7.6 /10 1 Votes
Country United Kingdom Publication date 12 October 1982 Originally published 12 October 1982 Page count 337 Publisher Alfred A. Knopf | 3.8/5 Goodreads Language English Pages 337 Genre Historical drama | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback) Len Deighton books XPD, Horse Under Water, An Expensive Place to, Only When I Larf, Yesterday's Spy | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Goodbye, Mickey Mouse is a historical novel by Len Deighton published on 12 October 1982. Set in Britain in early 1944 it tells the story of the 220th Fighter Group of the US Eighth Air Force in the lead up to the Allied invasion of Europe. The Group is based at the fictional Steeple Thaxted airfield in Norfolk.
Contents
The novel successfully evokes wartime Britain with the effects of rationing and the simmering antipathy the British servicemen felt towards their well-paid American allies. It also features Deighton's trademark technical and operational details of the P-51 Mustang fighter which the Group flies. The aerial scenes are few and brief but powerfully capture the terror and excitement of bomber escort missions over Germany.
Synopsis
Each chapter is titled by the name of the main character it deals with. The central storyline revolves around a love affair between a new pilot, Captain James Farebrother, and an English girl, Victoria Cooper. Another major plot line follows Lieutenant Mickey Morse, nicknamed Mickey Mouse, who is racing to be the first American pilot to break Eddie Rickenbacker's record of 26 kills from World War I.
Critical reception
Out of 658 user ratings and 27 reviews, Goodbye Mickey Mouse currently has a rating of 3.76 out of 5 stars on Goodreads (the world's largest website for book readers). The book has received generally mixed reviews from fans and critics alike.
Simon Mcleish gave the book a mixed review. He stated that Goodbye Mickey Mouse is obviously "well researched", but it (the research) "is presented less obtrusively". Mcleish summed up the article by stating that "for the general reader, Goodbye Mickey Mouse" is not Deighton's most appealing novel, "though it would repay the effort required to read it".