Customer Reviews

Enemy Brothers (Living History Library)

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What a book! Written in 1943, the author did not even know the outcome of the war. But the story, set in England at the time the country anticipated a German invasion and before the United States had joined the Allied Forces, begins with 12-year-old Max from Germany being taken away from Norway to England by Dym, a British airman. Dym immediately recognizes Max as his brother, Tony, who was kidnapped as a toddler. Tony, however, wants nothing to do with Dym, or anything or anyone associated with Dym.

I wondered throughout the beginning of the book why the plot began with the definitive information that these two were brothers. It seemed as if the story might be more suspenseful if we were to wonder at least for a little while if Max was really Tony. But the wonderful drama unfolds with Tony trying routinely to escape the family which wasn't certain they wanted to love this child because of his hatred of all but Germany, Germans and Hitler.

Tony creates havoc for his long-suffering brother Dym, who continues to believe in Tony and continues to hunt him down, rescuing him from near death too often. Throughout all the 'escapes', the members of the family continue to go off to war, help with war efforts, protect themselves from the inevitable bombs, air attacks and mines while dealing with this strong-headed child who does not want to be a part of this family. This is an amazing look into life during the war from one who was living it while the story was being written.

The mentality of the Nazi youth is defined in a chilling exchange between Tony and his sister, Euphemia. He tells her that 'whatever serves Germany is right', and 'nothing that serves Germany is ever wrong.'

The ending takes a page-turner twist and has a most uplifting and hopeful conclusion. I could not help but think of the author as an incredibly optimistic woman whom I would have loved to have as a neighbor during the war.

The book is full of life with characters displaying a deep faith, lasting love for each other, and profound hope for the future and belief in what is right. The author avoids sentimentality and romance which makes this a refreshing book for all young teens, yet adults will find it most enjoyable as well. This is an excellent novel for middle school students interested in war history and it would be a very useful adjunct for educators.

I first read "Enemy Brothers" when I was in primary school, and it made the era of World War 2 come alive, with its interplay between world events and every day family drama in rural England during the horrendous period of the Blitz. In search of a wonderful book with which to gift a special young reader, I have looked for it online a number of times in recent years, but have been unwilling to pay a premium for an older copy. So it is especially gratifying to find it available in new paperback form at a reasonable price. Readers, and those who care for young readers, who like or love this book, might also enjoy books by
- - Geoffrey Trease (most especially "Cue for Treason", about a young boy in 16th century England who falls in with a band of travelling players and must use his heart and his wits to save himself and country)
- - Elizabeth Pope (most especially "The Shirwood Ring", a lovely, funny, romantic novel about an orphaned teen-aged girl who, living with an elderly relative in the region of New York State above New York City, meets various ghosts from the Revolutionary War era)
- - Marguerite Vance (including her biographies of Elizabth I of England, Jane Grey, and Martha Washington, which make history come alive in an especially wonderful way for young girls)and
- - Maude Hart Lovelace (all of the Betsy-Tacy books, notwithstanding their being, or being perceived as, politically incorrect, for their portrayal of young teen-aged women growing up in the Mid-West at the turn of the 19th/20th centuries.)

I recommend this book without reservation. The author's long life coincided almost exactly with the 20th century, and this reissue, written during and set in the England of World War II, still speaks to us today.

A 12-year-old German boy, Max Eckermann, is taken to England against his will by patriots fleeing occupied Norway. Before the first chapter has ended, an English airman, Dymory Ingleford, has identified Max as his brother Tony, who was kidnapped as a toddler by a childless German woman.

Placed with Dym's family, Max's stubborn loyalty to his German citizenship pits him against his loving, but unsympathetic hosts. While the conflict centers on Max and Dym, Savery brings us back over and over to ordinary English citizens cheerfully doing their bit during the darkest hours of the war. Rationing, refugee housing, and wide-spread destruction, not to mention intermittant air attacks, remind us when this is taking place

In choosing to personify the "German evil" as "blind obedience to ones nationality" rather than by, say, the horrors of the holocaust (not fully realised when Savery wrote), the book allows us to remain sympathetic with Max, while still retaining bite and relevancy.

Be warned that Savery is a Christian writer. Her faith is not obtrusive; nevertheless, it is there.

If you like excitement, you have to read this book! It was the best book I have EVER read. (I read It all the time)
There are so meny good characters that will thrill you with all they do.

Set in World War II, this book is mainly about these two brothers.
One who grew up in Germany, who is the lost brother Tony (he's twelve). And the other who grew up in England, who is the older brother Dym.
Dym is one of the best character's I have ever met in any of the books I've read! Noble, great, strong, just WONDERFUL! (claps)

Tony is thrown into this busy household of his lost family, and he doesn't like it. He thinks that they are mistaken, and he insists that he IS German. He tries to escape meny times, but every time his brother Dym brings him back. (smile)

This book doesn't only show the struggle between the brothers, but it shows the struggle between good and evil. It explains the mind-set of Germany, and the mind-set of England. It shows that black can never be white.
There are some speech's in this book that are just SO great. You just HAVE to read them!

This is a book for ages 11 and up, all the way up :)
If you haven't read this book, you need to.

This book is one of those that you just can't put down! I can't say there was an actual plot really, but there were a lot of surprises. Just when you thought you knew what was about to happen, the author surprised you with something out of the ordinary. Written very well, great for kids 10 and up, or as a family read-aloud.

I won't repeat the plot points, since other reviewers have covered them quite well. I will simply agree that this is a truly splendid book. I had read Savery's THE REB AND THE REDCOATS (also an excellent book) before I got this one, and I was somewhat leery of reading this because I thought that it was bound to be a disappointment. Most definitely it was not; I read it six times in eight days, I was so fascinated.

Several of the reviews have mentioned that ENEMY BROTHERS was written during World War II. Oh, how I wish that the author had written a sequel set after the war, in which .... hmmm, how to phrase this so I won't give anything away . . . in which the promise that one character makes to another, with rather gritted teeth, about whom he will help the second character see after the war, is fulfilled. This book gives the reader a great deal about which to think, and scope for thinking about what might happen next.

I first read this book a year ago, and finally decided that it was worth the money and bought it. I think that it's easily the best book that I've ever read. There are others that contest with it for my 'favorite' book ever, but this one is definitely on my top ten! I can't help but give it a five-star rating.

"Enemy Brothers" is the beautiful story of Tony, who was kidnapped as a small child and taken to Germany and raised as Max Eckermann. During the winter of 1940-1941 he is captured by some Norwegians and taken with them when they try to get to England. They are picked up by a British man-o-war, and Max finds himself in the care of Ginger Ingleford and the others in the gun room.

Ginger is the brother of Dym Ingleford, who had been looking for his younger brother, Tony for years. He had been forced to give up his search with the start of the war and he is now a bomber pilot with RAF Bomber Command. But when Ginger tells Dym about Max--Dym knows almost imediately that it must be little lost Tony. He takes him back to the family house, the White Priory, but Tony is convinced that he is not Tony, he is not English, he is not Dym's brother. And he vows to make life as difficult as possible for the friendly Ingleford family.

But when the chance comes for him to go home...he must make a choice. Choose between his family in Germany and his real family in England. It's a crucial decision...and it's up to Tony to make the right choice.

"Enemy Brothers" is beautifully written, first printed in 1943, years before the war actually came to an end. At the time that Constance Savery penned her novel she didn't know that the alies would be victorious and that Germany would not be victorious. You feel this odd sense that she wrote about that which she knew--and you feel a slight tingling of wonder when Dym says that "All I do know is that the world has a Chief who was victorious when the powers of darkness struck at Him with everything they had. He has the plans today. The darkness won't last forever. There's a splendor beyond." There's this odd amazement that at the time it wasn't known that war would end happily. But--and then you realize that in all those movies and TV shows set during World War II aren't wrong when the characters say that the War'll come out good. Because you know that people then really believed it.

The book isn't breach in its Christianness, but at the same time it's an obvious theme. You can see that Constance Savery really was a Christian and it comes through in her work, in a way that is most beautiful.

My whole family(ranging from my Dad who is fifty something to Mum who is forty something, to me who's fifteen and the younger kids who are twelve, ten, eight, and five) and everyone has enjoyed it, although I'm not sure that my five-year-old brother really understood it fully. But everyone loved the story and now sometimes when we're talking someone will produce one of the wonderful quotes from "Enemy Brothers". As long as the book is available I think it will be a classic--a book of simple beauty. Almost irresistible to everyone.

I begged my mom for close to a year to buy this book. Well, she finally did, and then I read it. I got done with it in less than 24 hours, I think.
When I had read the desciption of the book, I was expecting something like twin brothers, separated at birth, who are fighting on opposite sides during WW2. For those of you who think (or thought) the same thing, this is incorrect.
This book really shows a relationship of two brothers - one older, one younger - and how the older slowly shows the younger, through example, how wrong the Nazis were.
A truly delightful tale. I think both boys and girls, old and young, will enjoy this book (just read it when you don't have a lot to do - you won't be able to set it down!)