Once
‘Once’ by Morris Gleitzman touched my heart. It allowed me to empathise with the main character Felix. I really enjoyed it since it was interesting and suspenseful as Felix goes through lots of troubles trying to find his parents. Some themes included in this books are freedom and tolerance – that’s what I like about this book. I also like this book because it is set in World War II, where everyone is either at war or enslaved.
On his journey, Felix meets a person called Barney who is kind and thoughtful. Barney is my favourite character as he ensures Felix’s safety when he is in danger. He is the type of person I would like to make friends with as he has a fantastic and caring personality. My favourite part of the book is when Barney and Felix are helping a Nazi – Barney giving dental surgery and Felix telling stories, ‘soothing’ the Nazi’s pain. It makes the setting seem ‘homey’. It brings a sense of warmth and luminosity. The part afterwards where the Nazi thanks Felix is very emotional as it shows a connection between them even though they are of different religions and are enemies.
I really liked this book and I recommend it to anyone who is mature enough to understand what it means deep inside – where strong and emotional themes are displayed. Because this book is fabulous, I would also like to read the newly published ‘Then’ – a sequel to ‘Once’. It may further explain what happens to Felix and Zelda after they escape.
Review by LQ
July 22nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
I read this in primary school with the class. Every week i was waiting for reading time, so i could be engulfed by the story. If i had owned it i wouldn’t have put it down until i finished. Morris Gleitzman is one of my personal favourite authors along with Paul Jennings an Garth
Nix. Great book, great author.