Alexander McCall Smith's name on the spine of a book is enough inducement for me to pick it up. The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse (#787) is a stand alone novel which takes place during WWII and the ensuing forty years. The eponymous Peter Woodhouse turns out not be an actual pilot, but an English farm dog. So how does Peter Woodhouse wind up becoming a flying mascot for the American Air Force? Ah, thereby hangs a fascinating tale of love, privation, bravery and integrity.
Val Eliot is an English "land girl" who meets and falls in love with Mike Rogers, an American pilot flying reconnaissance missions over Europe. Ubi Dietrich is a German soldier stationed in a small town in Holland as the war winds down. Peter Woodhouse plays in role in bringing these disparate characters together in life-changing ways.
These is not an epic novel; it's quite easily read in a short period of time, but the decency of ordinary people faced with the sufferings of war infuse this story with a warmth that lasts long after you close the cover. Reading Alexander McCall Smith, especially a book like The Good Pilot Peter Woodhouse is enough to restore one's faith in humanity. Good things come in small packages.
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