The Otterbury Incident by C. Day-LewisMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
I first read this when I was a schoolboy. I loved. I wanted to be the boys in the story. I wanted to have the adventures they had. I went as far as creating a game based on one of their japes.
I was slightly worried about re-reading it as a grown-up. What if it wasn't as good as I remembered? As an adult: I loved it. I wanted to be the boys in the story. I wanted to have the adventures they had.
It is, however, very much of its time. Set just after the War, the boys play on a bombsite (the "Incident" of the title) and play at wars. When they take on the bad guys, they get weapons: stones, air rifles, fireworks (which they fire at a baddie!) and... a grenade. Kids, eh!? I dithered about making it four stars because some of the language is particularly unfortunate to modern ears but, in the end, I enjoyed it so much that I went for the full bhoona.
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