Great story very thought provoking

I really enjoyed this book. Such a down to earth story that really makes you think about the men who fought in the war. Loved Michael reading it!

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A superb rescue of Great Uncle Harry from oblivion

Palin’s Great-Uncle Harry was born seven years after his many siblings and for the first thirty years of his life never seemed to find his direction.

Undistinguished at school and aimless in adolescence, he was packed off to India from where he was eventually dismissed as not intelligent or hard-working enough. He seemed to fare better as a farm hand in New Zealand, but he was still restless. Although he appreciated pretty young women for their appearance, , he made no attempt to get to know any. He was nearly thirty before he proposed to the woman he loved back ‘home’, but his sad one-liner in his diary stated that “she didn’t love me enough to marry me”.

It was from New Zealand that he embarked for action in WW1, feeling at last that here was a worthwhile and exciting venture. He was to survive the shameful tragedy of Gallipoli only to die in the slaughter on the Somme.

Harry’s frankly lifeless diaries would not have been enough to make a book, despite their faithful detailing of everyday life, but Palin had in addition a fabulous archive of letters and other documents which , along with his own narrative skills, analysis and interpretation , have enabled him to make his very ordinary lack lustre uncle hauntingly and movingly real . His recreation from these sources of the Gallipoli months and the long, festering delays waiting for engagement in France are startlingly immediate. Palin has done his very best to give his great uncle a life to be remembered – and he has succeeded brilliantly. Perhaps most movingly, Harry’s life is heart-breaking, representing as it does just one of the millions of men wiped out in the madness of WW1 battlefields.

Hearing Palin’s own voice reading this book much enhances the emotional charge of his writing.

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An extraordinary telling of an “ordinary” life

One of the most wonderful things about Michael Palin’s storytelling is that he includes the ordinary details, the everyday mundane moments that make life what it is. He brings back to life here not just his family and his great-uncle Harry, but also those whose lives intertwined with Harry’s.

From Harry’s sweetheart Margie and her missives across the channel to his comrade Sgt Gridley who knew Harry and of his family and witnessed his final moments, Michael’s sharing of Harry’s story is a reminder that, to borrow a line from the book “This book is not the end of a story, but part of the constantly evolving process of finding out more about how we live and how we die.” We all think we live fairly ordinary lives but with the passing of time and technology, our ordinary can seem extraordinary to those who follow.

While Harry’s life came to an end over 100 years ago, his story lives on in this wonderful listen from his great-nephew and is a reminder that though the decades and technology changes many of the ordinary day to day moments and emotions we experience remain the same.

Michael’s reading and sharing of this story was beautiful; I really enjoyed listening to these tales of his ancestors lives from across the centuries and am already looking forward to a re-listen soon again.

PS It’s such a good listen that I ended up purchasing the book too afterwards!

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An extraordinary ordinary life.

Beautifully and simply told with such affection. I think this should be part of curriculum teaching of the Great War.
What a wonder Harry was.

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Very interesting and thought provoking.

A very interesting and informative narrative of Michael Palins relative. So well told that I found the later chapters very affecting. Well done to Michael Palin for doing such justice to his Great Uncle Harry.

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The wonderful story of an ordinary man

The pace and engaging quality of this well told story were marvellous. Uncle Harry is not lionised or made a hero but his life is lived and you live it with him.

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Fabulous story

I'm sure we will all have these interesting family members, yet to be able to write about it so eloquently and with such passion is a gift!

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Moving, well written and read

I love Michael. Grew up watching his travel programs, so was interested in this as it’s read by him, and I also love historical subject matters.
What a lovely book of dedication to a man that history had almost forgot. Palin is obviously moved by his story and it comes across in his reading. I too now have a love for a man who died more than a century ago, in the most appalling of circumstances. The use of Harry’s words from his diaries makes it all the more poignant, but the research into filling gaps as well as Michael’s own thoughts and feelings make this an emotive story.
Definitely worth listening to.

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Fascinating story narrated wonderfully

A great insight to a different time and a moving account of the futility of war

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Thought provoking

A lot of the story is based on supposition but it gave an insight into the horror of WW1

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