The Boy Who Saw In Colours – publishing in May 2020.
There are two sides to every story, and living in the UK, we are spoon-fed a very particular idea of history.
We like to coat the bad guys, as they call them, with a very black coat of paint. A lot of us don’t get a chance to see the grey areas.
We can be very quick to judge others without considering how we would react under similar challenging circumstances, such as living under the Third Reich.
It’s difficult to say why I called my book what I did because it would be a spoiler. Saying that, it all makes sense in the end.
The Boy Who Saw In Colours takes place in a historical time that is a personal interest of mine. There are not many stories that focus on my book’s subject matter; life as a German living during the years of the Third Reich.
Those that do can portray a flowery, held back perspective of it -never diving into the nitty-gritty details of what happened to the innocent German people.
The Boy Who Saw In Colours is about a young boy growing up in World War Two, Germany.
When he and his brother are forced to join one of Hitler’s elite schools, Inland, their world falls apart. It’s a coming of age story about how they learn to live again – about growing up under strict military-style discipline, learning about the concept of good and bad, and deciding between doing the thing you love, or the common thing that will please those you love.
During his time at Inland, Josef, our protagonist, deals with everyday issues children deal with when they go from childhood to adulthood. He learns about his sexuality, his family, and his dreams.
Josef feels, not only trapped in Inland, but in his mind too, and during a time that makes it particularly tricky for Josef to navigate his way through being who he is.
Everyone has stories that deserve to be heard.
Photography: Bout Yeh (Stephen S T Bradley)
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Loved it, Thank you.