[The book that I read was the Young Readers' Condensed Edition.]
A good hearted young man comes of age in a troubled land at a difficult time.

I saw the movie years ago and as usual the book is better. The young man that this tale centers on is valiant and caring and a generally good soul. He observes a certain amount of cruelty in the world around him but since he's known no other he accepts it and makes the best of his lot. And in so doing makes it better for pretty much all of those around him. I'm particularly struck by how much more "christian" his behavior is than that of his god-fearing mother.

This book with it's message about muddling on despite difficulties is a great read for young minds and an enjoyable one for those of us that are older. There are a number of poor reviews of this book but I'm convinced they're primarily by jaded souls who are trying too hard to be cynical. (either that or the unexpurgated version is much worse than the condensed version)

Read this and enjoy!

The book that I read was the Young Readers' Condensed Edition. The passages that the other reviewer criticized in his much favored review are missing from this version.

I didn't realize that there WERE two versions of this book but at 369 pages I think that the condensed version is definately the way to go. The passages that the other reviwer quotes at length are simply gone from the condensed version. They do sound maudlin and I'm not sure that I would have had the patience to read that version. The imagery that the author seems to have been going for (at least as cited by the other reviewer) does seem over the top.