Author:Ben Elton
'A work of formidable imaginative scope' Daily Telegraph
The first casualty when war comes is truth . . .
Flanders, June 1917: a British officer and celebrated poet, is shot dead. ,
He is killed not by German fire, but while recuperating from shell shock well behind the lines.
A young English soldier is arrested and, although he protests his innocence, charged with his murder.
Douglas Kingsley is a conscientious objector, previously a detective with the London police, now imprisoned for his beliefs. He is released and sent to France in order to secure a conviction. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of The Third Battle of Ypres, Kingsley soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud that surrounds him.
Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions:
What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle?
A work of formidable imaginative scope ... the writing is so good, the language so surprisingly subtle and the characters so beautifully delineated
—— Daily TelegraphRiveting action scenes bristle with a queasy energy ... unputdownable and disgustingly realistic
—— Sunday TelegraphElton writes a good crime story with lots of twists and excitement
—— Henry Sutton , Daily MirrorSeamlessly blends the sarcastic and the sincere, the comic and the tragic . . . stylish and spirited
—— New York TimesA smashing success
—— NewsdayA beautiful, sad, utterly convincing account of an entire life… I’m amazed a novel this good escaped general attention for so long
—— Ian McEwanA brilliant, beautiful, inexorably sad, wise, and elegant novel
—— Nick Hornby , The BelieverSomething rarer than a great novel -- it is a perfect novel, so well told and beautifully written, so deeply moving, that it takes your breath away...few stories this sad could be so secretly triumphant, or so exhilarating.
—— New York TimesA beautiful and moving novel, as sweeping, intimate and mysterious as life itself
—— Geoff DyerThe most extraordinary work of fiction I've read in a long time... If you're looking for a book that's simple and subtle, warmly human and at the same time utterly pitiless in his rendition of the vicissitudes of an ordinary existence, here's one you will read again and again
—— New StatesmanUnquestionably one of the finest novels of the 20th century, its genius lies in its candour and in prose that simmers with subtle intent.
—— Irish TimesThe word-of-mouth hit of the summer. Read it and you’ll see why
—— Daily TelegraphIt’s as if this novel is about all of us: our hopes, disappointments and sorrows… a lesson in values, told with love and awe
—— Bel Mooney , Daily MailA wonderful novel, rich and sombre, a record of pain and less but also of moments of vision and tenderness... flawless
—— Adam Foulds , IndependentThis short-but-striking novel quickly reveals itself to be…crime fiction, yes, but also a subtle and deeply introspective consideration of the inertia of lonely middle-age, its philosophy existentialist in the manner of Jean Paul Sartre, Ingmar Bergman and certain novels of Georges Simenon. The result is a highly complex and accomplished work
—— Billy O'Callaghan , Irish ExaminerIntriguing tale… Solstad expertly navigates the bizarre mind of a clever but lonely man locked in an existentialist nightmare
—— TelegraphThis is no straightforward crime novel…an exploration of guilt, inaction and moral quandaries
—— Nic Bottomley , Bath Life
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