Bel Ria
Dog of War
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5.0 • 2 Ratings
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
Sheila Burnford, the author of The Incredible Journey, offers the spellbinding tale of a small dog caught up in the Second World War, and of the extraordinary life-transforming attachments he forms with the people he encounters in the course of a perilous passage from occupied France to besieged England.Nameless, Burnford’s hero first turns up as a performing dog, a poodle mix earning his keep as part of a gypsy caravan that is desperately fleeing the Nazi advance. Taken on ship by the Royal Navy, he is given the name of Ria and serves as the scruffy mascot to a boatload of sailors. Marooned in England in the midst of the Blitz, Ria rescues an old woman from the rubble of her bombed house, and finds himself unexpectedly transformed into Bel, the coiffed and pampered companion of her old age.Bel Ria is an exciting story about a compellingly real, completely believable dog. Readers of all sorts and ages will find in Bel Ria a companion to take to heart.
Customer Reviews
Love this book
My Mum gave me this to read in my early teens, (nearly forty years ago) in an old readers digest, then a few years ago I purchased the book. I read it nearly every year and it has left me with a love of poodles. Since I was a teenager, I have always had one of these intelligent little dogs full of Joie de Vivre, amongst my bigger dogs. They all remind me of the fictional Bel Ria, it’s very well written! It is sad in places, the relationships of the people and animals are made all the more poignant as they are living with the uncertainty of war. I would say this is one of my all time favourite books.