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CM . . .
. Volume IX Number 8. . . . December 13, 2002
excerpt: Frank didn't know anything about the war, or about Germans. He enlisted in the army because he didn't want anyone to think he was a coward. When it came time for the platoon to leave, the whole town gathered at the station. The band often interrupted the mayor's farewell speech. The blasts from the steam whistles made Frank jump. His mother cried a little and waved her white handkerchief when the train left. But Michael's sweetheart blew kisses and ran along the tracks. "Take care," called the fathers. Many young men who enlisted in World War I did so out of general youthful enthusiasm and blind ignorance of the purpose of the war. The tenor of the times was that men were morally obligated to go when the call came or risk being branded as a coward by society. If they had known that they were to be used as faceless cannon fodder in Europe for empires who wanted to steal each other's colonies of Africa and Asia, they might have all declined the opportunity to die by the thousands in cold, wet trenches. But go they did, from small towns and cities, off to fight the declared enemy. The jovial, superior British imperialist attitude carried them overseas, but the horrors of trench warfare quickly squelched that spirit. Battlefields, such as Ypres, were littered with the bodies of young Canadians and others who gave their lives to gain a few yards of mud, only to be driven back again by the young men fighting for the German Empire.
A Brave Soldier leaves the reader with a sense of the futility of war. Frank, the soldier, is an ordinary boy caught up in geopolitics, and his life is changed forever. He wonders why he is fighting against men whom he realizes must be the same kind of person as he, not a monster enemy. At the end, he comes out injured, but alive, but his friend has died. There is no sense of victory or rejoicing. Nicolas Debon has written a useful story that can be turned into a lesson in our own time. When men (and now women) are asked to make the ultimate sacrifice, they should think about whether or not the cause is just. The fight against fascism was just and drew men to enlist, but the war to expand American domination of Asia drew much opposition, which was also a just position. Today, with troubles in the Middle East creating waves all over the world, war is threatened. Should people support George Bush's position, enlist in his army and fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and other places? Should they be branded as cowards if they don't? Should Canada send its troops? Hopefully, there will be vigorous debate and analysis of whose interests these wars serve, what will be the implications and lasting effects of the war. Ordinary solders and civilians are the victims in warfare. Debon, a free-lance illustrator who has drawn pictures for several other children's books, uses dark colours to reflect the dark times and create sense of doom. But the pictures are representative. There are no gory scenes to scare the young children who will be reading the book; rather they invite thought. His characters have heads, but faces are blank-looking with little definition, just as many of the nameless soldiers who were blown to unrecognizable bits on the battlefields. The ironic title is a twist of humour in this quiet story. Very few veterans talk about bravery; most admit they were frightened for their lives. Most have no appetite for more war. This book will be useful as part of a discussion about war or Remembrance Day. Highly Recommended. Harriet Zaidman is a teacher-librarian at Niakwa Place School in Winnipeg, MB
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