Pied Piper (Vintage International)

As I age, my eyesight is failing. With every great book, I wonder if it will be my last. Nevil Shute is my favorite author so I decided to read his books that I have not yet read while I still can! Pied Piper is unique in that it is so much about children. But don’t let that discourage you from reading it! It’s a great story that gets quite complicated near the end. I had been confident of a happy ending until about the last 50 pages — suddenly I was not so sure that Howard with his band of refugees would all land safely in England. Pick up this book and enjoy it! I sure did!

I first read 'The Pied Piper' in 1950. I have read it and re-read it and recommended it to many people over the years. I first read 'The Pied Piper" in 1950 followed by reading and re-reading all Shute's books one by one over the years. I do not think anyone was ever truly disappointed in any of them. They are the kind of books you just cannot put down. this is a fact with most of Nevile Shute's books once you get into the story. Long before this book, there was a real life ' Pied Piper' a Nicholas Winton who brought 669 children out of Nazi Europe in 2's and 3's to safety. There is a Statue of him on Prague Railway Station. Maybe Shute based his character on this man. - whatever - it is a fascinating story of courage and determination. There was a real Pied Piper - a Nicholas Winton who brought 669 children in small groups across Europe to safety. His statue stands at Prague Railway Station in his honor.

My only experience with Neil Shute so far was On The Beach. A morose tale describing the end of all things human. It's nice to see that his stories end on a good note once in a while.

I’ve owned countless copies of this book, since I gift them so often. Wonderful, wonderful story! I also loved his Round the Bend, and have gifted these as well. Shute was a marvelous story teller.

This book is a very old favorite - I read it in my teens and returned to it now in my early seventies - it has kept its charm and relevance and reflects integrity that has become less common. Neville Shute born in the late 1880's wrote the book in 1942. The timeline is relevant as the language in which he writes is arcane by today's standard and as such, recreates a world with which a young current reader is not very familiar. The storyline is rough at times but handled deftly and delicately. Although it gets off to a meandering start which well describes the age and state of mind of the main character, it becomes evermore riveting - a well worth read.

Seventy-year-old Mr. Howard has just lost his son during the very early part of World War II. He is desperately sad and decides that he must get away from his native England for a while. He heads for what's he thinks will be month's fishing trip to his favorite place in the south of France, near the border at Geneva, Switzerland. Unfortunately, his trip coincides with the German invasion of France. He is initially optimistic that the Germans won't come close to where he is but soon realizes that is not to be and decides that he must return to his native England. Friends ask him to escort their two young children to a relative in England. He hesitantly agrees based on the assumption that they will be able to make quick train and boat connections and arrive in England in a little less than two days. Things go quickly astray from that plan when the German invasion is much more rapid than anyone thought it could be, when the trains are forced to stop running, and when gradually he accumulates a total of five more young children of varying nationalities whom he is escorting. His group is delayed by the illness of one of the children, having to walk a good bit of the way, having to sleep in hay lofts, and having to go out of their way to avoid capture by the Germans. This is a wonderfully well-written novel of desperate circumstances during desperate times. Nevil Shute is one of my favorite authors. I highly recommend this offering to all interested readers.

I read this book years ago so decided to get it on my Kindle. I enjoyed it, and now we are listening to it on Audible - hard to stop listening! It is interesting to read a book that must have been written at the beginning of World War II, before the Americans entered it. Europe was in a terrible state then, and we know things in the world are not really better now. It is good to know things are resolved in this story.

I enjoyed On the Beach, but it did feel dated. Not so, this one. Pied Piper is not only a timeless story, but it is beautifully, quietly written. Shute took just enough time to let the story reveal itself naturally, but not at such a slow pace as to bore. I have had the opportunity to sit and record personal stories from WWII vets, and reading this felt very much like the best of those stories. It felt as though the old man was telling me what had happened. This is not an action book, but it's realistic and will leave you just a little bit tense in certain parts. In the end, be prepared to both feel happy at the outcome, but disappointed that the tale is over. I was sorry to finally close the book.

Wunderbar, geht ans Herz. Habe dieses Buch schon mehrfach in den letzten 30 Jahren gelesen und weiterempfohlen. Es liest sich gut.

Incroyable histoire basée sur la Seconde Guerre mondiale. J’ai lu ce livre quand j’avais 12 ans, c’est pourquoi je l’ai acheté pour mon petit-enfant.

Loved the book and many years later actually had lunch at the pub mentioned in the book. This is not a children's book although children are in it.

It was a love story and also a story about kindness and compassion. The characters were beautifully described and made you want to help them in whatever way possible. The story also made the wartime conditions very real and terrible. I enjoyed every minute of the book and couldn't put it down.

英国の老人が幼児や小児を連れて、スイス国境に近い山間部から、ドイツ軍の占領下のフランスを横断して、イギリスへ戻ろうとします。英語自体が少し昔風でしたが、まあわかります。フランス人の子どもたちも出てきて、フランス語を話します。フランス語部分への説明がないところもあり、後半にはドイツ語も出てきます。３か国語交じりで、少し分かりにくい点もありますが、話自体はスリルがあり楽しめますよ。私は邦訳も読んでいて、今回は二度目ですが、楽しく読めました。