World War I was called the Great War. But as the decades passed, it also became to be known ‘the seminal war’. A war, which was dubbed as ‘the war to ends wars’, came to be figured as the war that started wars. WWI was in many ways the starting point of the series of events that followed: WWII, the Cold War, the fall of USSR, the end of history, and then 9/11, the invasion of Ukraine, the Middle East debacle, and so on. It’s not that we wouldn’t have had differences, or fought for power in search of security, had the great war not happened – but that it wouldn’t have been the history that we were helplessly made to live through.
Had the Germans not pushed the Austrian Empire to declare war on Serbia, following the assassination of their prince, the Russians wouldn’t have responded with military force, and the first total war, and the wars that succeeded from that, would have been avoided. But as humans with a single life, we can only contemplate about the lonely events that did happen, since we do not have the luxury to witness parallel possibilities that could’ve happened.
The wars of the twentieth century had a most global effect, which until then hadn’t been witnessed yet. The scale of these wars as well as the coverage of it on mass media had a reverberating effect on the whole world, even the parts where the war wasn’t happening. As a result, almost every educated person about these wars, shares a sense of right for opinion, a responsibility, and an empathy for what happened and to whom. Not only was it a world war in sense of its participating countries, but also a global one because everyone seemed to be affected by it – or wanted to be affected by it.
The facts remain, as new ones emerge still; the consequences of those wars are still very much alive in 2022; and the stories are still being written: it is yet a long time for us to bury the bloody twentieth century in the graveyards of our memories.
Magee’s debut novel presents a refreshing, intimating, and moving experience for the readers to remerge themselves with the incredibly harsh realities that happened in the otherwise massive and absorbing WWII. It is the story of a German soldier, Peter Faber, who is on the frontlines in Russian territory, and his remote engagement to a bank typist, Katherina, who lives with her parents in Berlin, Germany. Peter gets a two weeks honeymoon vacation; Katherina gets to keep her husband’s pension, if he dies in the battle. But what starts with economical interests in sight, becomes a deeply connected marriage between these two – who alas, do not get to spend any more time together than those two honeymoon weeks. Peter is sent back once his vacation ends. Katherina’s brother is also a German soldier, and is also in Russia.
And so, begins a novel which takes part both on the frontlines of Russia, and the optimistic atmosphere of Berlin: but as the history dictates, things become increasingly nightmarish for both the realities.
Magee doesn’t beat around the bush: from the very first pages, it is right off with story – since there’s a lot to tell. Quick, uninterrupted dialogues, and paragraphs giving just the details the reader might need, Magee’s prose helps compliment the fast-paced nature of the story. Only when it occurred to me to check how much I had read since picking up the book, I had already read 40, 50 pages. It is a page-turner: one in which the prose, as well as the short chapter sizes, help the story in gripping the reader’s attention and transporting them to the grave realities they’re reading about.
I read through this novel like a knife through butter, and it was fascinating, engrossing, and rewarding from page first to 287. Magee doesn’t provide with introspective passages to give the readers insights into the graveness of the setting, instead she has her characters talk with brutal and attacking honesty, and gives, unapologetically, nasty description of what the war does to a person: especially when it’s in Russia, and during winter.
It’s a powerful novel, probably because of its journalistic
nature, which Magee was before writing this debut book. It is sharp, brutal,
honest, modestly revolting, heartbreaking, and a triumphantly tragic story –
one that responsibly reflects the ugliness and absurdism of war.
Ratings:
4/5 **** August 3, 2022_