The Snow Goose and A Small Miracle : Paul Gellico

                                   Image Credit : Fantastic Fiction
I read Paul Gallico's wonderful little novella at the bookshop itself. When I wrote in my earlier post about wanting to read at least 50 books this year, I didn't expect to finish one on the very first day of the new year! But then, if this is how this year is gonna be, I like it already!

The Snow Goose and a Small Miracle are two short stories offered under one as a novella. The price of these 78 pages was Rs345. Too much to pay, I thought! So, I pulled a chair and finished reading it in less than half an hour. And lovely reading it was too! Paul Gallico received much acclaim for the Snow Goose, which was the sort of story that you would be really hard-hearted not to cry. Did I cry? No, I didn't, and that says a lot about me, doesn't it? But the Snow Goose tells in simple language the story of loneliness and how it can be redeemed by friendship.

Philip Rhayader is a painter, a lover of birds, a hunchback who fears that humanity would never accept his deformity, and leads a life of seclusion by the sea. Raising his beloved birds, he opens his door one day to find a small girl holding an injured bird. That is a Canada Goose, flown all the way from Canada to Essex. And here is where the magic begins. Rhayader, the girl and the goose form a golden friendship - each helping the other in ways too deep to illustrate in words. And the ending of this tale is what brings tears. Gallico packs sentiment, sweet melancholic sentiment into the end - and you are left with the feeling of incomparable isolation.

A Small Miracle was more simplistic - but I loved it, nevertheless. At the root of this story too is faith and love. Such love. Pepino, an orphan is ready to do anything to nurse his donkey back to health. And Pepino believes in one thing : never take no for an answer. Armed with that, and the fervent belief that St Francis' tomb would cure his beloved donkey, Pepino embarks on a mission that takes him all the way to the Pope himself in Rome, and proves in the end that great love can create great faith that can work not just small miracles, but big ones too. Touching, heartwarming, and beautiful.

Both the Snow Goose and a Small Miracle are often made available as an abridged childrens classic. If you are going to read this one, make sure you pick up the full-length one.

Verdict : Touching. Interesting start to the year!

Rating : 3/5