Goodnight Mister Tom

Goodnight Mister Tom is set in the middle of World War Two between September 1939-1941. William Beech, the protagonist of the novel is sent to the village of Little Weirwold where he finds Mr. Thomas Oakley, a recluse. Mr. Thomas Oakley became a recluse as a result of his wife and child passing away from Scarletina, an infectious disease. The death of his wife and child had such a huge impact on him that he isolated himself at home for 40 years. He did not socialize due to their deaths.

Prior to William Beech stepping on Mr. Thomas Oakley’s doorstep, he was continuously punished and beaten up by his religious mother. Her cold-hearted attitude made William feel unwanted and useless. When William showed up to Thomas’ house he had bruises and marks all over his body from his mother. Mr. Thomas Oakley cared, dressed and fed William till he was told to go back to his mother because she was ‘sick’. At this point in the novel, Michelle Magorian makes the reader feel sympathetic for William and we know that the mother has evil intentions of William returning back home.

Goodnight Mr. Tom is a story of Willie's recovery from severe abuse that is given an unusually rich and vivid setting. The novel reads like a page- turner, when Tom journeys to London to find Willie. Goodnight Mr. Tom is grim and horrifying. The novel is also very descriptive and if you are a good reader and interested in the Second World War then this is the sort of book for you to read. Goodnight Mr. Tom is a very good book and it includes sadness as well as adventure. I think that most people who read this book will enjoy it and I certainly recommend it. I don’t recommend this book for young children; I don’t think that they will understand it a lot. Overall I rate this book an 8 out of 10.