The first English translation of a cleverly subversive, classic war novel capturing one man's struggle, caught between two nations in war-torn Germany
Bernhard Sommer, a German with French citizenship, lives a peaceful life in a northeastern corner of his adopted country. But his rural idyll is shattered when war breaks out between Germany and the entente powers, and the Somme valley becomes the focus of the most furious conflict the world has ever known. Although in no way ostracized or mistreated by his neighbors, Sommer finds himself increasingly conflicted - and when the front line shifts and German soldiers are stranded behind allied lines, he must decide where his loyalties truly lie.Written in Germany just two years before World War II, this book was a timely examination of nationalism and a subversion of the supposed heroic nature of warfare. Its author, obliged to pay lip service to the bellicose stance of the Nazi regime, expertly wove superficial propaganda with subtle critical allusion and satire. A warning against the dangers of chauvinism and the importance of reconciliation, it remains as relevant today as it was in 1937.
Genre: Literary Fiction
Bernhard Sommer, a German with French citizenship, lives a peaceful life in a northeastern corner of his adopted country. But his rural idyll is shattered when war breaks out between Germany and the entente powers, and the Somme valley becomes the focus of the most furious conflict the world has ever known. Although in no way ostracized or mistreated by his neighbors, Sommer finds himself increasingly conflicted - and when the front line shifts and German soldiers are stranded behind allied lines, he must decide where his loyalties truly lie.Written in Germany just two years before World War II, this book was a timely examination of nationalism and a subversion of the supposed heroic nature of warfare. Its author, obliged to pay lip service to the bellicose stance of the Nazi regime, expertly wove superficial propaganda with subtle critical allusion and satire. A warning against the dangers of chauvinism and the importance of reconciliation, it remains as relevant today as it was in 1937.
Genre: Literary Fiction
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