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From the City, from the Plough by Alexander Baron |
Written by a participant soon after the war, this superb novel follows an infantry battalion training for D Day, through the June invasion itself and beyond. The focus is on the ordinary soldier - from veterans to new recruits - with backgrounds as diverse as Liverpool slums and family farms, but the the officer class also figures. What emerges is a vivid portrait of army life and attitudes encountering and enduring an experience both lethal and gruelling. In sum it is a compelling account of chaos, bravery, boredom and exhaustion laced with hard won wisdom.
(Tony Pratt - bwl 113 Summer 2024 ) |
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