Author:Sebastien Japrisot
During the First World War five French soldiers, accused of a cowardly attempt to evade duty, are bundled into no man's land and certain death. Five bodies are later recovered; the families are notified that the men died in the line of duty...
After the war Mathilde, the fiancée of one of the men, receives a letter which hints at what might have happened, and she sets off to discover the fate of her beloved amid the carnage of battlefield. Her quest becomes an unusual and engrossing thriller as she discovers an increasing number of people trying to put her off the scent.
A Very Long Engagement is a suspenseful thriller and one which transforms a personal tragedy into the epitome of all wartime atrocities. The dénouement, when it finally happens, is moving and horribly convincing.
The narrative is brilliantly complex and beguiling, and the climax devastating
—— IndependentClever, highly readable… Neither predictable nor surprising, the dénouement, when it finally happens, is shocking, moving and horribly convincing
—— Literary ReviewA classic of its kind, brewing up enormous pathos undiluted by sentimentality
—— Daily TelegraphA fierce, elliptical novel that's both a gripping philosophical thriller and a highly moving meditation on the emotion consequences of war
—— New York TimesOnly the best historical fiction can make the journey into a distant time and return with a believable sense of how things really were. That Japrisot's book has done so is a mark of his great talent and experience as a writer
—— Washington PostExplores the experience of "ordinary" Germans...the descendants of Nazis and Nazi sympathizers...and poses questions about the country's psychological and political inheritance with rare insight and humanity
—— New YorkerA stunning trilogy of linked stories about the Holocaust. Seiffert's book reminds me of Bernard Schlink's The Reader, but unlike that fascinating and intellectually provocative discussion about complicity and collective guilt, The Dark Room never veers away from its fictional roots... It doesn't read like a first novel
—— Toronto Globe and MailExcellent...a very readable, imaginative attempt to hold essential truths in living memory
—— The EconomistIt should be on everyone's reading lists
—— Sunday TimesThe hopelessness of love and passion during one of history's darkest hours is gently eked out... Questions of identity, loyalty and secrets are unavoidable, whether they stand uniformed and proud or lie hidden in a photo album. The Dark Room offers a haunting perspective on the ripples the most extraordinary of actions can cause. Seiffert is sparing with historical specifics, crafting the tale so lovingly that the most affecting moments lie in words unspoken and truths untold
—— Scotland on SundayBrilliant and hugely ambitious ... the kind of book that could be life-changing
—— New York Times Book ReviewAbsorbing and searing
—— Washington PostA major achievement
—— PeopleDeserves a place on the shelf with The Diary of Anne Frank - set to become a classic
—— USA TodayZusak makes his ostensibly gloomy subject bearable in the same way Kurt Vonnegut did in Slaughterhouse 5, with grim, darkly consoling humour
—— TimeZusak's playfulness with language leavens the horror and makes the theme more resonant - words can save your life ...It's a measure of how sucessfully Zusak has humanized these characters that even though we know they are doomed, it's no less devastating when Death finally reaches them
—— Publishers WeeklyOne of the most highly anticipated young-adult books in years
—— The Wall Street Journal'Elegant, philosophical and moving. A work to read slowly and savour. Beautiful and important
—— Kirkus ReviewsBoth gripping and touching, a work that kept me up late into the night feverishly reading the last 300 pages
—— Cleveland Plain-DealerZusak's novel is a highwire act of inventiveness and emotional suppleness
—— The AustralianA triumph of control ...one of the most unusual and compelling of recent Australian novels
—— The AgeA brilliant, quirky tale ...a superb book you will be recommending to everyone you meet
—— Herald-SunA literary gem
—— Good Reading...the much talked about The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak...should soon have the UK under its spell.
—— Sam Burson , The Western MailIt wouldn't surprise us if this became a great classic in years to come.
—— Thomas Murphy , Flipside...this is a novel to touch even the coldest of hearts - definitely 2007's first must-read book.
—— Newmarket JournalA compelling tale from the start...definitely 2007's first must-read book.
—— Bury Free PressA moving story from the German perspective of everyday civilian hardship and surivival under the Third Reich. It celebrates the power of words and love, in the face of unutterable suffering
—— Mail on SundayDeath turns out to be a tender narrator in Zusak's 'The Book Thief' [...] This novel movingly depicts the Himmel Street community, and its orphaned book thief, Liesel Meminger
—— Books Quarterly (Waterstones)Exceptionally good ... full of gruelling episodes... and an ending that will almost certainly move you to tears.
—— The Word