Summer of My German Soldier
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| Author | Bette Greene |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Young adult fiction |
| Publisher | Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc. |
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Publication date
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1973 |
| Media type | Book |
| Pages | 230 (sometimes 193 in paperback) |
| ISBN | |
| Followed by | 'Morning Is a Long Time Coming' |
Summer of My German Soldier is a book by Bette Greene first published in 1973.
The story is told in first person narrative by a twelve-year-old Jewish girl named Patty Bergen living in Jenkinsville, Arkansas during World War II. The story focuses on the friendship between Patty and an escaped German POW named Anton. Patty first meets Anton when a group of German POWs visits her father's store. Anton teaches Patty that she is a person of value. In return, she protects Anton by hiding him above her father's garage.
The book was followed by a sequel, Morning Is a Long Time Coming.
Early 1940s in Jenkinsville, Arkansas, at Patty's house and her grandparents' house.
The many themes explored in this novel include prejudice, self-esteem and family.
Prejudice exists in many forms, some of them ironic. While Anton, as a German soldier, might be assumed to be a Nazi sympathizer and therefore antisemitic, he is not pro-Nazi and develops a relationship with Patty, who is Jewish. He is, however, a German patriot and wants desperately to get back to Germany. On the other hand, the townspeople show prejudice towards the German soldiers, and many white families in town maintain black servants.
Another theme is that of self-esteem, especially in the face of abuse or personal difficulty. At the beginning of the book, Patty is abused by her father and is insulted by her mother. As she gets to know Anton and forms an attachment to him, her self-esteem grows and she learns that she has value as a person.
Family is another reoccurring theme in this novel, more prominently in negative ways towards the main character, Patty.
In 1978 the novel was turned into a made-for-television film of the same title, Summer of My German Soldier. It was fairly well received and won a Primetime Emmy Award and a Humanitas Prize. In the film, Anton was shot outside of Jenkinsville, not in New York City. Patty was played by Kristy McNichol and Anton was played by Bruce Davison.
A new musical version of the novel with book & lyrics by David Brush and music & arrangements by Jim Farley opened in Ohio in August 2002, staged by Encore Theater Company.
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Wikipedia