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28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Night, Mr. Tom, May 11, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Good Night, Mr. Tom (Paperback)
"Good Night, Mr. Tom",is an excellent historical novel, by Michelle Magorian, set in World War II. This is a wonderful and touching story, about a small boy, named Willie Beech, who is evacuated from London to live in Little Weirwold with a complete stranger, Mr. Thomas Oakley. Tom is an old man, not used to children (he had a baby bay that died, but that was his only child), but he is kind to Willie. Willie is a deprived and abused child, and he is afraid of everything, because he wasn't let outside much in his earlier life. Slowly, Willie starts to think on his own, and he forgets the hate and despair of his past. Tom comes to love Willie like a son. Then a telegram comes, and Willie must return to his abusive mother in London, but weeks pass and Willie doesn't come back, so Mr. Tom goes to London to try to find the boy he has come to love so much. I would recommend this book to anyone young or old wo wants to read an excellent book. I hope all who read this book enjoy it as much as I did.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
powerful story about family, July 11, 2007
This review is from: Good Night, Mr. Tom (Paperback)
Timid, scrawny, Willie Beech is the abused child of a single mother. She sends him to Mr. Tom, who lives in the English countryside, because London is being bombed by the Nazis. The two main adults in this story, the mother and Mr. Tom, seem very similar in the beginning. Yet, by the end, we see that they are completely different. What really hit home was this: hard times can make hard people, but one's true colors shine through when faced with others in need. Mr. Tom's gruff exterior is only his exterior. He's really got a warm heart, which he opens up to Willie and shows him the love that's supposed to be in a family. The mother's quiet, strict exterior masks her bitter, mean nature. She has no love for her children, and abuses them in subtle, neglectful ways. We don't actually see the abuse, we see the end result...which, in my opinion, is far more powerful. I cried for Willie at the end of this book, and cheered Mr. Tom for doing everything he could to save this poor boy. When children are old enough to understand the results of abuse, every family should read this book.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Father is Born, March 30, 2003
This review is from: Good Night, Mr. Tom (Paperback)
Set in pre WW2 Britain this award-winning novel describes the birth and growing pains of affection between two strangers, joined by the bizarre circumstances of war. Eight-year-old Willie Beech is one of many London kids sent to the country for safety in the late 30's. Recognizing their children as the country's most precious assets, London parents reluctantly sacrifice the presence of their offspring by entrusting them to the care of country folk. Paired with Tom Oakley, the crusty recluse who lives next door to the church, the lad arrives terrified of everything: the friendly dog, asking questions, even of smiling. Expecting nothing, he dares not hope to be recognized as a human being. Not that he has had anything to smile abobut in his miserable years alone with a mentally- disturbed, abusive mother. Mr. Tom, as the boy calls him, quickly realizes that the boy is in desperate need of healing: for his tortured body, his twisted mind and his lonely young heart. As the dour man cares for the sick child (malnutrition, bedwetting, nightmares) he develops an unspoken but deep fondess for the unloved and friendless boy. Compassion for Willie brings out Tom's long-buried tenderness. It takes many months for Willie's true self to emerge: good country air, tender care of his battered body, cultivation of his active mind, and the boon of natural socialization with his peers. Gradually sloughing off his urban shell of fear, Willie makes his first friends, learns to read and write, and then discovers his natural talent as an artist. But these evacuees are only temporary residents of Little Weirwold; we realize that eventual separation and future heartbreak are inevitable. What happens when their rightful parents reclaim these kids? This is a heartwarming tale of the transformation of a rejected weakling into a healthy, lively and accepted member of a generous country village. It is also a story of gradual healing and rejoining of the human race by Mr. Tom, the embittered host--who never came to terms with the death of his young wife and infant decades earlier. We learn many details of Britain's preparation for war and the blitz. But this story is really about the value of human relationships. Two separate entities can become a self-contained family unit, but will the authorities permit the boy to stay with the older man, who is no blood kin? Magorian provides touching insight into the mysteries of friendship and the nature of grief, as one abused little boy takes the country cure. GOOD NIGHT MR. TOM presents readers with an historical setting for contemporary understanding of child abuse issues.
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