Heath Robinson's Home Front

Finally finished one book because this has not been a curl up with a book sort of holiday. I got this on our first day, at the Churchill War Room. To be honest, I thought this was a book on household management during World War II, but when I picked it up, I realised I was so wrong.

Heath Robinson is a famous cartoonist known for his drawings on machines that overcomplicate simple tasks. I suppose they could have just compiled all the comics together, because I found most of them funny, but this book pairs the drawings with satire written by Cecil Hunt. It’s supposed to be a mock-serious look at how the British can help the war effort at home.

To be honest, the text was very hit and miss for me. There were quite a few funny lines, but an equal proportion of the jokes didn’t work for me. I suppose that’s because I’m not British.

What I liked were the cartoons and the little glimpses of British life during WWII. While you can’t take the book seriously, there must be a common standard for satire to work. So it was possible to catch glimpses of life during the war, such as the importance placed on blackouts.

Overall, I quite enjoyed this little book. While the writing wasn’t to my style, I really enjoyed the comics and if the title is anything to go by, the comics are the real star of this book. Plus it makes for a nice souvenir(: