudes of memory, and the fear and bigotry of neighbors. Alfie’s third-person tale provides the main storyline, supported by other voices, including excerpts from the doctor’s journal and the narrow-minded school principal’s records of his horrible teaching theories. It is through Lucy’s voice that all the elements of the tale weave together both beautifully and dramatically.

A poignant and life-affirming story from a master.