... Brother in the Land is almost the book equivalent.
Danny Lodge is an ordinary lad. He lives in Skipley with his parents and younger brother, Ben. They own a shop. They are a normal family. They lead a normal life. Or at least, they do until important people far away decide to launch nuclear ... Read review
Advantages: A gripping read, makes you think... Disadvantages: May be upsetting
...bomb hitting an English city. Brother in the Land is almost the book equivalent.
Danny Lodge is an ordinary lad. He lives in Skipley with his parents and younger brother, Ben. They own a shop. They are a normal family. They lead a normal life. Or at least, they do until important people far away decide to launch nuclear missiles at each other.
Suddenly their lives are completely changed. They are living in a world that ... ...is because the characters in Brother in the Land were less well developed or whether I have become desensitised to this kind of thing, thanks to a diet of live news reports from war-torn countries. I hope it’s the former.
The novel is short at only 150 pages and is easy to read, although not an easy read – if you see what I mean. I finished the whole book in a day, which was also helped by the chapters being very short ... more
“Nothing stirred, not even a cat. I could have fancied a nice bit of cat.”
By the time I read this sentence, I wasn’t even shocked. At this stage of the story, the reader is pretty much resigned to the futility of the situation and no, you won’t find a happy ending.
But I have started at the end here and most of you are probably lost by now, so let me explain…
Those of us of a certain age will remember Threads – the shocking film, which depicted the effects of a nuclear bomb hitting an English city. Brother in the Land is almost the book equivalent.
Danny Lodge is an ordinary lad. He lives in Skipley with his parents and younger brother, Ben. They own a shop. They are a normal family. They lead a normal life. Or at least, they do until important people far away decide to launch nuclear missiles at each other.
Suddenly their lives are completely changed. They are living in a world that not only looks different, but it has hidden dangers too as the levels of radiation penetrate everything, killing slowly. There are few intact buildings, few animals and only a few hundred survivors. But are they really the lucky ones?
As the Skipley community – what remains of it – survive as best they can, they cling on to the government brochure which promised them help if the worst ever happened. But when people do arrive, they turn up in armoured vehicles, brandishing guns and wearing fall-out protection suits. What is it they are promising now? Would you trust them? Do you have a choice?
The majority of the novel concentrates on the aftermath and how the survivors cope. This threw up all sorts of questions in my head and made me pursue lines of thought I hadn’t previously explored. The book itself paints a picture of new groups or the re-emergence of old ones. Even when it seems obvious for people to group together, divisions emerge. Who takes charge and why? What are their motives? If you have limited food, would you feed everyone for a month or your own family for a year? Do you feed the sick and dying at all?
There are optimistic parts to the story – love survives, families look after one another, new friendships are made, people work together. But survival also brings out the worst in people and we see ruthlessness, selfishness, and a developed society reverting to pre-Neanderthal behaviour.
The new society creates a new vocabulary. People become labelled with names, which dehumanise them. So we have Spacers, Badgers, Goths and Purples. These labels enable others to treat them in ways, which would have been previously unacceptable. If they are an enemy species, it becomes easier to shoot them down in cold blood.
The bomb itself takes up only a small part of the book, but I think these early chapters were the most shocking. Being anti-war myself, these scenes reminded me why. You know the way we sometimes watch the News, shake our heads at politicians and are sure we are the ones with the right answers, the sensible solutions? This book convinced me. It often seems that world leaders get carried away on a tide, that they get swept up in a torrent and hurled away towards one side or another. The recent war in Iraq was a case in point. Sometimes I was sure Blair and Bush must have been scratching their heads and thinking “How did we get here?” Well, Blair anyway.
The novel is not only a good story and one which needs to be told, but the book has so many dimensions to it that it is these questions raised which will ultimately stay with you, longer than the memory of Danny and his family. Although the story is a tragic one, I didn’t find myself reduced to tears as I have been with other books – The Doomsday Book by Connie Willis being the most recent example. I am not sure whether this is because the characters in Brother in the Land were less well developed or whether I have become desensitised to this kind of thing, thanks to a diet of live news reports from war-torn countries. I hope it’s the former.
The novel is short at only 150 pages and is easy to read, although not an easy read – if you see what I mean. I finished the whole book in a day, which was also helped by the chapters being very short and the desire to know what would happen next.
The book is marketed as teenage fiction and won awards in this genre following its publication in 1984. It did not feel like a book that was too young for me though, it does not use an overly simple vocabulary or ‘dumbed down’ in any way, it is just seen through the eyes of a teenage boy – but one we all come to relate to, especially as his role becomes very similar to that of a parent.
Brother in the Land is certainly not bedtime reading for your seven-year-old, but older children should read it. I am going to recommend it to my eleven year old son who spent half of the war in Iraq shouting “No more war!” and the other half proclaiming the solution would be to “Nuke ‘em!” I don’t think any reader of this book would utter that phrase again, only with utter disgust. On a larger scale, books like these make teenagers think and hopefully, they might help future generations to be less trigger-happy than our present day leaders.
Thanks to Andrea (tange) for writing her review of this book, which led me to borrow it from the library and read it myself.
Advantages: A thought provoking story. Good narrative and characterisation. Disadvantages: Harrowing and often bleak.
I first read Brother in the Land by Robert Swindells a good number of years ago. I borrowed a copy from the library and was instantly impressed the writing and unsettling subject matter. When I was asked to read the new edition, to review for the library I now work at I agreed, and prepared to reacquaint myself with a classic book of my teenage years.
~~~THE AUTHOR.
Robert Swindells has been a full-time author since 1980, but did write before that ... ...THE LAND.
BACKGROUND~~~
Brother in the Land was first published in 1984. It has won the Children's Book Award, The Other Award, and was highly commended for The Carnegie Medal.
THE STORY~~~
Brother in the Land centres around the character of a teenage boy (Danny) who somehow manages to survive a nuclear attack. Danny, along with his younger brother Ben, must learn and fight to survive in a society that has been torn apart. After originally thinking ...
tange 30.04.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells
Advantages: gripping, keeps you interested Disadvantages: a bit depressing at times, not for younger children
Brother in the Land, by Robert Swindles, is one of a great many books set in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust. It is very touching but, given its subject matter, is understandably very sad. There are moments of hope, but the theme of the book is a depressing one. It's a children's book, but better for older children I feel. Not overly long, it shouldn't take too long to read. It deals in a very realistic way about issues such as sharing out of ... ...his dad and his little brother Ben. Because of the shop, they have food for now and shyare it out with some of their friends. But others are struggling to find things to eat, and it won't be long before they have to fight to keep what's theirs. Everyone in the town is waiting for the authorities to arrive, but when they do come, they don't bring help. They have food, so why should they share it? The authorities set up a farm and get the civilians ...
87degrees 14.01.2006
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells
Advantages: Very Gripping Story Disadvantages: Technical errors
...15-17 years old, his little brother about 7 and a girl called Kim.
At the beginning of the book it describes how peaceful the world is, until a war brakes out between the East of the World and the West. Nuclear bombs are dropped on countries including England. Danny Lodge and Co all get involved as Nuclear Bomb is dropped 5 miles away on a town called Branford and they live in a town called Skiply. This shows one of the problems as there are a lot ... ...He looks after his brother a lot and tries to help when he gets ill. He develops a relationship with a girl called Kim and a boyfriend girlfriend relationship develops. He is very assertive in the way he acts. He tries to help even if he knows he has not got a chance of winning, he just does it to help people. He helps Kim out of trouble. He is not aggressive though, as he had to stop Kim from killing her attackers.
The book itself is well written. ...
stoney_chris 18.06.2001
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells
Advantages: good characteristic Disadvantages: too short
Brother in the Land centers on the character of a teenage boy (Danny) who somehow manages to survive a nuclear attack. Danny, along with his younger brother Ben, must learn and fight to survive in a society that has became cave man rule. After originally thinking that they have been lucky to be alive, they soon begin to realize that living is going to be the hardest job of all. Danny has to grow up fast and to protect himself and those around him, ... ...should be optimistic. In the Brother in the Land, there also have optimistic part in it like the love between Danny and Kim, Danny helped Kim by fighting with two boys who want to stole Kim’s food, and Danny have optimistic he became loved Kim. And also people in Masada (Movement to Arm Skipley against Dictatorial Authority) worked together, look after each other and survive together. These things all showed these people are optimistic. they didn’t ...
Davidyu 17.08.2007 (16.08.2007)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells
Advantages: Emotional and gripping Disadvantages: Some people could find it depressing
...my family, especially my little brother and how I was treating them at the time, being a 14 year old little madam and what I would do if something did happen to any of them. The book brought me to tears and I still to this day (being 25) think it is one of the best books I have ever read. I've even been on Ebay this year to buy another copy after reading the other reviews. If you have never read this book before I highly recommend it, it has stayed ...
kelco 07.12.2003
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: somewhat helpful Review of Brother in the Land - Robert Swindells
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Advantages: A good read, a page-turner, easy to relate to the characters Disadvantages: Only because I'm old and fussy!
After having read Brotherin the Land by RobertSwindells, I thought I would try some of his other books, so I borrowed Abomination from the library. This is a 206-page novel for ‘older readers’ that was published in 1998 and shortlisted for the Whitbread Award.
The two main characters are two children aged twelve who attend the same school – Martha and Scott. Both are outsiders in some way. Scott is a new boy, just finding his way around a different school. Martha isn’t new, but she is still an outsider. She dresses in hand-made clothes and is known to be ‘weird’.
Scott and Martha both face being bullied at school and find strength in each other, becoming friends. Scott is Martha’s only friend. She is a member of a religious order called the Righteous, which severely restricts her social ...
Advantages: Spooky story set in a good location. Disadvantages: Slightly predictable storyline.
After re-reading and really enjoying RobertSwindell?s Post Nuclear story Brotherin the Land I was inspired to read one of his other books (a boy returned it in the library and I snaffled it for myself) ~ Room 13. Room 13 is a very different story to Brotherin the Land and I vaguely remembered reading it years ago. I once read that the reason that children, young adults and teenagers like Swindell?s books is because they are not too long, keep your interest and are pretty easy to read (by this I mean the use of language and not the subject matter ~ I wouldn?t call the images used inBrotherin the Land particularly ?easy?). Room 13 seems to fit this Swindells pattern; it isn?t long, it is written for a young audience (Swindells was even aided by a group of young children to come up with some of the plot twists) and uses young people ...
Advantages: Compelling read, well researched, well written. Disadvantages: Possibly not deep enough for adults - but it's a kids' book!
was impressed by how realistic the story was made. Even though you know time travel is impossible, you are soon swept up into the events and everything is so well researched that you become immersed in the detail. There is actually a lot of factual information in here, but it isn’t presented as being ‘educational’ – you just find yourself learning things as you go along.
Even though the main character is a boy, I didn’t find the novel alienating towards female readers. I think anyone over the age of nine or so would enjoy this and learn a lot about WWII as well. It is a riveting read and one which I thoroughly enjoyed, despite being considerably older than the target age group.
I have read several of RobertSwindells’ books now – Brotherin the Land, Room 13, Abomination and this one. They ...
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