My Soul, A Shining Tree

Based on the true story of Indian WWI gunner and recipient of the Victoria Cross, Khudadad Khan, My Soul, A Shining Tree is told from different perspectives.

Lotte is a Belgian farmgirl whose home is a small farm in the village of Gheluvet, near Ypres in Flanders. Her life shatters when first, her father enlists, and then her mother and uncle are killed when the family tries to escape the Germans. Left alone with her sister, Els, and Michael, a former classmate, the children struggle to survive. Ernst, the grandson of one of her mother's friends, becomes a German cavalry soldier, joining up whilst underage and facing untold horrors on the battlefield. Khudadad Khan is a gunner fighting with the British Army, lured by false promises as much as a desire to do the 'right' thing. The three key figures come together one fateful night under the branches of the olive tree near Lotte's house which shelters them all.

Jamila Gavin is an outstanding storyteller. Coram Boy is a book which I will never forget and the more recent Never Forget You, which also draws on a true story, is incredibly powerful. In My Soul, A Shining Tree, she has written a deeply poignant book, focusing on the human stories of war. The harsh realities of war are not avoided and there are some deeply upsetting passages, reflecting the futility and devastation of conflict.

Lotte, Els and Michael become refugees; Ernst has no choice but to return to the battlefield, despite being traumatised by his experiences; whilst Khudadad Khan, after valiantly holding the ridge at Gheluvet, is declared unfit for battle and sent to a hospital in England.

The olive tree - a shining tree - is there throughout, watching these three very different victims of war as they try to survive. Throughout, Jamila Gavin's beautiful, almost poetic, use of language shines through and the use of the tree, inspired by a line from Sassoon's poem, 'Tree and Sky', offers a sense of continuity and calm through the chaos and carnage of war.

The story is full of historic detail, seamlessly woven through the action, enriching knowledge and understanding of these events. Such a powerful and emotive book is a must-read.

160 pages / Reviewed by Sue Wilsher, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 11+