Book Club Guide

War Horse

by Michael Morpurgo · 1982 · Classics

Key themes

The war as experienced by those who could not choose or understand it
The bond between human and animal as something that survives everything
WWI as a shared catastrophe that crossed the national lines it was fought over

About this book

Joey, a horse, is sold to the British cavalry as war approaches and narrates his experiences through World War One — from the English countryside through the trenches of France, passing between English, German and French hands. Morpurgo's novel for young readers became a West End and Broadway phenomenon, raising questions about narrating animal experience and about the war's cost to all those caught in it.

Published in 1982, War Horse was adapted into a National Theatre production in 2007 (with acclaimed horse puppetry by Handspring Puppet Company) and a Steven Spielberg film in 2011. It is widely assigned in UK primary schools.

Discussion questions

The novel is narrated by a horse. What does this formal choice achieve — and what can an animal narrator see that a human cannot?
Joey passes through English, German and French hands. What does Morpurgo say through this movement — about the war as something that happened to everyone, on all sides?
The reunion at the end is engineered through a coincidence that barely strains belief in a story told by a horse. How does Morpurgo earn this — and does the ending feel sentimental or genuinely moving?
War Horse is often described as a children's novel but deals with extreme violence and death. How does Morpurgo balance these — and what does the animal perspective allow him to show that direct depiction might make unbearable?
The stage adaptation by Nick Stafford is one of the most celebrated in recent theatre history. What does the play add — and what does the novel give that the stage cannot replicate?