Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?: A powerful true story of love and survival

Product Information

The author said people tell him all the time about "great stories" he should write. Someone told him about Horace, and he thought, I'll talk to the old codger, see what he has to say, humor him. Then was riveted for hours by the story and decided to write it. From the moment we are taken on the ten-week death march to the prison camp in Poland, Greasley assaults our senses with vivid descriptions of all the inhuman suffering he and his fellow prisoners had to endure every day, every hour, and every minute of their trip. Joseph Horace Greasley was a British soldier during the Second World War who was captured by the Wehrmacht and became famous later for having escaped from his camp over 200 times to meet with his love interest. His life was the subject of an autobiography titled Do the Birds Still Sing in Hell?

Even the point when a Nazi-sympathizing civilian was overhearing sensitive information while taking a piss, the author felt the need to add the detail of the civilian "pinching the tip of his penis" to slow the flow of urine. WHY do we need these details? It’s hard to know if an editor even glanced at this novel or they had adjectival dyslexia, considering the constant tedium, clunky sentences, and repetitive conversations. Instead of allowing the reader to assume that the two people in the scene are in-fact talking to one another, each has to sign off with the other’s name: ‘Can I have a haircut Jim?’, ‘Yes you can Flapper’. ‘How are you Jim?’ ‘I am good Flapper’. Gripping stuff. With this being said, I do understand why Greasley gave them so much attention: they were his sole escape from living in a seemingly-interminable hell, and as such I imagine every second spent with Rose meant the world to him. In other words, I feel this is the sort of flaw in this memoir which can be totally forgiven, especially since you can simply skip through those parts without missing any important information. The Final Verdict Here's where I have questions. Did the author JUST write what Horace told him, like, word for word, or did the author get the story and like most ghost writers, shape it into a book. In short, Greasley tries his best to make us understand the conditions under which he and his comrades had to make due, and the effect is quite powerful, even if you’ve read this about this subject matter already. There is definitely a whole lot of darkness to trudge through in this book before we see any light, and in my opinion, despite not being an author, Greasley made good use of his limited wordsmithing abilities to accurately convey how he perceived the unfolding events. The Light of LoveI am a big fan of love stories and there are far too few being produced,” said Goldmann. “This film has all the elements of a great classic and incredibly it is a true story about an amazing man and woman. We are all incredibly excited to bring their story to the screen.” As much as it's stated that it's based on "true events" and it's not "exaggerated" - I still feel like this is more a work of fiction. It, unfortunately, made me question how much of the story was true - especially the conversations - how can they be recalled with such clarity after that many years?

I couldn't paint a picture of Rose in my head because all I knew about her was that she had nice boobs and a nice body and that she was always satisfied by Jim (and his massive willy)... That's it. Cringe. Even in the most horrifying places on earth, hope still lingers in the darkness, waiting for the opportunity to take flight. There are plenty of interesting chapters in the book about his captivity and the harsh treatment the SS doled out to the English pigs and how they would rebel against their captors even if it meant they would receive a severe beating or worse. I enjoyed when Horace, “Jim” busted up the sergeant that surrendered without firing a shot. It’s true, even if they would have fought it out, it wouldn’t have prevented France from falling, but at least they would have made a stand. Justice was served! I didn't like the way it was written, it felt juvenile and very clunky and there were SO MANY typos 🤦🏼‍♀️When so much has been written about WWII, when zillions of stories have been told, is it still possible to find something really, really different? Condition: Very Good. 4.6.2013. Ships from the UK. Former library book; may include library markings. Used book that is in excellent condition. May show signs of wear or have minor defects.

The first time Horace has sex with Rose (the love of his life and the reason he started escaping over 200 times).... it's rape. She says, "No. Stop. We'll get caught." and whether that last line means she wants to but is afraid to get caught or not, the first two words make it rape. AND he even says he was raping her. The incredible true story of how of one British soldier escaped a prisoner war camp 200 times to see the girl he loved. I appreciate that the writer wrote it acting ‘as the fingers of’ the fruity old story teller, but in my view it would have been kinder to the teller’s (now) memory, and that of his contemporaries, not to mention ‘his’ women, to put it through some serious editing. Confesso que esperava encontrar, para além de uma bonita história de amor, um relato sobre as dificuldades de um prisioneiro de guerra mas, foi uma leitura que me desiludiu e pareceu-me uma história muito fantasiosa.

The project reps the second feature film musical from Monarch Media, with its first production, A Week Away, having sold to Netflix earlier this year. Barnett, Powell and Patel launched Monarch Media earlier this year with a goal to produce two to three feature films a year in all genres, at all budget levels. Deadline first reported that South Korean filmmaker Byung-gil Jung will direct Monarch’s military action thriller Havoc, set inside the North Korean side of the DMZ.