A funny tale of two young girls who make their first voyage to the Continent by themselves during the 1920's. From a nearly capsized ship, smuggling into England with the measles and other mishaps, it is a funny read. The book also has line-drawings illustrating all of the most laughable moments.
A long time hobby of mine has been to watch classic films, then scour used bookstores looking for the original work on which the films was based. When I first saw the film "Our Hearts Were Young And Gay", I knew I just had to find the book! Little did I realize that the European adventures of these two girls in the 1920s was actually not a work of fiction! There is even a line at the introduction of the book that reads "Lest the reader should be in any doubt, we wish to state that the incidents in this book are all true and the characters completely non-fictitious." I recently took this book on my first trip to Europe and found it delightful and funny. Great for those long hours waiting for and flying on planes. I must admit that this is the first book that ever had me literally laughing out loud.
Of course with any story turned into a film, it was kissed with a bit of Hollywood glamour and parts were left on the cutting room floor, but the story is truly witty, charming and fun and follows very closely to the book. See the movie if you can catch it on a classic movie channel! It hasn't been released on video or DVD yet.
Kim C. (Phooey) reviewed Our Hearts Were Young and Gay on
1942 hardcover (back when "gay" meant "happy") about a pair of friends (the authors) and their travel adventures. They saved together $80 for a cabin class room on a Canadian Pacific liner and set forth on their grand adventure of the world.
