1917 by Kelly Gardiner
Australia's Great War series bk 4. Scholastic, 2017. ISBN
9781743622506
(Age:12+) Recommended. The fourth in Australia's Great War series
and published on the 100th anniversary of 1917, this novel concerns
Alex, a young airman making reconnaissance flights over the trenches
in Belgium.
I really like this series because these novels tell plausible
stories based on historical fact, using authentic characters who
reflect the real people revealed in the letters and documents
researched for the story. Gardiner continues the style, creating a
solid, captivating story which educates young Australians and allows
them to feel proud of those who served, without ever glorifying war.
Alex and his comrades are heroes, but they are very much afraid of
dying horribly in the ghastly war which seems without end. Flying
above the trenches and photographing everything in detail for
military analysis, the airmen observe the hellish conditions endured
by the infantry even though they return to relatively clean, safe
and warm billets upon landing. Their lot is no safer however as the
life expectancy of airmen was measured in days as they fell prey to
the enemy fighters flown by the likes of the famous Manfred von
Richthofen (Red Baron), and the anti-aircraft fire from the ground.
Sadly, a great many of their number also perished in flying
accidents, either in training or during active service on the front.
The narrative is carried along via letters between Alex and his
sister Maggie but this is balanced by descriptive passages in the
author's voice. Alex's family are pacifists who actively protest
Australia's continued participation in the war and particularly the
campaign by Prime Minister Billy Hughes to introduce conscription.
The family's aversion to the war places them in a vexing position
when Alex enlists for service, yet they of course share the same
fear for his safety experienced by every other family of soldiers,
sailors and airmen of the time.
The novel presents the Australian homefront very well. Civilians are
jaded and completely fed up with the war and suffer from shortages
and restrictions. Most of all, the population is sick of the endless
call for men to serve the war machine which kills so many and
returns the rest broken in body and spirit.
Content is not too gruesome for younger readers and I recommend the
novel for twelve years and over.
Rob Welsh