There are many amazing stories in this book, but the funniest had to be the dead pig. All pigs, as well as other livestock, had to be registered with the German occupation forces. But the Islanders were often able to circumvent the rules in many ways. In one case, they hid a dead pig, which they were about to butcher, in a bedroom. It was covered with a shroud and candles were burning by the bed side. The German soldiers actually apologixed to the farmer's wife who was crying. The Germans thought a family member had died. The wife was crying real tears because she knew how her family would suffer if the Germans discovered the pig.

Not all the tales were amusing. In fact, many of them were sad. Many Islanders who broke the rules ended up in concentration camps in Germany, and most were never heard of again. Even the author's tale was sad. He sent his 9-month pregnant wife off on the last ship out before the Germans came. It was over a year before he knew if his son was born, or even if his wife made it to England. He didn't see his son until the boy was five years old.

Sometimes the book was hard to follow, as the narrative often jumped around. You would end a chapter in early 1945, and the next chapter would begin in early 1944. In the last chapter, the author relates meeting a man who you knew was killed in an earlier chapter. But this was only a minor flaw in a great story.

I know there was a BBS series based on the German occupation of the Channel Islands, but I don't think it were based on this book.

Share/Like this Review?