The sound of coaches Hardcover – January 1, 1974

Leon Garfield's books should not go out of print. My 15 years old son read this book in 2 days. It is not an action book, and the language is not dumbed down. It is a good story written by a brilliant author.

When a young coach traveler dies in childbirth at an inn, the coachman Chichester and his wife (the outrider on the coach) adopt the boy. His mother is buried under the name Arundel, for the place where she got on. The boy Sam is given the contents of the box that she carried: a cheap pewter ring and a pistol. When Chichester is shot and disabled by a man along the road, the story becomes more complex and Sam takes on a new occupation. The book features Garfield’s characteristic shadowy atmosphere where everything seems meaningful, engaging characters (Chichester is reminiscent of simple and wise Dickens characters like Joe in “Great Expectations”), and wit.

Ich habe GArfield erst entdeckt, als ich seine Ergänzung zu Dickens unvollendete "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" gelesen habe. Dann habe ich "The Sound of Coaches" entdeckt. Seine anderen JUgendbücher sind sehr gut, aber dieses bleibt mein Lieblingsbuch. Eigentlich ist es zu tiefsinnig, um als nur Kinder- oder Jugendbuch zu gelten. Tiefsinnig, sensibel, weise.