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El Largo Camino A Casa Unidos por el amor. Separados por el miedo. Una novela fascinante basada en una inolvidable historia real.
Inspired by fascinating, true, yet little-known events during World War II, The Long Flight Home is a testament to the power of courage in our darkest hours—a moving, masterfully written story of love and sacrifice.
It is September 1940—a year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent, beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world.
Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, a young crop-duster pilot named Ollie Evans has decided to travel to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert assignment. Codenamed Source Columba, the mission aims to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do make the journey home to England can convey crucial information on German troop movements—and help reclaim the skies from the Luftwaffe.
The friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens as the mission date draws near. When Ollie’s plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess’s devotion and her singular sense of duty will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost.
It is September 1940—a year into the war—and as German bombs fall on Britain, fears grow of an impending invasion. Enemy fighter planes blacken the sky around the Epping Forest home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather, Bertie. After losing her parents to influenza as a child, Susan found comfort in raising homing pigeons with Bertie. All her birds are extraordinary to Susan—loyal, intelligent, beautiful—but none more so than Duchess. Hatched from an egg that Susan incubated in a bowl under her grandfather’s desk lamp, Duchess shares a special bond with Susan and an unusual curiosity about the human world.
Thousands of miles away in Buxton, Maine, a young crop-duster pilot named Ollie Evans has decided to travel to Britain to join the Royal Air Force. His quest brings him to Epping and to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a new, covert assignment. Codenamed Source Columba, the mission aims to air-drop hundreds of homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Many will not survive. Those that do make the journey home to England can convey crucial information on German troop movements—and help reclaim the skies from the Luftwaffe.
The friendship between Ollie and Susan deepens as the mission date draws near. When Ollie’s plane is downed behind enemy lines, both know how remote the chances of reunion must be. Yet Duchess’s devotion and her singular sense of duty will become an unexpected lifeline, relaying messages between Susan and Ollie as war rages on—and proving, at last, that hope is never truly lost.
480 pages, Paperback
First published June 25, 2019
1875 people are currently reading
27808 people want to read
About the author
Alan Hlad
9 books1,093 followersAlan Hlad is the internationally bestselling author of historical fiction novels inspired by real people and events of WWI and WWII, including The Book Spy, Churchill’s Secret Messenger, A Light Beyond the Trenches, and the USA Today and IndieBound bestseller The Long Flight Home. A member of the Historical Novel Society, Literary Cleveland, Novelitics, and the Akron Writers' Group, he is a frequent speaker at conferences, literary events, and book club gatherings. He currently divides his time between Ohio and Portugal and can be found online at AlanHlad.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,461 reviews
May 23, 2020
The Long Flight Home was an intriguing read. I was not sure what to expect from the novel. Did it focus on the war effort or romance? Alan Hlad was successful in blending both. I was concerned at first that it would be overly romantic for my tastes. Initially I was afraid my concerns would be met. The tale then took twists and turns that I did not expect.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was learning about a topic that I had little knowledge about. Though I have read many historical fiction novels centered around World War II, I had never heard of the British National Pigeon Service. This was a fascinating addition to the saga of the UK during WWII. Another aspect of the novel that Hlad clearly portrayed was the horrors of the Luftwaffe 's bombing of London and its surrounds.
If you are interested in WWII historical fiction, or just a well written story, you will enjoy The Long Flight Home.
One of my favorite aspects of the book was learning about a topic that I had little knowledge about. Though I have read many historical fiction novels centered around World War II, I had never heard of the British National Pigeon Service. This was a fascinating addition to the saga of the UK during WWII. Another aspect of the novel that Hlad clearly portrayed was the horrors of the Luftwaffe 's bombing of London and its surrounds.
If you are interested in WWII historical fiction, or just a well written story, you will enjoy The Long Flight Home.
April 29, 2022
Pleasant WWII historical fiction. 3.5 rounded up.
June 26, 2019
I received an Advance Reader copy of this novel, 'The Long Flight Home' by Alan Hlad, which will be published on June 25, 2019. Many thanks to Kensington Publishing for my copy.
Although my opinion has generally been that the market seems to have reached a kind of saturation point when it comes to the number of World War II novels that have been written, I admit that I was drawn to the premise of this book and I found myself swept up in the story Alan Hlad created.
This novel begins in the autumn of 1940 on a farm in Epping, England. Susan Shepherd, along with her grandfather Bertie, keep and train homing pigeons. Susan even thinks of one of her birds as a kind of pet.. a pigeon with beautiful plumage and a fierce intelligence, named Duchess. By day, Susan and Bertie care for their pigeons and recently they spend their nights huddled in a shelter below ground, listening to the frightening sounds of bombs being dropped by German aircrafts and these bombs seem to be coming closer and closer as each day goes by. As members of the National Pigeon Service, Bertie and Susan are approached by the Royal Air Force who want to commission the use of the group's pigeons for a covert intelligence operation, which is to be called Source Columba. Their plan is to air drop the homing pigeons into German-occupied France to deliver and receive coded messages regarding German troop movement in the area. Along with the other pigeon handlers in the group, Susan and Bertie are committed to doing whatever they can to help the war effort but they also have mixed feelings about what their birds will be required to do. They are aware of the mission's danger and they know that not all of their pigeons will make it home safely.
While the National Pigeon Service is preparing the birds for their mission, thousands of miles away on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the little town of Buxton, Maine, Ollie Evans who is a crop-duster pilot, has dreams of attending college to study aeronautical engineering. But before he has the chance to realize his dream, a series of tragedies leave him alone in the world. A chance encounter with a man named Billy Bishop, a Canadian World War I flying ace, convinces Ollie that despite the United States government's decision to remain neutral in the war, that he should make his way to England and put all of his acquired flying hours to good use by joining the Royal Air Force.
Perhaps it was chance... perhaps it was fate... but Ollie's path crosses with Susan's when he reaches London and through a big misunderstanding and a physical altercation with an officer in the RAF named Flight Lieutenant Clyde Boar (who happens to take an instant dislike to Ollie), Ollie ends up being rescued by Bertie and Susan and stays with them on their farm in Epping. Although still determined to return to London to join the RAF, Ollie can't help but feel inspired by the work Susan and Bertie are doing to prepare the pigeons for their mission and he decides to do all he can to help them. Ollie and Susan spend long days together... caring for the pigeons and getting to know each other... and taking comfort in each other's hopes and dreams for the future and the possibility that they might have a future together .. after the war is finally over.
Finally, the day arrives for the pigeons to be delivered to the airfield to begin their assignment. Ollie decides to accompany them to help load them onto the transport plane.. but once again, fate seems to step in and a series of mishaps occur and the consequences of these events will change the rest of Ollie and Susan's lives... What happens to Ollie? What happens to Susan's beloved pigeons? Will Susan and Ollie be able to find their way back to each other . And will they have the chance to finally build the life they dreamed of? 'The Long Flight Home' will answer all of these questions.
In many ways, 'The Long Flight Home' is much like the other World War II novels I've read over the years. Alan Hlad tells a powerful story which provides a sense of what war FEELS like to the people experiencing its horrors.. the fear, anger, starvation and deprivation ; but always alongside the fear is extraordinary courage, resilience and perhaps most importantly.. hope, even during the darkest of days. And what made this novel so unique to me, of course, was the birds. I could imagine thousands of these creatures being dropped into the middle of the war zone, carrying vital information attached to their tiny legs, relying on their inherent instincts and intelligence to carry them (hopefully) safely back to their homes. Always in the back of my mind was their enormous sacrifice... a sacrifice they couldn't CHOOSE to make themselves.... and I found myself on the edge of my seat, hoping to discover that these birds would beat the enormous odds stacked against them and that they would return home.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this novel was discovering that this story was, in fact, based on actual circumstances. 200,000 homing pigeons were indeed used by the Royal Air Force between 1939-1945 to carry encrypted messages as a way for the local populations to communicate intelligence in German-occupied areas. And these pigeons WERE provided by a civilian group called the National Pigeon Service. There is a fascinating 'author's note' included at the end of this novel in which Alan Had explains the amazing details and real-life inspiration for his story.
'The Long Flight Home' was one more reminder of the horrible cruelty human beings can and do inflict on each other; but it was also a reminder of the incredible capacity for strength and hopefulness people also possess. And of course, given the subject of this book, I couldn't stop stop thinking about a poem by Emily Dickinson....
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the time without the words,
And never stops at all......."
Although my opinion has generally been that the market seems to have reached a kind of saturation point when it comes to the number of World War II novels that have been written, I admit that I was drawn to the premise of this book and I found myself swept up in the story Alan Hlad created.
This novel begins in the autumn of 1940 on a farm in Epping, England. Susan Shepherd, along with her grandfather Bertie, keep and train homing pigeons. Susan even thinks of one of her birds as a kind of pet.. a pigeon with beautiful plumage and a fierce intelligence, named Duchess. By day, Susan and Bertie care for their pigeons and recently they spend their nights huddled in a shelter below ground, listening to the frightening sounds of bombs being dropped by German aircrafts and these bombs seem to be coming closer and closer as each day goes by. As members of the National Pigeon Service, Bertie and Susan are approached by the Royal Air Force who want to commission the use of the group's pigeons for a covert intelligence operation, which is to be called Source Columba. Their plan is to air drop the homing pigeons into German-occupied France to deliver and receive coded messages regarding German troop movement in the area. Along with the other pigeon handlers in the group, Susan and Bertie are committed to doing whatever they can to help the war effort but they also have mixed feelings about what their birds will be required to do. They are aware of the mission's danger and they know that not all of their pigeons will make it home safely.
While the National Pigeon Service is preparing the birds for their mission, thousands of miles away on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean in the little town of Buxton, Maine, Ollie Evans who is a crop-duster pilot, has dreams of attending college to study aeronautical engineering. But before he has the chance to realize his dream, a series of tragedies leave him alone in the world. A chance encounter with a man named Billy Bishop, a Canadian World War I flying ace, convinces Ollie that despite the United States government's decision to remain neutral in the war, that he should make his way to England and put all of his acquired flying hours to good use by joining the Royal Air Force.
Perhaps it was chance... perhaps it was fate... but Ollie's path crosses with Susan's when he reaches London and through a big misunderstanding and a physical altercation with an officer in the RAF named Flight Lieutenant Clyde Boar (who happens to take an instant dislike to Ollie), Ollie ends up being rescued by Bertie and Susan and stays with them on their farm in Epping. Although still determined to return to London to join the RAF, Ollie can't help but feel inspired by the work Susan and Bertie are doing to prepare the pigeons for their mission and he decides to do all he can to help them. Ollie and Susan spend long days together... caring for the pigeons and getting to know each other... and taking comfort in each other's hopes and dreams for the future and the possibility that they might have a future together .. after the war is finally over.
Finally, the day arrives for the pigeons to be delivered to the airfield to begin their assignment. Ollie decides to accompany them to help load them onto the transport plane.. but once again, fate seems to step in and a series of mishaps occur and the consequences of these events will change the rest of Ollie and Susan's lives... What happens to Ollie? What happens to Susan's beloved pigeons? Will Susan and Ollie be able to find their way back to each other . And will they have the chance to finally build the life they dreamed of? 'The Long Flight Home' will answer all of these questions.
In many ways, 'The Long Flight Home' is much like the other World War II novels I've read over the years. Alan Hlad tells a powerful story which provides a sense of what war FEELS like to the people experiencing its horrors.. the fear, anger, starvation and deprivation ; but always alongside the fear is extraordinary courage, resilience and perhaps most importantly.. hope, even during the darkest of days. And what made this novel so unique to me, of course, was the birds. I could imagine thousands of these creatures being dropped into the middle of the war zone, carrying vital information attached to their tiny legs, relying on their inherent instincts and intelligence to carry them (hopefully) safely back to their homes. Always in the back of my mind was their enormous sacrifice... a sacrifice they couldn't CHOOSE to make themselves.... and I found myself on the edge of my seat, hoping to discover that these birds would beat the enormous odds stacked against them and that they would return home.
Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this novel was discovering that this story was, in fact, based on actual circumstances. 200,000 homing pigeons were indeed used by the Royal Air Force between 1939-1945 to carry encrypted messages as a way for the local populations to communicate intelligence in German-occupied areas. And these pigeons WERE provided by a civilian group called the National Pigeon Service. There is a fascinating 'author's note' included at the end of this novel in which Alan Had explains the amazing details and real-life inspiration for his story.
'The Long Flight Home' was one more reminder of the horrible cruelty human beings can and do inflict on each other; but it was also a reminder of the incredible capacity for strength and hopefulness people also possess. And of course, given the subject of this book, I couldn't stop stop thinking about a poem by Emily Dickinson....
"Hope is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul
And sings the time without the words,
And never stops at all......."
September 9, 2025
Ca toate cărțile despre cel de al doilea război mondial și aceasta este interesantă din punctul de vedere al realității istorice. Nu știam că la începutul războiului Anglia a folosit porumbei călători pentru a culege informații. Povestea a fost un pic cam rapidă, pe mine m-a surprins modul brusc în care s-a încheiat și chiar finalul a fost neașteptat, dar cartea merită toată atenția.
August 27, 2020
Epping, England, Sept. 1940: Susan Shepherd postpones her zoology study at the University of London in lieu of a more important endeavor – raising war pigeons.
Buxton, Maine, Sept. 1940: Ollie Evans postpones his study in aeronautical engineering due to his father’s accident on the potato farm. Ollie has been fascinated with planes since early childhood. His father taught him how to operate a crop-duster biplane, at the age of 14, to spread fertilizer over potatoes. But now, another accident leads him to leaving the farm completely and this farther takes him to join the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
The work for RAF directs him to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a secret assignment.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What attracted me to this story was the little-known event during WWII. Homing pigeons played an important role in war, transporting messages.
However, the plot is somehow predictable and the prose is fairly simple. Some scenes are very descriptive. All the step by step descriptions are not necessary. Instead, the characters could be better developed and dialogue could be more engaging.
Buxton, Maine, Sept. 1940: Ollie Evans postpones his study in aeronautical engineering due to his father’s accident on the potato farm. Ollie has been fascinated with planes since early childhood. His father taught him how to operate a crop-duster biplane, at the age of 14, to spread fertilizer over potatoes. But now, another accident leads him to leaving the farm completely and this farther takes him to join the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
The work for RAF directs him to the National Pigeon Service, where Susan is involved in a secret assignment.
Source: ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
What attracted me to this story was the little-known event during WWII. Homing pigeons played an important role in war, transporting messages.
However, the plot is somehow predictable and the prose is fairly simple. Some scenes are very descriptive. All the step by step descriptions are not necessary. Instead, the characters could be better developed and dialogue could be more engaging.
May 28, 2022
This story gave a good impression of the situation in the London area during the Blitz. Interesting to read about the pigeons. Incredible how many of them were sent over to occupied France and The Netherlands to gather intelligence. I'm not quite sure about the hunger described in France in 1940, I don't think that was the case so early in the war. Certainly not in The Netherlands and I'm guessing France wouldn't be much different.
March 22, 2021
Spotlighting a little-known part of World War Two history, Alan Hlad, has written one of the most spectacular historical fiction novels titled, “The Long Flight Home.”
After reading “Churchill’s Secret Messenger” (to be published April 27, 2021) and being extremely impressed, I knew that I was in for a treat. This book did not disappoint. The author was captivated by a news report that the skeletal remains of a war pigeon were found in a chimney in Surrey, England. Attached to the pigeon’s leg was an encrypted message that was indecipherable for years. This served as his inspiration.
Hlad writes to reveal that combat wasn’t the only form of resistance against the Nazis. He draws on the importance of carrier pigeons that were trained to travel vast distances and deliver encrypted messages. Without the modern conveniences used to communicate, this innovative approach helped the home front support the Allies. Source Columba was an actual wartime code name for airdropping 16,000 homing pigeons as a method for locals to provide intelligence to Britain.
Susan Shepherd lost her parents to the Spanish Flu and was raised by her grandfather, Bertie. He taught her the skill of raising homing pigeons. When her farm in Epping, England, is taken over by the army, Susan becomes involved in Source Columba, a covert operation to air-drop homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Working on the mission, Susan meets Ollie Evans from Buxton, Maine, a young pilot who has enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Just as the romance is blossoming, Ollie’s plane is bombed and they rely on Duchess, Susan’s beloved pigeon, to exchange messages.
This engaging, clean romance wartime novel is definitely worth your time. I loved the strong, courageous female lead and the interesting, unique perspective to wartime historical fiction. Hlad’s writing style is easy reading and he has a way of teaching without readers being aware of his purpose.
After reading “Churchill’s Secret Messenger” (to be published April 27, 2021) and being extremely impressed, I knew that I was in for a treat. This book did not disappoint. The author was captivated by a news report that the skeletal remains of a war pigeon were found in a chimney in Surrey, England. Attached to the pigeon’s leg was an encrypted message that was indecipherable for years. This served as his inspiration.
Hlad writes to reveal that combat wasn’t the only form of resistance against the Nazis. He draws on the importance of carrier pigeons that were trained to travel vast distances and deliver encrypted messages. Without the modern conveniences used to communicate, this innovative approach helped the home front support the Allies. Source Columba was an actual wartime code name for airdropping 16,000 homing pigeons as a method for locals to provide intelligence to Britain.
Susan Shepherd lost her parents to the Spanish Flu and was raised by her grandfather, Bertie. He taught her the skill of raising homing pigeons. When her farm in Epping, England, is taken over by the army, Susan becomes involved in Source Columba, a covert operation to air-drop homing pigeons in German-occupied France. Working on the mission, Susan meets Ollie Evans from Buxton, Maine, a young pilot who has enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Just as the romance is blossoming, Ollie’s plane is bombed and they rely on Duchess, Susan’s beloved pigeon, to exchange messages.
This engaging, clean romance wartime novel is definitely worth your time. I loved the strong, courageous female lead and the interesting, unique perspective to wartime historical fiction. Hlad’s writing style is easy reading and he has a way of teaching without readers being aware of his purpose.
November 11, 2019
Although I've read many books about World War II, I had never heard of Source Columba. This was the code name for the program to air-drop thousands of homing pigeons in France during the German occupation. It was hoped that French Resistance fighters would use the pigeons to send strategic information to England about German troop movement and the location of their planes and tanks. The pigeons would carry the messages in tiny canisters attached to their legs.
"The Long Flight Home" is an engaging story about two people involved in Source Columba. Susan Shepherd and her grandfather live on a farm that trains pigeons in Epping, twenty miles outside London. American crop duster, Ollie Evans, wants to honor his family's British roots by volunteering to be a pilot for the RAF. After Ollie gets involved in a fight with a British pilot, his hopes of joining the RAF are gone. He gets assigned to work on parole with the pigeons on the Shepherd's farm. Ollie and Susan have many experiences in common, and become very close. Ollie is unexpectedly on a plane transporting pigeons when it gets shot down over France. Many brave people worked together to hide the airmen in France. Susan's farm is in the flight path of the Luftwaffe bombers during the London Blitz. The British people rallied to treat the injured from the bombings in England.
I enjoyed the depictions of the pigeons, and was impressed with their intelligence and endurance. A French pig that dug truffles was also endearing. The book tended to be repetitious in the beginning, but picked up the pace when Ollie reached France. It would be appropriate for high school students as well as adults. This was an interesting World War II novel with a different focus. 3.5 stars.
"The Long Flight Home" is an engaging story about two people involved in Source Columba. Susan Shepherd and her grandfather live on a farm that trains pigeons in Epping, twenty miles outside London. American crop duster, Ollie Evans, wants to honor his family's British roots by volunteering to be a pilot for the RAF. After Ollie gets involved in a fight with a British pilot, his hopes of joining the RAF are gone. He gets assigned to work on parole with the pigeons on the Shepherd's farm. Ollie and Susan have many experiences in common, and become very close. Ollie is unexpectedly on a plane transporting pigeons when it gets shot down over France. Many brave people worked together to hide the airmen in France. Susan's farm is in the flight path of the Luftwaffe bombers during the London Blitz. The British people rallied to treat the injured from the bombings in England.
I enjoyed the depictions of the pigeons, and was impressed with their intelligence and endurance. A French pig that dug truffles was also endearing. The book tended to be repetitious in the beginning, but picked up the pace when Ollie reached France. It would be appropriate for high school students as well as adults. This was an interesting World War II novel with a different focus. 3.5 stars.
January 11, 2019
I truly dislike giving books a bad review. I respect people who write historical fiction and devote the time to the research and creative process. However I found this book schmaltzy and predictable and I only kept reading it so I could finish and give an honest review. I tend to read a lot of books about WWII so that time frame is what initially caught my attention and having never read about the use of pigeons in the war peaked my interest. However, the love story falls flat, the flow of the story is unreal and the characters are formulaic. I found multiple areas of text where the editor failed to correct easily identifiable breaks in timing or revealing of details or even feats of human anatomy. ("The predawn chirping of sparrows caused Susan to raise her head from her lap." Her chest maybe, but her lap...was she decapitated, a yoga specialist???) I just was not sold on any of it. There was also several phrases that played throughout and were overused so you just expected it on the next page and were like, yup, there it is again. I thought about a third of the way that maybe it would have been interesting to give the lead pigeon a narrative like the dog in the novel "The Story of Edgar Sawtelle," but by the end of the book I don't think even that could have saved what was just a ploddingly told tale. I really wanted to like this book, but it just left me angry that at the end I read that the author had a network of critique partners and no one apparently identified its clear weaknesses before publishing.
March 29, 2022
Susan Shepherd lives with her grandfather Bertie near Epping Forest in England and the story begins a year after the start of the Second World War. Susan was raised by her grandparents, her parents died when she was a little girl from the Spanish Flu and they live a quiet life near London, where they breed and race homing pigeons.
Susan was studying zoology, but the war starting halted her studies and she decides to help her aging grandfather care for his pigeons as he has very bad knees, he finds doing every day tasks a challenge and he's in a lot of pain.
As the German's start bombing London Susan and her grandfather spend most night's in a shelter they built in the backyard. In the morning they wake up to see fires burning in the city, the damage the Luftwaffe have done to buildings and witness the terrible loss of life.
The War Office contacts them requesting Bertie to attend a meeting as they have an idea about using pigeons to carry military information between England and France. The plan is to drop hundreds of pigeons into France as part of undercover mission called Columbia, they need as many pigeons as they can get from breeders all over England and join the National Pigeon Service. Susan attends the meeting as it's too hard for her grandfather to travel due to his health problems.
Buxton Maine, Ollie Evans is living with his parents on a potato farm and he works as a crop duster. When his parents die in a tragic accident and the bank forecloses on the family farm. Ollie has no choice he leaves the farm with the idea of somehow getting to England and joining the RAF. In England he's traveling on a train and he sees a young lady being harasses by an English officer. Ollie saves Susan from the unwanted advances from Clyde Boar and before he knows it he's in trouble with the military police. Ollie is released but he is told that he has to help the Shepherds for three months as a type of good behavior bond and then he hopes to join the RAF.
Soon all the trained pigeons are to be loaded on to a truck, taken to the RAF base and will be dropped in cages over France. A mistake has been made and Susan's pet pigeon Duchess the one she hand raised has been taken as well and Ollie tries to find her in one of the cages in the cargo hold of a plane. Before he knows it the plane takes off in a hurry as the German's start bombing the air field, he and Duchess are both on their way into enemy territory.
Of course disaster strikes the plane crashes, Ollie, Duchess and the planes pilot Clyde Boar all find themselves stranded in France. They eventually find help from a elderly French lady and they're drawn into the war and start helping the French resistance. Duchess provides a vital link to England and soon she is flying back and forth carrying important messages all written in a secret code to help win the war.
Both Ollie and Clyde begin the journey to escape France, it's too dangerous for them to stay and they must try to return to England. Do they make it, will they both survive the trip, what happens to Susan and Bertie waiting in England? The war does eventually end but the story doesn't and it only gets more interesting.
The Long Flight Home is one of the most incredible, enthralling and beautiful books I have ever read. I enjoyed reading ever page, well done Alan Hlad and five stars from me.
Susan was studying zoology, but the war starting halted her studies and she decides to help her aging grandfather care for his pigeons as he has very bad knees, he finds doing every day tasks a challenge and he's in a lot of pain.
As the German's start bombing London Susan and her grandfather spend most night's in a shelter they built in the backyard. In the morning they wake up to see fires burning in the city, the damage the Luftwaffe have done to buildings and witness the terrible loss of life.
The War Office contacts them requesting Bertie to attend a meeting as they have an idea about using pigeons to carry military information between England and France. The plan is to drop hundreds of pigeons into France as part of undercover mission called Columbia, they need as many pigeons as they can get from breeders all over England and join the National Pigeon Service. Susan attends the meeting as it's too hard for her grandfather to travel due to his health problems.
Buxton Maine, Ollie Evans is living with his parents on a potato farm and he works as a crop duster. When his parents die in a tragic accident and the bank forecloses on the family farm. Ollie has no choice he leaves the farm with the idea of somehow getting to England and joining the RAF. In England he's traveling on a train and he sees a young lady being harasses by an English officer. Ollie saves Susan from the unwanted advances from Clyde Boar and before he knows it he's in trouble with the military police. Ollie is released but he is told that he has to help the Shepherds for three months as a type of good behavior bond and then he hopes to join the RAF.
Soon all the trained pigeons are to be loaded on to a truck, taken to the RAF base and will be dropped in cages over France. A mistake has been made and Susan's pet pigeon Duchess the one she hand raised has been taken as well and Ollie tries to find her in one of the cages in the cargo hold of a plane. Before he knows it the plane takes off in a hurry as the German's start bombing the air field, he and Duchess are both on their way into enemy territory.
Of course disaster strikes the plane crashes, Ollie, Duchess and the planes pilot Clyde Boar all find themselves stranded in France. They eventually find help from a elderly French lady and they're drawn into the war and start helping the French resistance. Duchess provides a vital link to England and soon she is flying back and forth carrying important messages all written in a secret code to help win the war.
Both Ollie and Clyde begin the journey to escape France, it's too dangerous for them to stay and they must try to return to England. Do they make it, will they both survive the trip, what happens to Susan and Bertie waiting in England? The war does eventually end but the story doesn't and it only gets more interesting.
The Long Flight Home is one of the most incredible, enthralling and beautiful books I have ever read. I enjoyed reading ever page, well done Alan Hlad and five stars from me.
October 25, 2019
Its September 1940. War has been going on for a year. Susan raises pigeons. Ollie is a pilot. Susan lives with her grandfather, Bertie on a pigeon farm. They supply the war effort with pigeons, hoping they will bring home messages from occupied France. Ollie lived in Maine. He is a pilot. He decides to go to England to join the war effort. His path crosses with Susan and Bertie. Love blossoms between the young couple.
This story has een well researched and its beautifully written. I know a little a out the use of homing pigeons before reading this book. The story was inspired y the true but little know events that took place in World War ll. Hundreds of pigeons were dropped over France hoping that the French citizens would send them home with vital codes messages strapped to their legs. I loved all the characters in this story. It held y attention throughout. A romantic war story that I found hard to put down.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author A.L. Hiad for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This story has een well researched and its beautifully written. I know a little a out the use of homing pigeons before reading this book. The story was inspired y the true but little know events that took place in World War ll. Hundreds of pigeons were dropped over France hoping that the French citizens would send them home with vital codes messages strapped to their legs. I loved all the characters in this story. It held y attention throughout. A romantic war story that I found hard to put down.
I would like to thank NetGalley, Hodder & Stoughton and the author A.L. Hiad for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.
November 1, 2019
Thanks so much to NetGalley, Kensington Books and Alan Hlad for giving me the chance to read his book: The Long Flight Home.
Susan Shepherd lives with her grandfather Bertie near Epping Forest in England, Susan was raised by her grandparents and her parents died when she was a little girl. Susan and her grandfather live a quiet life, they breed and race homing pigeons.
Susan was studying zoology, but the war starting halted her studies and she decides to help her aging grandfather care for his pigeons as he has very bad knees, he finds doing every day tasks a challenge and he's in a lot of pain.
When the German's start bombing London, Susan and her grandfather spend most night's in a shelter they built in the backyard. In the morning they wake up to see fires burning in London, the damage the Luftwaffe has done to buildings and witness the terrible loss of life.
The War Office contacts them requesting Bertie to attend a meeting as they have a plan using pigeons to carry military information between England and France.
The idea is to drop hundreds of pigeons into France as part of undercover mission called Columbia, they need as many pigeons as they can get from breeders all over England and join the National Pigeon Service.
Susan attends the meeting as it's too hard for her grandfather to travel due to his aging knees.
Buxton Maine, Ollie Evans is living with his parents on a potato farm and he also flies a plane as a crop duster. His parents die in a tragic accident and the bank forecloses on the family farm. Ollie has no choice he leaves the farm, his plan is to get to England and joining the Air Force. Once he arrives in England he is traveling on a train and he notices a young lady being harassed by an English officer. He saves Susan Shepherd from the unwanted advances from Clyde Boar and before he knows it he's in trouble with the military police. Ollie is released but he is told that he must help the Shepherds for three months as a type of good behavior bond and once this ends he hopes to join the RAF.
Soon all the trained pigeons are to be loaded on to a truck, taken to the RAF base to be loaded onto planes and to be dropped in cages over France. By mistake Susan's pet pigeon Duchess has been taken as well and Ollie tries to find her in one of the cages in the cargo hold of a plane. Before he knows it the plane takes off in a hurry as the German's start bombing the air field, he and Duchess are soon on the way into enemy territory.
Of course disaster strikes and the plane crashes, Ollie, Duchess and the planes pilot Clyde Boar all find themselves stranded in France. They eventually find help from a elderly French lady and they're drawn into the war and start helping the French resistance. Duchess provides a link to England and soon she is flying back and forth carrying important messages all written in a secret code to help win the war!
Soon both Ollie and Clyde begin the journey to escape France, it's too dangerous for them to stay and they must try to return to England. Do they make it? Will they both survive the trip? What happens to Susan and Bertie in England? The war eventually ends but the story doesn't and it only gets more interesting.
The Long Flight Home is one of the most incredible, enthralling and beautiful books I have read. I enjoyed reading every page, well done Alan Hlad and I gave your book five stars.
I shared my review on Goodreads, NetGalley, Barnes & Noble, Twitter and on my blog. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
Susan Shepherd lives with her grandfather Bertie near Epping Forest in England, Susan was raised by her grandparents and her parents died when she was a little girl. Susan and her grandfather live a quiet life, they breed and race homing pigeons.
Susan was studying zoology, but the war starting halted her studies and she decides to help her aging grandfather care for his pigeons as he has very bad knees, he finds doing every day tasks a challenge and he's in a lot of pain.
When the German's start bombing London, Susan and her grandfather spend most night's in a shelter they built in the backyard. In the morning they wake up to see fires burning in London, the damage the Luftwaffe has done to buildings and witness the terrible loss of life.
The War Office contacts them requesting Bertie to attend a meeting as they have a plan using pigeons to carry military information between England and France.
The idea is to drop hundreds of pigeons into France as part of undercover mission called Columbia, they need as many pigeons as they can get from breeders all over England and join the National Pigeon Service.
Susan attends the meeting as it's too hard for her grandfather to travel due to his aging knees.
Buxton Maine, Ollie Evans is living with his parents on a potato farm and he also flies a plane as a crop duster. His parents die in a tragic accident and the bank forecloses on the family farm. Ollie has no choice he leaves the farm, his plan is to get to England and joining the Air Force. Once he arrives in England he is traveling on a train and he notices a young lady being harassed by an English officer. He saves Susan Shepherd from the unwanted advances from Clyde Boar and before he knows it he's in trouble with the military police. Ollie is released but he is told that he must help the Shepherds for three months as a type of good behavior bond and once this ends he hopes to join the RAF.
Soon all the trained pigeons are to be loaded on to a truck, taken to the RAF base to be loaded onto planes and to be dropped in cages over France. By mistake Susan's pet pigeon Duchess has been taken as well and Ollie tries to find her in one of the cages in the cargo hold of a plane. Before he knows it the plane takes off in a hurry as the German's start bombing the air field, he and Duchess are soon on the way into enemy territory.
Of course disaster strikes and the plane crashes, Ollie, Duchess and the planes pilot Clyde Boar all find themselves stranded in France. They eventually find help from a elderly French lady and they're drawn into the war and start helping the French resistance. Duchess provides a link to England and soon she is flying back and forth carrying important messages all written in a secret code to help win the war!
Soon both Ollie and Clyde begin the journey to escape France, it's too dangerous for them to stay and they must try to return to England. Do they make it? Will they both survive the trip? What happens to Susan and Bertie in England? The war eventually ends but the story doesn't and it only gets more interesting.
The Long Flight Home is one of the most incredible, enthralling and beautiful books I have read. I enjoyed reading every page, well done Alan Hlad and I gave your book five stars.
I shared my review on Goodreads, NetGalley, Barnes & Noble, Twitter and on my blog. https://karrenreadsbooks.blogspot.com/
July 27, 2019
You don't have to know a lot about pigeons or aviation to follow the story. But on the same token, you will not learn much.
Most of it centers more around the relationship between one specific pigeon and her owner. I was hoping there would be more information regarding the pigeons war effort; for example, the messages that they delivered that were helpful to the RAF, the training, etc... Yet, the only messages the reader is made known of are the messages that the pigeon delivers between the two main characters who have a budding romance. The encounters that the pigeons had with the war, spies, citizens, and enemies itself are not detailed in this novel.
The dates for the chapters suddenly stop after chapter 3, so you have to guess the timing of the rest of the novel while reading.
This novel doesn't go into details of the Nazi war crimes, and the Jews are never mentioned. The focus is on the romance between the two main characters rather than on history or the homing pigeon's role played in WWII.
You will be reading this novel solely for the story rather than for the interesting information that can be gathered around the build up of the plot. Relationships and dialogue are romanticized. On the other hand, the development between the two main characters is carefully calculated which makes for an enjoyable, light read. The ending was wonderful.
No sex. No obscenities. Minimal vulgarity. Would be okay for high school student to read.
Most of it centers more around the relationship between one specific pigeon and her owner. I was hoping there would be more information regarding the pigeons war effort; for example, the messages that they delivered that were helpful to the RAF, the training, etc... Yet, the only messages the reader is made known of are the messages that the pigeon delivers between the two main characters who have a budding romance. The encounters that the pigeons had with the war, spies, citizens, and enemies itself are not detailed in this novel.
The dates for the chapters suddenly stop after chapter 3, so you have to guess the timing of the rest of the novel while reading.
This novel doesn't go into details of the Nazi war crimes, and the Jews are never mentioned. The focus is on the romance between the two main characters rather than on history or the homing pigeon's role played in WWII.
You will be reading this novel solely for the story rather than for the interesting information that can be gathered around the build up of the plot. Relationships and dialogue are romanticized. On the other hand, the development between the two main characters is carefully calculated which makes for an enjoyable, light read. The ending was wonderful.
No sex. No obscenities. Minimal vulgarity. Would be okay for high school student to read.
August 16, 2019
I must be a sucker for sad books. Historical fiction is my favorite genre to read and it mirrors true historical events that have happened.
There are a lot of tragic events that have happened in past history.
I enjoy reading the description of events leading up to a historic event, even a sad one.
The history is past and I can't change it but I sure would like to take the characters and say don't do that, or run away, so and so is going to happen to you if you don't do a certain thing.
They say hind sight is 2o/20, whoever they are. Not sure it does any good anyway.
I have read a lot of books about World War II but what fascinated me about this is the book deals with little known events during World War II.
I have heard of war pigeons but in this book you will find the full scope of how useful they were .
I felt a compassion for the pigeons especially the main one, Duchess who is based on an actual war pigeon.
With bombs raining down and war shelters debatable if they even offered proper shelter this story of the London Blitz is amazing . So many men,women and children perished under the Nazi reign.
The Long Flight Home is about outstanding courage during one of our darkest times. Such strength and resilience despite the odds being against them!
I strongly recommend this book!
Published June 25th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.
There are a lot of tragic events that have happened in past history.
I enjoy reading the description of events leading up to a historic event, even a sad one.
The history is past and I can't change it but I sure would like to take the characters and say don't do that, or run away, so and so is going to happen to you if you don't do a certain thing.
They say hind sight is 2o/20, whoever they are. Not sure it does any good anyway.
I have read a lot of books about World War II but what fascinated me about this is the book deals with little known events during World War II.
I have heard of war pigeons but in this book you will find the full scope of how useful they were .
I felt a compassion for the pigeons especially the main one, Duchess who is based on an actual war pigeon.
With bombs raining down and war shelters debatable if they even offered proper shelter this story of the London Blitz is amazing . So many men,women and children perished under the Nazi reign.
The Long Flight Home is about outstanding courage during one of our darkest times. Such strength and resilience despite the odds being against them!
I strongly recommend this book!
Published June 25th 2019 by Kensington Publishing Corp.
I was given a complimentary copy of this book. Thank you.
All opinions expressed are my own.
August 6, 2019
Susan Shepherd and her grandfather Bertie raise homing pigeons on their small farm in Epping, England. Susan loves and nutures her pigeons, especially Duchess with whom she shares a special bond.The German Luftwaffe fly over regularly on the way to London to drop their payloads. Night after night the skies are lit up by the fires burning London to ashes.
Across the ocean, Ollie Evans, a crop-duster in Maine, decides to join the Royal Air Force after the sudden death of his parents. Chance circumstances bring Susan and Ollie together and they soon find themselves falling in love.
The British military have conscripted Susan's and Bertie's pigeons to participate in a covert plan, code name Source Columba, where pigeons will be dropped in German occupied France with the hope that they will be found by the Resistance and critical information sent back to the British.
When Ollie ends up behind enemy lines, it is Susan's beloved Duchess that carries messages between them, giving them hope that one day they will be reunited.
Inspired by true events, the novel highlights the resilience and courage of the British people throughout WWII.
Across the ocean, Ollie Evans, a crop-duster in Maine, decides to join the Royal Air Force after the sudden death of his parents. Chance circumstances bring Susan and Ollie together and they soon find themselves falling in love.
The British military have conscripted Susan's and Bertie's pigeons to participate in a covert plan, code name Source Columba, where pigeons will be dropped in German occupied France with the hope that they will be found by the Resistance and critical information sent back to the British.
When Ollie ends up behind enemy lines, it is Susan's beloved Duchess that carries messages between them, giving them hope that one day they will be reunited.
Inspired by true events, the novel highlights the resilience and courage of the British people throughout WWII.
December 21, 2019
“The British government’s secret mission is pigeons?”
“Source Columba,” Bertie said.
“These pigeons are going to help us win the war.”
This is a must read for historical fiction lovers! Hlad did a fantastic job putting a new perspective on the thoroughly covered WWII genre. “A Long Flight Home” was well researched with an engaging storyline, sympathetic characters and some unlikely heroes. I enjoyed the action scenes and the love story woven throughout but was particularly pleased by the lack of predictability.
Thank you Goodreads for my first Giveaway win!!
“Source Columba,” Bertie said.
“These pigeons are going to help us win the war.”
This is a must read for historical fiction lovers! Hlad did a fantastic job putting a new perspective on the thoroughly covered WWII genre. “A Long Flight Home” was well researched with an engaging storyline, sympathetic characters and some unlikely heroes. I enjoyed the action scenes and the love story woven throughout but was particularly pleased by the lack of predictability.
Thank you Goodreads for my first Giveaway win!!
February 10, 2019
I received a free copy of The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad in a Goodreads give away in exchange for an honest review. Before reading The Long Flight Home, I must admit that I did not know a lot about how pigeons were used in World War II. I found it fascinating how pigeons could be trained to carry messages during the war back and forth from England to France. It was also surprising to find out how this story came to be. The author, Alan Hlad, mentioned in his Author's Note that he had read about the remains of a pigeon that was found in a chimney in Surrey, England in 2012. A coded message was attached to the pigeon's leg. The message was never able to be decoded but after reading about this discovery, the idea for The Long Flight home was born. It was a fast reading book and I really enjoyed reading it.
Ollie was a young man that lived in Buxton, Maine with his parent on their farm. One day, Ollie's parents drove to town to get some things and were in a fatal car accident. Ollie had given up his dreams of going to college when his father had been injured in an accident on their farm years ago. Now with both of his parents gone, and with nothing to keep him in Maine, Ollie was determined to get to England and volunteer in the Royal Air Force even though the United States remained neutral towards the war. Alan Hlad also mentioned that more than 200 American volunteers joined England in helping them fight the Germans in World War II before the United States actually entered the war.
Ollie finally arrived in England and was on a train on his way to volunteer in The Royal Air Force when he noticed a woman who was being taken advantage of by an English soldier, Flight Lt. Boar. Of course Ollie came to her rescue but at what price? The officer brought charges against Ollie for hitting an officer. The woman, Susan Shepherd, was returning from a meeting of the National Pigeon Service, British Intelligence and the Royal Air Force where Flight Lt. Boar had escorted her. All present had discussed and agreed upon the formation of mission Source Columba where pigeons would be used to carry messages back and forth between England and France with the hope of discovering German war moves so they could defeat the Germans. Ollie was released from prison into the hands of Bertie, Susan's grandfather. Bertie had to promise that he would watch over Ollie and take responsibility for him. Ollie was going to help him and Susan on their pigeon farm in Epping. The only problem was that Ollie had no knowledge about pigeons. He could not tell a pigeon from a turkey but he would soon learn. When Susan's parents died from the Spanish flu when she was a young girl so her grandparents brought her up. Her grandmother died recently so now it was just Susan and her grandfather and the pigeons. There was one special pigeon on the farm. Her name was Duchess. Susan had nurtured her in a ceramic bowl as she grew and hatched. Duchess was more like a pet to Susan. They had a charming relationship. Duchess's feather were much more vibrant and bright compared to the other pigeons. Coming back from London, Susan and her grandfather had ninety days to get their pigeons trained and ready for mission Source Columba. As the story developed and Ollie and Susan worked side by side and got to know one another, they discover that each of them had developed feelings for each other. These feelings were real and beautiful.
The day finally came when the pigeons had to be delivered to the airport to be transported to France where they would be dropped in German occupied France. Ollie offered to help the soldiers get the pigeons to the airport and make sure they were loaded carefully on the plane. Just as Ollie and the soldiers were almost finished loading the pigeons there was a horrific bombing by German planes. There was chaos all over the airport. Ollie was told to get out of there but Ollie realized that Duchess was on the plane and she was not supposed to be. As the siren continued to wail, Ollie climbed into the tail of the plane to try and rescue Duchess. With much determination, Ollie finally found the cage that Duchess was in and reached for it. When he finally secured it, he realized that the plane had began to move and he could hear the sound of propellers. Not only was Ollie on the plane headed for France with Duchess and all the other pigeons but Flight Lt. Boar was flying it. They successfully dropped the pigeons over France but just as they were about to head home the plane was hit. Flight Lt. Boar and Ollie found refuge in a French village in occupied France. The two were truly horrified that the only way to survive would be to help each other. They hid out in a barn until a woman discovered them and hid them safely under the floorboards in her home. Duchess survived the crash as well and was instrumental in delivering coded messages back and forth between Susan and Ollie.
I really enjoyed reading The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad. The fact that Britain used more than 200,000 war pigeons between 1939 and 1945 and that of those 16,000 were parachuted into German-occupied France, was fascinating to me. The research for this book was quite good. It was an emotional and beautiful story that was full of hope and love. I recommend this book.
Ollie was a young man that lived in Buxton, Maine with his parent on their farm. One day, Ollie's parents drove to town to get some things and were in a fatal car accident. Ollie had given up his dreams of going to college when his father had been injured in an accident on their farm years ago. Now with both of his parents gone, and with nothing to keep him in Maine, Ollie was determined to get to England and volunteer in the Royal Air Force even though the United States remained neutral towards the war. Alan Hlad also mentioned that more than 200 American volunteers joined England in helping them fight the Germans in World War II before the United States actually entered the war.
Ollie finally arrived in England and was on a train on his way to volunteer in The Royal Air Force when he noticed a woman who was being taken advantage of by an English soldier, Flight Lt. Boar. Of course Ollie came to her rescue but at what price? The officer brought charges against Ollie for hitting an officer. The woman, Susan Shepherd, was returning from a meeting of the National Pigeon Service, British Intelligence and the Royal Air Force where Flight Lt. Boar had escorted her. All present had discussed and agreed upon the formation of mission Source Columba where pigeons would be used to carry messages back and forth between England and France with the hope of discovering German war moves so they could defeat the Germans. Ollie was released from prison into the hands of Bertie, Susan's grandfather. Bertie had to promise that he would watch over Ollie and take responsibility for him. Ollie was going to help him and Susan on their pigeon farm in Epping. The only problem was that Ollie had no knowledge about pigeons. He could not tell a pigeon from a turkey but he would soon learn. When Susan's parents died from the Spanish flu when she was a young girl so her grandparents brought her up. Her grandmother died recently so now it was just Susan and her grandfather and the pigeons. There was one special pigeon on the farm. Her name was Duchess. Susan had nurtured her in a ceramic bowl as she grew and hatched. Duchess was more like a pet to Susan. They had a charming relationship. Duchess's feather were much more vibrant and bright compared to the other pigeons. Coming back from London, Susan and her grandfather had ninety days to get their pigeons trained and ready for mission Source Columba. As the story developed and Ollie and Susan worked side by side and got to know one another, they discover that each of them had developed feelings for each other. These feelings were real and beautiful.
The day finally came when the pigeons had to be delivered to the airport to be transported to France where they would be dropped in German occupied France. Ollie offered to help the soldiers get the pigeons to the airport and make sure they were loaded carefully on the plane. Just as Ollie and the soldiers were almost finished loading the pigeons there was a horrific bombing by German planes. There was chaos all over the airport. Ollie was told to get out of there but Ollie realized that Duchess was on the plane and she was not supposed to be. As the siren continued to wail, Ollie climbed into the tail of the plane to try and rescue Duchess. With much determination, Ollie finally found the cage that Duchess was in and reached for it. When he finally secured it, he realized that the plane had began to move and he could hear the sound of propellers. Not only was Ollie on the plane headed for France with Duchess and all the other pigeons but Flight Lt. Boar was flying it. They successfully dropped the pigeons over France but just as they were about to head home the plane was hit. Flight Lt. Boar and Ollie found refuge in a French village in occupied France. The two were truly horrified that the only way to survive would be to help each other. They hid out in a barn until a woman discovered them and hid them safely under the floorboards in her home. Duchess survived the crash as well and was instrumental in delivering coded messages back and forth between Susan and Ollie.
I really enjoyed reading The Long Flight Home by Alan Hlad. The fact that Britain used more than 200,000 war pigeons between 1939 and 1945 and that of those 16,000 were parachuted into German-occupied France, was fascinating to me. The research for this book was quite good. It was an emotional and beautiful story that was full of hope and love. I recommend this book.
June 24, 2020
Mi edición es papel, un regalo de cumpleaños de buena fe que confió en los engañosos reclamos de la faja del libro:
«Una novela fascinante» déjenme que lo dude
«Una aventura irrepetible» Esperemos que no....
Una gran historia de amor inspirada en hechos reales. PUES NO
La persona que escribió esa frase, ni ha leído tanta romántica como yo, ni tan siquiera los grandes clásicos, aunque no sea romántica.
Y me da rabia, porque es un regalo hecho con todo el cariño de una persona que sabe que leo romántica y, gracias a esos engaños, no acertó. Con la cantidad de buenas novelas románticas que hay
Pero bueno, dejando de lado la pataleta. sí, hay un hecho que el autor explica al final, el hecho de que usaran las palomas para intercambiar mensajes codificados en la segunda guerra mundial. Y sí, hay na pareja que aparece al principio y al final de la novela. Pero la novela no es su historia de amor, sino una serie de escenas que podemos haber visto en mil películas sobre la guerra.
No diré que la novela es mala, porque el estilo del autora es sencillo y de lectura amena (supongo que sobre todo a los que les gusten este tipo de historias) a mí me ha aburrido en más de un pasaje, en muchos. Una lectura lenta en la que apenas pasa nada y yo aquí esperando esa gran historia de amor....
Me hace preguntarme como una editorial como Espasa publica la primera novela de un escritor en tapa dura... pues no sé, pero sí que la he visto muy adaptable al cine, así que me hace cuestionarme si no será de esas novelas que antes de sacar película, sacan libro.
No me hagáis mucho caso porque no soy lectora de este tipo de libros, así que lo que a mí se me ha hecho aburrido y lento, pues quizás os encante a vosotros.
Pero es que tampoco es que sea el descubrimiento de lo que pasó en la guerra, apenas si has visto unas cuántas películas, puedes tener el argumento del libro.
Una lectura entretenida a la que le sobran muchísimas páginas
«Una novela fascinante» déjenme que lo dude
«Una aventura irrepetible» Esperemos que no....
Una gran historia de amor inspirada en hechos reales. PUES NO
La persona que escribió esa frase, ni ha leído tanta romántica como yo, ni tan siquiera los grandes clásicos, aunque no sea romántica.
Y me da rabia, porque es un regalo hecho con todo el cariño de una persona que sabe que leo romántica y, gracias a esos engaños, no acertó. Con la cantidad de buenas novelas románticas que hay
Pero bueno, dejando de lado la pataleta. sí, hay un hecho que el autor explica al final, el hecho de que usaran las palomas para intercambiar mensajes codificados en la segunda guerra mundial. Y sí, hay na pareja que aparece al principio y al final de la novela. Pero la novela no es su historia de amor, sino una serie de escenas que podemos haber visto en mil películas sobre la guerra.
No diré que la novela es mala, porque el estilo del autora es sencillo y de lectura amena (supongo que sobre todo a los que les gusten este tipo de historias) a mí me ha aburrido en más de un pasaje, en muchos. Una lectura lenta en la que apenas pasa nada y yo aquí esperando esa gran historia de amor....
Me hace preguntarme como una editorial como Espasa publica la primera novela de un escritor en tapa dura... pues no sé, pero sí que la he visto muy adaptable al cine, así que me hace cuestionarme si no será de esas novelas que antes de sacar película, sacan libro.
No me hagáis mucho caso porque no soy lectora de este tipo de libros, así que lo que a mí se me ha hecho aburrido y lento, pues quizás os encante a vosotros.
Pero es que tampoco es que sea el descubrimiento de lo que pasó en la guerra, apenas si has visto unas cuántas películas, puedes tener el argumento del libro.
Una lectura entretenida a la que le sobran muchísimas páginas
November 11, 2020
Mi-a placut mult, spre final cartea devine si mai buna, atat scriitura cat si povestea in sine. Ma asteptam la alt final si am ramas surprinsa sa vad ce intorsatura a luat totul, dar cumva mi-a placut mai mult ca a fost diferit. Nu stiam nimic despre porumbeii din operatiunea Columba, ce pasari minunate si inteligente si cum si-au riscat ele viata ca sa aduca mesaje din Franta ocupata catre Anglia mistuita de razboi... M-au impresionat mult de tot. Recomand, e o lectura minunata.
September 19, 2019
I won a copy in a Goodreads giveaway; this did not influence my review.
The first chapter of Hlad's WWII novel captured my attention - I immediately liked Susan and was fascinated to learn more about her family's racing pigeons and how they would be utilized for war efforts. The second chapter shifted to Ollie's point of view in Buxton, Maine, and this is where the book lost me. In full disclosure, I live in Maine and grew up in New England so I may be pickier than the average reader, but I quickly began finding anachronisms, inaccuracies, and unlikely events. I realize this is a work of fiction but the contrived details did nothing to move the story forward and completely distracted my attention from the narrative. It felt like Hlad googled some Maine colleges, likely sources of income, and locales on a map without any understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture. For example, Ollie's ex-girlfriend becomes distant after leaving for college at Bowdoin - Bowdoin is in fact in Maine, but the first woman didn't graduate from Bowdoin until more than 30 years later. I also know a bit about physical therapy and it is unlikely that a rural farmer (Ollie's father) would have had access to physical therapy services in the late '30s and early '40s. I also got the impression that Ollie's family lived humbly, yet Ollie plans to leave for Massachusetts to study aeronautical engineering - a trip that would have been very long at that period of time, for a degree that seems unlikely for a rural farmer of modest means. My grandparents came of age in the same period, and many students weren't able to finish high school, let alone attend an out of state college. Sadly, I felt too frustrated to finish the book - though clearly I'm in the minority as this book seems to be getting glowing reviews all around. I think I would have enjoyed the characters and the use of the racing pigeons, but I couldn't see the forest through the trees on this one.
The first chapter of Hlad's WWII novel captured my attention - I immediately liked Susan and was fascinated to learn more about her family's racing pigeons and how they would be utilized for war efforts. The second chapter shifted to Ollie's point of view in Buxton, Maine, and this is where the book lost me. In full disclosure, I live in Maine and grew up in New England so I may be pickier than the average reader, but I quickly began finding anachronisms, inaccuracies, and unlikely events. I realize this is a work of fiction but the contrived details did nothing to move the story forward and completely distracted my attention from the narrative. It felt like Hlad googled some Maine colleges, likely sources of income, and locales on a map without any understanding of how they fit into the bigger picture. For example, Ollie's ex-girlfriend becomes distant after leaving for college at Bowdoin - Bowdoin is in fact in Maine, but the first woman didn't graduate from Bowdoin until more than 30 years later. I also know a bit about physical therapy and it is unlikely that a rural farmer (Ollie's father) would have had access to physical therapy services in the late '30s and early '40s. I also got the impression that Ollie's family lived humbly, yet Ollie plans to leave for Massachusetts to study aeronautical engineering - a trip that would have been very long at that period of time, for a degree that seems unlikely for a rural farmer of modest means. My grandparents came of age in the same period, and many students weren't able to finish high school, let alone attend an out of state college. Sadly, I felt too frustrated to finish the book - though clearly I'm in the minority as this book seems to be getting glowing reviews all around. I think I would have enjoyed the characters and the use of the racing pigeons, but I couldn't see the forest through the trees on this one.
July 29, 2019
Oh lordy what a tear-jerker. This was such an outstanding, true to life story that it drew me in right from the start.
This book tells of the beautiful love story between Ollie and Susan its main characters, although they were fictional, their story felt very real. I love how the author was able to bring his readers into Susan’s beloved pigeons daily-life. I was invested 100% and in-tears rooting for them to return home safe, Duchess in particular. Adored her.
Some parts of the book are recreated with information from the author researching real events. 200,000 carrier pigeons were used by the Royal Air Force between 1939-1945 to carry encrypted messages into German-occupied France and Holland, and then back to Britain. Through Susan’s eyes the author meticulously describes the Blitz with the German bombers heading to and fro over London dropping bombs, putting you in the scene as a terrified onlooker. This is a very informative, powerful written book that will have you grabbing the Kleenex. I highly recommend it!!!!
This book tells of the beautiful love story between Ollie and Susan its main characters, although they were fictional, their story felt very real. I love how the author was able to bring his readers into Susan’s beloved pigeons daily-life. I was invested 100% and in-tears rooting for them to return home safe, Duchess in particular. Adored her.
Some parts of the book are recreated with information from the author researching real events. 200,000 carrier pigeons were used by the Royal Air Force between 1939-1945 to carry encrypted messages into German-occupied France and Holland, and then back to Britain. Through Susan’s eyes the author meticulously describes the Blitz with the German bombers heading to and fro over London dropping bombs, putting you in the scene as a terrified onlooker. This is a very informative, powerful written book that will have you grabbing the Kleenex. I highly recommend it!!!!
April 20, 2021
"Um longo caminho para casa" é um romance histórico de Alan Hlad (o seu livro de estreia) que nos transporta para a Inglaterra na altura do Blitz, com os ataques sucessivos da Luftwaffe sobre a capital de Londres. Apesar de ter a Segunda Guerra Mundial como fundo, este não é um livro demasiado pesado ou gráfico. Alan Hlad soube trazer-nos um livro com uma narrativa fluída, de linguagem e escrita cativantes mas sem nos fazer mergulhar nos horrores mais dramáticos desta época. Mesmo a descrição dos sucessivos ataques aéreos que ocorreram no Blitz e de incluir na história alguns acontecimentos verídicos, Hlad soube, através da sua liberdade criativa (como ele próprio refere na sua nota final ao livro), introduzir momentos mais negros envoltos num olhar menos duro sem retirar a importância dos acontecimentos históricos. Por exemplo, na pág. 51, vemos isso na descrição do ataque ao porto de Liverpool: "Embora o porto de Liverpool tenha sofrido fortes bombardeamentos, a maioria das áreas residenciais da cidade tinha sido poupada. Esse não era o caso de Londres. Uma névoa cinzenta pairava sobre a grande cidade. Ollie colocou a cabeça fora da janela para ver melhor. O vento soprou sobre o seu rosto, enchendo-lhe as narinas com o cheiro de fumo. E, quando o comboio chegou aos limites da cidade, viu fábricas destruídas edifícios queimados, uma igreja com a torre derrubada e blocos do que costumavam ser casas geminadas reduzidas a escombros fumegantes. Parecia que Londres estava a ser cremada, aos poucos".
Quem estiver com receio de ler este livro por poder ir encontrar uma história carregadas de momentos de romance, pode estar à vontade e mergulhar na leitura deste livro sem receios. Não temos aqui um livro demasiado romanceado. Temos antes um livro que presta uma mais que merecida homenagem a todos os que serviram no Serviço Nacional de Pombos e ajudaram, através da Operação Columba e de tantas outras actividades, a transportar mensagens entre os dois lados do Canal da Mancha e contribuindo para que a guerra caminhasse para o seu fim com a vitória dos Aliados. E isso ficou bastante marcado pela intervenção de Churchill na reunião que antecedeu o início de toda a operação: "Recomendo que reservemos algum tempo para ouvir o senhor Wallace e os membros do Serviço Nacional de Pombos. A sua perceção pode ser extremamente valiosa para o êxito da nossa missão. A inteligência, o espírito e a coragem britânica é o que nos levarão à vitória" (pág. 64). Duquesa, a pomba de estimação de Susan, é a personagem maior entre os milhares de pombos que foram libertados no decorrer da Segunda Guerra Mundial e a forma como se desenrola e termina a sua história no livro é inspirada em factos verídicos (que não vou descrever aqui para não haver spoilers mas que podem ficar a conhecer em maior detalhe na nota do autor no final do livro). E, ao mesmo tempo, acho que este livro é uma clara homenagem às relações familiares, personificadas tanto na relação de Susan com o seu avô Bertie mas também na forma como Ollie sempre descreveu os seus pais e tudo o que o motivou a querer juntar-se à Royal Air Force e combater nos céus da Europa, num espaço e numa guerra que, à primeira vista estava muito longe de ser a sua. "O estômago ácido de Ollie transformou-se numa raiva efervescente. As histórias contadas nos jornais não conseguiam descrever a intensidade do que estava a acontecer. Era uma guerra. Pessoas morriam. E os Estados Unidos não estavam a fazer nada, excepto declarar neutralidade quando bombas caíam sobre Londres. À medida que também no campo ecoavam explosões, Ollie percebeu que mais homens, mulheres e crianças não veriam o próximo nascer do Sol. Silenciosamente, prometeu voltar a voar. Não importava a que custo, encontraria uma maneira de livrar os céus dos nazis" (pág. 83).
Fiquei rendida à escrita deste livro desde as primeiras páginas. Esta é uma leitura que se faz de uma forma fluída e fácil, não afastando os leitores das suas quase páginas. E as críticas a nível internacional mostram exactamente isso!
Toda a história gira entre quatro personagens essenciais: Susan e o seu avô Bertie, Ollie ou Oliver do Main e o Capitão Boar da RAF, por quem fui adquirindo um especial "carinho" ao longo de toda a narrativa (quem não teve vontade de lhe bater quando rejeitou de forma tão rude e ofensiva a comida que Madeleine lhe preparava e que significa a diferença entre ele sobreviver e morrer?! Mas depois conseguimos perceber que o ódio por Ollie de Boar ia muito mais além de meros ciúmes, como se descobre na pág. 270). Gostei também bastante da forma como o autor foi introduzindo algumas informações históricas que nos ajudam a compreender a dimensão da realidade em que se inspirou para escrever este livro. Por exemplo, ajuda-nos a compreender a utilização de pombos como mensageiros e a sua utilização que ocorre desde os egípcios (como se descreve na pág. 94). Os pombos são personagens principais deste livro, mesmo que vistas através dos olhares de Bertie, Susan e Ollie, e que vemos descritos de forma profundamente carinhosa e valorizadora na pág. 112. E, claro, impossível refletir sobre a forma como os direitos dos animais eram encarados à época e que, podemos ver, na parte em que os soldados britânicos descrevem a Susan que os pombos vão passar a ser transportados em apertados tubos, em vez de gaiolas como na primeira largada (ver pág. 236). Gostei também da forma como fala de um exército fantasma britânico em Clacton-on-Sea, o local escolhido para a largada de pombos em direção à França ocupada, e que só pode ter tido como inspiração o exército fantasma americano que teve várias utilizações em torno da operação Overlord (o desembarque na Normandia no Dia D), e que vemos descrito nas pág, 230 a 232. Também a referência ao episódio de Dunquerque e aos milhares de soldsos britânicos que foram sacrificados em Calais nessa altura - cordeiros de sacrífico como lhes chamou Bertie, episódio que podemos ver descrito nas páginas 229 e 230: "No total, mais de 300000 soldados fugiram do porto de Dunquerque numa confusão de embarcações militares e frágeis barcos de pesca. Foi o milagre de Dunquerque". E, claro, ler um livro passado na Segunda Guerra Mundial é também ler sobre as capacidades militares de Aliados e Nazis e aprendemos um pouco mais sobre as aeronaves utilizadas pela RAF (Spitfire e Blenheim, as aeronaves que transportaram os pombos para França) e pela Luftwaffe (Messerschmidt). Todo o voo sobre o Canal da Mancha a bordo do Blenheim, fez-me recordar o filme de animação da Disney, Valiant, que retrata exactamente a história dos pombos utilizados pelos britânicos durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial e que pode ser um complemento engraçado à leitura deste livro. Também mais à frente, na pág. 274, quando se descreve a largada de falcões para apanhar os pombos, facilmente recordei cenas similares de Valiant. Também pude ser facilmente transportada para o género de escrita de Imogen Kealy, no livro "Libertação" sobre a Nancy Wake, na descrição os alemães a descerem a encosta enquanto Ollie e Boar se escondiam ("Os travões do veículo rangeram. Ouviram-se vozes guturais e o estalo metálico de cartuchos enfiados em armas. Por entre a palha, percebeu que havia movimento. Pareciam tartarugas cinzentas no topo da colina. Primeiro, uma tartaruga. Em seguida, outra tartaruga. E outra. Em segundos, um pelotão de soldados alemães, usando capacetes em forma de concha, estava na colina", pág. 177). Também voltei a ver um pouco mais desse livro na descrição do passeio noturno de Ollie, para encontrar o local onde o Blenheim se tinha despenhado, com o seu tornozelo ferido (pág. 240), e que me fez recordar a viagem de bicicleta de Nancy, igualmente ferida mas tudo em nome do mesmo: não deixar os nazis levar a melhor.
E os voos bidireccionais de Duquesa a transportar mensagens ente Susan e Ollie? O que dizer a este espírito de sacrifício que sabemos que muitos animais conseguem ter em determinados momentos das suas vidas, fazendo de tudo pelos seus donos? Posso dizer que este voos me foram deixando o coração apertado e que foi sendo difícil de imaginar tudo a acontecer... "Ollie fingiu entender om que eram trufas acenando com a cabeça. Depois saiu com a Duquesa enfiada debaixo do braço. O tenente ficaria fulo, talvez até tentasse atirar nele se se apercebesse. Mas ele não se importava. Só queria devolver o pombo a Susan. E, a cada momento perdido, sentia que a oportunidade se esvaía" (pág. 192). "Susan caiu de joelhos. Os seus músculos ficaram fracos. Impotente, observou a Duquesa a voar em direção ao canal da Mancha, até que desapareceu de vista" (pág. 208). E, claro, ver Susan aperceber-se que, em breve, estaria sozinha, também me deixou de coração apertado: "Entre tosse, fungadelas e o cheiro abafado de eucalipto, Susan ouviu uma versão muito resumida da história. Já a tinha ouvido talvez uma centena de vezes, mas desta vez era diferente. As palavras dele eram preciosas, pois percebeu que as vezes que ouviria as suas belas histórias estavam contadas" (pág. 304).
Admirável também a forma de homenagear os elementos da Resistência Francesa com as personagens de Madeleine (que acolheu Ollie e Boar em sua casa), do médico que os ajudou a recuperar e de Lucien, o monge desfigurado que teria um papel essencial no final desta narrativa.
Gostei mesmo muito de ler este livro. Acho que é um livro especial, que nos parte um pouco o coração mas que por ser tão focado na essência da relação entre as pessoas, nos mostra, que mesmo no meio dos acontecimentos mais duros e dramáticos, pode haver luz. Leiam este livro que, tenho a certeza, não vão dar por desperdiçado o tempo dedicado à sua leitura!
Uma leitura conjunta que fiz para o projecto "Ler é respeitar a história".
Quem estiver com receio de ler este livro por poder ir encontrar uma história carregadas de momentos de romance, pode estar à vontade e mergulhar na leitura deste livro sem receios. Não temos aqui um livro demasiado romanceado. Temos antes um livro que presta uma mais que merecida homenagem a todos os que serviram no Serviço Nacional de Pombos e ajudaram, através da Operação Columba e de tantas outras actividades, a transportar mensagens entre os dois lados do Canal da Mancha e contribuindo para que a guerra caminhasse para o seu fim com a vitória dos Aliados. E isso ficou bastante marcado pela intervenção de Churchill na reunião que antecedeu o início de toda a operação: "Recomendo que reservemos algum tempo para ouvir o senhor Wallace e os membros do Serviço Nacional de Pombos. A sua perceção pode ser extremamente valiosa para o êxito da nossa missão. A inteligência, o espírito e a coragem britânica é o que nos levarão à vitória" (pág. 64). Duquesa, a pomba de estimação de Susan, é a personagem maior entre os milhares de pombos que foram libertados no decorrer da Segunda Guerra Mundial e a forma como se desenrola e termina a sua história no livro é inspirada em factos verídicos (que não vou descrever aqui para não haver spoilers mas que podem ficar a conhecer em maior detalhe na nota do autor no final do livro). E, ao mesmo tempo, acho que este livro é uma clara homenagem às relações familiares, personificadas tanto na relação de Susan com o seu avô Bertie mas também na forma como Ollie sempre descreveu os seus pais e tudo o que o motivou a querer juntar-se à Royal Air Force e combater nos céus da Europa, num espaço e numa guerra que, à primeira vista estava muito longe de ser a sua. "O estômago ácido de Ollie transformou-se numa raiva efervescente. As histórias contadas nos jornais não conseguiam descrever a intensidade do que estava a acontecer. Era uma guerra. Pessoas morriam. E os Estados Unidos não estavam a fazer nada, excepto declarar neutralidade quando bombas caíam sobre Londres. À medida que também no campo ecoavam explosões, Ollie percebeu que mais homens, mulheres e crianças não veriam o próximo nascer do Sol. Silenciosamente, prometeu voltar a voar. Não importava a que custo, encontraria uma maneira de livrar os céus dos nazis" (pág. 83).
Fiquei rendida à escrita deste livro desde as primeiras páginas. Esta é uma leitura que se faz de uma forma fluída e fácil, não afastando os leitores das suas quase páginas. E as críticas a nível internacional mostram exactamente isso!
Toda a história gira entre quatro personagens essenciais: Susan e o seu avô Bertie, Ollie ou Oliver do Main e o Capitão Boar da RAF, por quem fui adquirindo um especial "carinho" ao longo de toda a narrativa (quem não teve vontade de lhe bater quando rejeitou de forma tão rude e ofensiva a comida que Madeleine lhe preparava e que significa a diferença entre ele sobreviver e morrer?! Mas depois conseguimos perceber que o ódio por Ollie de Boar ia muito mais além de meros ciúmes, como se descobre na pág. 270). Gostei também bastante da forma como o autor foi introduzindo algumas informações históricas que nos ajudam a compreender a dimensão da realidade em que se inspirou para escrever este livro. Por exemplo, ajuda-nos a compreender a utilização de pombos como mensageiros e a sua utilização que ocorre desde os egípcios (como se descreve na pág. 94). Os pombos são personagens principais deste livro, mesmo que vistas através dos olhares de Bertie, Susan e Ollie, e que vemos descritos de forma profundamente carinhosa e valorizadora na pág. 112. E, claro, impossível refletir sobre a forma como os direitos dos animais eram encarados à época e que, podemos ver, na parte em que os soldados britânicos descrevem a Susan que os pombos vão passar a ser transportados em apertados tubos, em vez de gaiolas como na primeira largada (ver pág. 236). Gostei também da forma como fala de um exército fantasma britânico em Clacton-on-Sea, o local escolhido para a largada de pombos em direção à França ocupada, e que só pode ter tido como inspiração o exército fantasma americano que teve várias utilizações em torno da operação Overlord (o desembarque na Normandia no Dia D), e que vemos descrito nas pág, 230 a 232. Também a referência ao episódio de Dunquerque e aos milhares de soldsos britânicos que foram sacrificados em Calais nessa altura - cordeiros de sacrífico como lhes chamou Bertie, episódio que podemos ver descrito nas páginas 229 e 230: "No total, mais de 300000 soldados fugiram do porto de Dunquerque numa confusão de embarcações militares e frágeis barcos de pesca. Foi o milagre de Dunquerque". E, claro, ler um livro passado na Segunda Guerra Mundial é também ler sobre as capacidades militares de Aliados e Nazis e aprendemos um pouco mais sobre as aeronaves utilizadas pela RAF (Spitfire e Blenheim, as aeronaves que transportaram os pombos para França) e pela Luftwaffe (Messerschmidt). Todo o voo sobre o Canal da Mancha a bordo do Blenheim, fez-me recordar o filme de animação da Disney, Valiant, que retrata exactamente a história dos pombos utilizados pelos britânicos durante a Segunda Guerra Mundial e que pode ser um complemento engraçado à leitura deste livro. Também mais à frente, na pág. 274, quando se descreve a largada de falcões para apanhar os pombos, facilmente recordei cenas similares de Valiant. Também pude ser facilmente transportada para o género de escrita de Imogen Kealy, no livro "Libertação" sobre a Nancy Wake, na descrição os alemães a descerem a encosta enquanto Ollie e Boar se escondiam ("Os travões do veículo rangeram. Ouviram-se vozes guturais e o estalo metálico de cartuchos enfiados em armas. Por entre a palha, percebeu que havia movimento. Pareciam tartarugas cinzentas no topo da colina. Primeiro, uma tartaruga. Em seguida, outra tartaruga. E outra. Em segundos, um pelotão de soldados alemães, usando capacetes em forma de concha, estava na colina", pág. 177). Também voltei a ver um pouco mais desse livro na descrição do passeio noturno de Ollie, para encontrar o local onde o Blenheim se tinha despenhado, com o seu tornozelo ferido (pág. 240), e que me fez recordar a viagem de bicicleta de Nancy, igualmente ferida mas tudo em nome do mesmo: não deixar os nazis levar a melhor.
E os voos bidireccionais de Duquesa a transportar mensagens ente Susan e Ollie? O que dizer a este espírito de sacrifício que sabemos que muitos animais conseguem ter em determinados momentos das suas vidas, fazendo de tudo pelos seus donos? Posso dizer que este voos me foram deixando o coração apertado e que foi sendo difícil de imaginar tudo a acontecer... "Ollie fingiu entender om que eram trufas acenando com a cabeça. Depois saiu com a Duquesa enfiada debaixo do braço. O tenente ficaria fulo, talvez até tentasse atirar nele se se apercebesse. Mas ele não se importava. Só queria devolver o pombo a Susan. E, a cada momento perdido, sentia que a oportunidade se esvaía" (pág. 192). "Susan caiu de joelhos. Os seus músculos ficaram fracos. Impotente, observou a Duquesa a voar em direção ao canal da Mancha, até que desapareceu de vista" (pág. 208). E, claro, ver Susan aperceber-se que, em breve, estaria sozinha, também me deixou de coração apertado: "Entre tosse, fungadelas e o cheiro abafado de eucalipto, Susan ouviu uma versão muito resumida da história. Já a tinha ouvido talvez uma centena de vezes, mas desta vez era diferente. As palavras dele eram preciosas, pois percebeu que as vezes que ouviria as suas belas histórias estavam contadas" (pág. 304).
Admirável também a forma de homenagear os elementos da Resistência Francesa com as personagens de Madeleine (que acolheu Ollie e Boar em sua casa), do médico que os ajudou a recuperar e de Lucien, o monge desfigurado que teria um papel essencial no final desta narrativa.
Gostei mesmo muito de ler este livro. Acho que é um livro especial, que nos parte um pouco o coração mas que por ser tão focado na essência da relação entre as pessoas, nos mostra, que mesmo no meio dos acontecimentos mais duros e dramáticos, pode haver luz. Leiam este livro que, tenho a certeza, não vão dar por desperdiçado o tempo dedicado à sua leitura!
Uma leitura conjunta que fiz para o projecto "Ler é respeitar a história".
January 11, 2019
***NOVEL THOUGHTS***
+++thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Books for the giveaway in exchange for an honest review+++
More and more stories about the activities of the Allies of WWII keep coming to the surface. Whether it was a hidden fact or just one that wasn't spoken of much in these current times, learning about the vast corps of homing pigeons that were in service out of England was quite interesting. These birds were dropped into occupied territory with hopes of finding their way into the hands of the Resistance as an unsuspecting way to learn about German military movements. I appreciate the author's use of this event as the backdrop to his story about Susan and her grandfather Bertie's farm in Epping, England and what the real National Pigeon Service members did to help in defeating the Nazis. Alan Hlad developed his premise after reading about a pigeon whose remains were discovered in a chimney in Surrey England whose leg had a little canister attached. The message inside has yet to be uncoded. He also timed the start of the book with the jarring bombings of the London Blitz during the fall of the 1940 to May 1941. In his afterward, he explains how he wanted to include some of the real events that occurred during that bombing, buildings that were destroyed and how lives of the Londoners were also lost. His character Ollie from Buxton, Maine, comes to Europe before the United States enters WWII and the author tells us that there were more than 200 volunteers from the states who came to the aid of England, many of whom helped the RAF fly against the Luftwaffe.
Susan and Ollie meet by accident on a train in London when Ollie defends Susan against the unwanted attentions by Flight Lt. Boar (the name is so apropos!). Boar brings Ollie up on charges for hitting an officer but some intervention of Susan's grandfather Bertie and his connections with some of the top brass, Ollie is sent to work on Susan's farm helping care for the pigeons which will be put into service for the military. This doesn't sit well with Boar who throughout the book is a burr in Ollie's side. Susan has been raised by her grandparents after her own parents died in her young life from the Spanish flu epidemic and her relationship with her widowed grandpa is very sweet. Aside from the regular pigeons they raise at their farm, Susan also has a pet pigeon named Duchess who seems have adapted more human qualities. She plays an important role in the story after she accidentally gets placed for service with the other homing pigeons. In an attempt to rescue Duchess from this mistake, Ollie himself is accidentally carried in the plane that will drop these birds into French territory. Ironically, it is Boar who is piloting the plane and this doesn't sit well with him. But their plane is not safe in the skies over France and it never makes it home. Instead, they find themselves living for a time in an occupied French village, hidden under floorboards by a French woman hoping that sometime soon her husband will return from resistance activities. Eventually, they leave her home and together with a monk as their guide, they try to make it to the Pyrenees to escape into Spain. Meantime, Susan pines for Ollie. They have felt attraction right from the start. She is not sure she will ever see Ollie from Maine again.
There was so much more this book could have been. For the time period, it could have been more gripping and gritty. The characters could have been more interesting, more developed and sophisticated. Instead they are one dimensional and predictable. There is so much redundancy; Ollie’s ankle pain, Bertie’s knees, stroking the pigeons, Madeline’s pig. The action is predictable and needs to be tighter. The dialog lacks excitement. Hlad wanted to try and be as authentic as possible but don't think this author did much in the way or research of British slang because his constant use of "bloody hell" was so overdone. I just didn’t feel like I was in the countryside of England; there are more British words than "loo" and "lorry." I am not sure why Hlad constantly repeated the nursery rhyme related to Spanish flu. It seemed out of place. It was meant to refer to the loss of her parents, but it didn’t seem needed to the story. I also had a problem with the attitude of the soldiers that were camped out at the Ebbing farm. I think they were misrepresented. Afterall, the British were galvanized for the same reason.... to keep the Nazis from their shores and to beat them back and win the war. For them to be so confrontational with Susan was ridiculous and unpatriotic. It was almost like they were not on the same side. For them to have been portrayed as unwilling to help this family was absurd and unrealistic!
+++thanks to Goodreads and Kensington Books for the giveaway in exchange for an honest review+++
More and more stories about the activities of the Allies of WWII keep coming to the surface. Whether it was a hidden fact or just one that wasn't spoken of much in these current times, learning about the vast corps of homing pigeons that were in service out of England was quite interesting. These birds were dropped into occupied territory with hopes of finding their way into the hands of the Resistance as an unsuspecting way to learn about German military movements. I appreciate the author's use of this event as the backdrop to his story about Susan and her grandfather Bertie's farm in Epping, England and what the real National Pigeon Service members did to help in defeating the Nazis. Alan Hlad developed his premise after reading about a pigeon whose remains were discovered in a chimney in Surrey England whose leg had a little canister attached. The message inside has yet to be uncoded. He also timed the start of the book with the jarring bombings of the London Blitz during the fall of the 1940 to May 1941. In his afterward, he explains how he wanted to include some of the real events that occurred during that bombing, buildings that were destroyed and how lives of the Londoners were also lost. His character Ollie from Buxton, Maine, comes to Europe before the United States enters WWII and the author tells us that there were more than 200 volunteers from the states who came to the aid of England, many of whom helped the RAF fly against the Luftwaffe.
Susan and Ollie meet by accident on a train in London when Ollie defends Susan against the unwanted attentions by Flight Lt. Boar (the name is so apropos!). Boar brings Ollie up on charges for hitting an officer but some intervention of Susan's grandfather Bertie and his connections with some of the top brass, Ollie is sent to work on Susan's farm helping care for the pigeons which will be put into service for the military. This doesn't sit well with Boar who throughout the book is a burr in Ollie's side. Susan has been raised by her grandparents after her own parents died in her young life from the Spanish flu epidemic and her relationship with her widowed grandpa is very sweet. Aside from the regular pigeons they raise at their farm, Susan also has a pet pigeon named Duchess who seems have adapted more human qualities. She plays an important role in the story after she accidentally gets placed for service with the other homing pigeons. In an attempt to rescue Duchess from this mistake, Ollie himself is accidentally carried in the plane that will drop these birds into French territory. Ironically, it is Boar who is piloting the plane and this doesn't sit well with him. But their plane is not safe in the skies over France and it never makes it home. Instead, they find themselves living for a time in an occupied French village, hidden under floorboards by a French woman hoping that sometime soon her husband will return from resistance activities. Eventually, they leave her home and together with a monk as their guide, they try to make it to the Pyrenees to escape into Spain. Meantime, Susan pines for Ollie. They have felt attraction right from the start. She is not sure she will ever see Ollie from Maine again.
There was so much more this book could have been. For the time period, it could have been more gripping and gritty. The characters could have been more interesting, more developed and sophisticated. Instead they are one dimensional and predictable. There is so much redundancy; Ollie’s ankle pain, Bertie’s knees, stroking the pigeons, Madeline’s pig. The action is predictable and needs to be tighter. The dialog lacks excitement. Hlad wanted to try and be as authentic as possible but don't think this author did much in the way or research of British slang because his constant use of "bloody hell" was so overdone. I just didn’t feel like I was in the countryside of England; there are more British words than "loo" and "lorry." I am not sure why Hlad constantly repeated the nursery rhyme related to Spanish flu. It seemed out of place. It was meant to refer to the loss of her parents, but it didn’t seem needed to the story. I also had a problem with the attitude of the soldiers that were camped out at the Ebbing farm. I think they were misrepresented. Afterall, the British were galvanized for the same reason.... to keep the Nazis from their shores and to beat them back and win the war. For them to be so confrontational with Susan was ridiculous and unpatriotic. It was almost like they were not on the same side. For them to have been portrayed as unwilling to help this family was absurd and unrealistic!
February 22, 2021
Me encanta leer libros sobre temática histórica y mas si son basados en la Segunda Guerra Mundial, pero no soy muy de historias románticas, pero cuando vi esta novela, y que no sabia nada sobre el tema del que trata, me decidí a leerlo sin ninguna duda.
La historia se basa en el año 1940, justo en el comienzo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en Gran Bretaña, nuestros protagonistas, Susan y su abuelo Bertie vivirán encerrados en su casa para evitar los bombardeos de los aviones enemigos.
Susan pasa los días criando y entrenando a palomas mensajeras, pero hay una especial, que la tratará como mascota, Duquesa, y que demostrará que nunca tienes que perder la esperanza ante las cosas.
Por otro lado, en EEUU, tendremos a Ollie, un piloto que tras la muerte de sus padres decide unirse a la Fuerza Aérea Británica, donde Susan esta involucrada en una misión encubierta con sus palomas.
Nuestro autor consigue construir una historia de ficción basada en un hecho real, donde sufriremos con nuestros protagonistas y sobretodo con las palomas mensajeras… una novela en la que mezcla amor, tensión, esperenza, amistad, lealtad…
Me ha sorprendido, ya que es la primera novela del autor, lo bien que esta docuementado, la ambientación es fantástica ya que te adentras por todos los países de los que se va hablando y mostrando en la historia. Ha sido una lectura bastante adictiva, cada capitulo que pasa quieres saber más y más.
Y si tengo que decir algo de los personajes, me ha encantado la fuerza y valentía de Susan, y como lucha por algo muy complicado, pero mi personaje ha sido su abuelo, un señor que cuidara de su nieta, que luchara por su país, y que aun estando enfermo demostrara su valentía, lo tierno que es con su nieta y el cariño que le coge a Ollie.
Recomiendo mucho esta historia si te gusta la época, te mantiene enganchada y en tensión en todas sus paginas.
La historia se basa en el año 1940, justo en el comienzo de la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en Gran Bretaña, nuestros protagonistas, Susan y su abuelo Bertie vivirán encerrados en su casa para evitar los bombardeos de los aviones enemigos.
Susan pasa los días criando y entrenando a palomas mensajeras, pero hay una especial, que la tratará como mascota, Duquesa, y que demostrará que nunca tienes que perder la esperanza ante las cosas.
Por otro lado, en EEUU, tendremos a Ollie, un piloto que tras la muerte de sus padres decide unirse a la Fuerza Aérea Británica, donde Susan esta involucrada en una misión encubierta con sus palomas.
Nuestro autor consigue construir una historia de ficción basada en un hecho real, donde sufriremos con nuestros protagonistas y sobretodo con las palomas mensajeras… una novela en la que mezcla amor, tensión, esperenza, amistad, lealtad…
Me ha sorprendido, ya que es la primera novela del autor, lo bien que esta docuementado, la ambientación es fantástica ya que te adentras por todos los países de los que se va hablando y mostrando en la historia. Ha sido una lectura bastante adictiva, cada capitulo que pasa quieres saber más y más.
Y si tengo que decir algo de los personajes, me ha encantado la fuerza y valentía de Susan, y como lucha por algo muy complicado, pero mi personaje ha sido su abuelo, un señor que cuidara de su nieta, que luchara por su país, y que aun estando enfermo demostrara su valentía, lo tierno que es con su nieta y el cariño que le coge a Ollie.
Recomiendo mucho esta historia si te gusta la época, te mantiene enganchada y en tensión en todas sus paginas.
December 13, 2020
O poveste din cel de-al doilea razboi mondial care putea fi extraordinara ... A avut totul, dar stilul in care a fost scrisa a coborat-o mult . Chiar si asa, reuseste sa iti atinga sufletul si sa te faca sa te mai gandesti o data la felurile de rau pe care razboiul le-a adus .
June 23, 2019
The Long Flight Home is primarily set in Eppings, England 1940 at the beginning of what has come to be known as The Blitz, where the Luftwaffe bombed London for almost 60 straight days. Eppings, England holds the farm home of Susan Shepherd and her grandfather Bertie who are both volunteers in the National Pigeon Service where they raise homing pigeons, or in this case – war pigeons. Shortly after the story starts ‘Ollie from Maine’, through a set of circumstances, begins helping them on the farm. He and Susan develop feelings for each other, but shortly after are separated when the first pigeon mission begins.
When I first heard about the book, I will admit my assumption was that it would be more geared toward the detailed inner workings of the National Pigeon Service as well as how it was run and setup during this time frame, what the messages contained that were carried back by the pigeons when they went to France, what was acted upon based on the messages, and so forth. Something a bit real and gritty. However, the book is primarily more focused on the relationships between Susan, Ollie, Bertie and Boar (the antagonist) during this time of war.
In the book, we learn information on these types of pigeons such as one-way and two-way communication and hear the harrowing tale of Cher Ami, who is probably the most famous homing pigeon known and can be seen, I believe, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. I always enjoy books such as these that bring out a new part of history that you may not have known about or at least aren’t as well-versed in.
So although it wasn’t quite the book I had originally expected, once I adjusted to a different style of book I found it enjoyable and endearing. The characters were easy to like, except for Boar, who is a jerk throughout the entire book. It was a pleasant, easy read that shines a new spotlight on a little known part of WWII and even WWI.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review.
When I first heard about the book, I will admit my assumption was that it would be more geared toward the detailed inner workings of the National Pigeon Service as well as how it was run and setup during this time frame, what the messages contained that were carried back by the pigeons when they went to France, what was acted upon based on the messages, and so forth. Something a bit real and gritty. However, the book is primarily more focused on the relationships between Susan, Ollie, Bertie and Boar (the antagonist) during this time of war.
In the book, we learn information on these types of pigeons such as one-way and two-way communication and hear the harrowing tale of Cher Ami, who is probably the most famous homing pigeon known and can be seen, I believe, at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. I always enjoy books such as these that bring out a new part of history that you may not have known about or at least aren’t as well-versed in.
So although it wasn’t quite the book I had originally expected, once I adjusted to a different style of book I found it enjoyable and endearing. The characters were easy to like, except for Boar, who is a jerk throughout the entire book. It was a pleasant, easy read that shines a new spotlight on a little known part of WWII and even WWI.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Kensington Books for this advanced copy and the opportunity to provide my honest review.
June 13, 2019
WOW, OH WOW!!! No way can I do justice with a review that could come close to depicting how wonderful, beautiful, even informational and golly darn, just plain how AWESOME this book is. By far the best book I have read in 2019 and it will be going into my all-time favorite books ever list. I expect this to be a best seller. It is one of the most astonishing WWII books, bringing to the spotlight a subject that has not even been mentioned before in the hundreds of WWII books I’ve read.
I fell in love with Susan at hello, adored Bertie, and then Oliver from Maine, how can you not fall in love with that guy!! And the story is not complete if I left out little Ms. Duchess. This story has it all, the writing is spectacular, the storyline is excellent, the research was spot on and the dynamics of these three main characters was an absolute joy to watch and listen to.
What do you love about pigeons? Everything, says Susan. Oh, that entire conversation between Ollie and Susan cannot be described, it has to be felt. This author writes so well, he makes you feel as if you are right there in the thick of things, climbing bird cages in the back of a plane, rising from a bombed-out home and pulling debris to get to a loved one or living in a bomb shelter.
Of course, all the way through the book, you know how you want it to end, but I have to say, this is one of the first books I’ve ever read that it didn’t quite go as I had wished, but it ended as it should be. I had to really think about that, but yes, it ended as it should. I highly recommend this book, if you enjoy historical fiction and especially a WWII book like none-other. Pick this one up. Giving the highest 5*****’s I can give!!
Comes in with a whooping HIGH 5*****’s. I thank Kensington Books and Net Galley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book for my honest review.
I fell in love with Susan at hello, adored Bertie, and then Oliver from Maine, how can you not fall in love with that guy!! And the story is not complete if I left out little Ms. Duchess. This story has it all, the writing is spectacular, the storyline is excellent, the research was spot on and the dynamics of these three main characters was an absolute joy to watch and listen to.
What do you love about pigeons? Everything, says Susan. Oh, that entire conversation between Ollie and Susan cannot be described, it has to be felt. This author writes so well, he makes you feel as if you are right there in the thick of things, climbing bird cages in the back of a plane, rising from a bombed-out home and pulling debris to get to a loved one or living in a bomb shelter.
Of course, all the way through the book, you know how you want it to end, but I have to say, this is one of the first books I’ve ever read that it didn’t quite go as I had wished, but it ended as it should be. I had to really think about that, but yes, it ended as it should. I highly recommend this book, if you enjoy historical fiction and especially a WWII book like none-other. Pick this one up. Giving the highest 5*****’s I can give!!
Comes in with a whooping HIGH 5*****’s. I thank Kensington Books and Net Galley for allowing me the privilege of reading this book for my honest review.
April 13, 2020
Me ha gustado que de un hecho real el autor haya creado esta historia que es muy trágica, pero esperanzadora.
Sufrí mucho, pero fui feliz!
Reseña completa: https://megarybookss.blogspot.com/202...
Sufrí mucho, pero fui feliz!
Reseña completa: https://megarybookss.blogspot.com/202...
August 23, 2019
There are so many novels being written about WW2, some are just okay, ( "read something like it before"), but then there are the others. The Long Flight Home is one of the others, it's a debut novel. The author, Alan Hlad, takes the reader on a journey with a little known fact. There was a "covert assignment Codenamed Source Columba" during WW2 which deployed pigeons across enemy lines. "A homing pigeon can travel distances of up to six hundred miles per day, fly at speeds of seventy miles per hour, and reach altitudes as high as thirty-five thousand feet. At that height, the temperature would be thirty-five degrees below zero, and a pilot would need a heated suit and oxygen." Around this one fact, the novel follows the fictional story of Ollie and Susan. I was completely invested in their story till the very end.
On a side note --- fell in love with Louis the truffle hog!!
On a side note --- fell in love with Louis the truffle hog!!
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