This book tells the story of a doctor assigned to a hospital on the Eastern Front in the First World War. It is in a ruined church in the mountains, and the doors are all bolted not for fear of soldiers, but for fear of wolves. The doctor is in fact just a medical student who skipped a lot of classes and has no practical experience, so he learns on the job from a nun who is a nurse there.
It’s pretty hair-raising, as all novels of the First World War are, and likewise suffers very much by comparison to ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, as all novels of the First World War do, the towering achievement that that book is having basically trumped forever any efforts in this department. That said, I did learn some interesting things from it.
First, one forgets that the Hapsburg Empire was an Empire, and a big one; I guess I was born on the side of the winners of that war, and so have not been brought up to know much about the losers. Second, I learnt that lice was a really serious issue; people did not take their clothes off for months and the itching was maddening. I went down something of an internet blackhole on this one, and – fun fact: the expression ‘having a chat’ comes from the lice problem in this war. Soldiers called them ‘chats’ and used to spend huge time sitting around talking to each other while they burnt them out of the seams of their clothes. Third, I learnt some more about shell shock. Affected people literally could not stand up, their legs getting all wiggly and rubbery, or suddenly went blind and/or deaf (not biologically, but genuinely). You can find videos of it online, and it’s more shocking than you would think. I can’t even imagine what you could see that would be so bad you would be unable to walk afterwards. I sincerely hope that I never find out. Lastly, I learnt more than I wanted to about the terrible practice of Anbinden. This is where someone accused of cowardice would be tied to a tree for a few hours. Doesn’t sound so bad, except it’s -20C.
In the end, SPOILER ALERT the doctor ends up sleeping with the nun, and then is separated from her by the fortunes of war, and then searches for her for two years and finds her but she has moved on – to an ex-shell shock patient of his about whom he felt guilty. I think it is supposed to feel redemptive.
I enjoyed this book overall, despite the ending. It had a strong narrative, and an interesting and well-researched world. Funny to say though, I know I will forget it almost immediately. I think this is because it has a kind of emptiness to it. I’ve found this before, where a book that ticks all the boxes – narrative, tone, character – and yet you don’t care. My theory is that this is because a book needs to be about something else than narrative and character; it needs to have an idea behind it, of some kind – an emotional centre or theme that sits outside the story. Like LESS is about making peace with yourself; and CALL ME BY YOUR NAME is about regret; I couldn’t say what this one is about. But at least I know now all about lice and Anbinden.
i will love to share my testimony to you all the people in world. My name is Clara James form new York i got married to my husband about 2 year ago we start having problems at home like we stop sleeping on the same bed,fighting about little things he always comes home late at night,drinking too much and sleeping with other women out side i have never love any man in my life except him. he is the father of my child and i don't want to loose him because we have worked so hard together to become what we are and have today .few month ago he now decided to live me and the kid,being a single mother can be hard sometimes and so i have nobody to turn to and i was heart broken.i called my mom and explain every thing to her,my mother told me about PRIEST WISDOM how he helped her solve the problem between her and my dad i was surprise about it because they have been without each other for three and a half years and it was like a miracle how they came back to each other. i was directed to priest wisdom and i explain everything to him,so he promise me not to worry that he will cast a spell and make things come back to how we where so much in love again and that it was another female spirit that was controlling my husband he told me that my problem will be solved within 2 days if i believe i said OK So he cast a spell for me and after two days my love came back asking me to forgive him i Am so happy now. so that why i decided to share my experience with every body that have such problem contact priest wisdom the great spell caster on his email Id: supernaturalspell1@gmail.com or whatsapp him +2348124644470 or you can read more of him on supernaturalspell1.blogspot.com/
i will love to share my testimony to you all the people in world. My name is Clara James form new York i got married to my husband about 2 year ago we start having problems at home like we stop sleeping on the same bed,fighting about little things he always comes home late at night,drinking too much and sleeping with other women out side i have never love any man in my life except him. he is the father of my child and i don't want to loose him because we have worked so hard together to become what we are and have today .few month ago he now decided to live me and the kid,being a single mother can be hard sometimes and so i have nobody to turn to and i was heart broken.i called my mom and explain every thing to her,my mother told me about PRIEST WISDOM how he helped her solve the problem between her and my dad i was surprise about it because they have been without each other for three and a half years and it was like a miracle how they came back to each other. i was directed to priest wisdom and i explain everything to him,so he promise me not to worry that he will cast a spell and make things come back to how we where so much in love again and that it was another female spirit that was controlling my husband he told me that my problem will be solved within 2 days if i believe i said OK So he cast a spell for me and after two days my love came back asking me to forgive him i Am so happy now. so that why i decided to share my experience with every body that have such problem contact priest wisdom the great spell caster on his email Id: supernaturalspell1@gmail.com or whatsapp him +2348124644470 or you can read more of him on supernaturalspell1.blogspot.com/