Aftermath: Travels in a Post-War World

Rating:
Summary: Travels through place and time: Europe in the 50s
Review: Farley Mowat has written a number of books which may be described as war memoirs. Since they were written at decent intervals and to some extent, for different purposes, there is a degree of repetition. Nevertheless, as there is hardly ever a dull moment in a text by Mowat, we can forgive him for telling the same story twice. To be honest, I'm no longer certain where the overlap occurs, although in "Aftermath," a book written comparatively recently, he certainly revisits some parts of the Italian theatre in which he served, and refers to the same events he has recounted in detail elsewhere ("And No Birds Sang"). But "Aftermath" doesn't dwell particularly on war, and there are a number of stories in this ongoing narrative which are worth reading by themselves. Scenes such as that where the author and his wife visit the Black Eagle somewhere in Kent and procure some of the Queen's Brew are classic Mowat. Their visit to Amalfi and tour of its ancient potteries, and their final return to England where they visit with Peter Scott, son of the Antarctic explorer, and learn all about the Severn Wild Fowl Trust, are just a couple of the highlights of this rather unusual journey.

This is not your ordinary Mowat, but then I'm wondering if there really is such a thing. An overlooked book, "Aftermath" won't disappoint, and fortunately for readers everywhere, thar's plenty more Mowat where that come from!