THE FLIGHT OF THE DOVES

by Walter Macken ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 29, 1968

Normally, children run away from home quite often. Either they change their minds after a short time and go home again; or after a short search they are found and returned."" Not Finn and Derval Dove--their flight from stepfather Uncle Toby in England to Granny O'Flaherty in the West of Ireland stumps the police and intrigues the betting public and gains them some odd supporters: cheeky Poll, his six brothers and sisters, and their top sergeant father Tom who gets twelve-year-old Finn and seven-year-old Derval a lift from; fast-talking Nickser who may wriggle out of a rap for receiving stolen goods but can't he convincingly about the kids to; policeman Michael who decides to take a vacation and investigate instead of tracking them down. He wonders why Finn ran away: Finn wonders why Uncle Toby is trying so hard to get them back-not knowing that an uncle in America has left them a large legacy which Uncle Toby is itching to administer. Finn also wonders why the man in the salmon car is following them-not knowing that he is the cohort of another uncle in America who stands to inherit if anything happens to the children. None of this 190's film foolishness contributes anything but suspense; it doesn't detract much either from the spectacle of a boy striking out for his freedom. Stretches of pronoun-predicate repetition tend to reduce the age level, the absence of sentimentality tends to raise it--somewhere around ten, though, there's surely a rebel to take up Finn's cause.

Pub Date: March 29, 1968

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1968

Categories: FICTION