Now I'm not at all into war-stories (yep, you know, German's and don't mention the war...). This book starts were war-books end, with the returning home of the soldiers. Sam comes back from Birma to his wife and 6 year old son, and while his son idolised his father who was away, reality catches up with them. His wife had to hold down 2 jobs to survive, and when Sam asks her to give them up now he is back, she is not prepared to do so. This is just one of the small things eating away at them. Both have different ideas on how to deal with their son, and this is especially evident when the son gets terribly bullied. There is a dreadful scene in the book which got me as a cat lover where kittens get drowned in a bucket -- my mum told me though this was usual practice in her time as well (she grew up in the countryside). Sam is hounted by his experiences in the war, and some of his old soldier friends are completely going down, so he sees his only option of escaping - to a different country, as far away as possible. His wife would rather try to make a home and new life where they are. The story is relevant today with many soldiers returning from Iraq to find their loved ones who they had left behind, and life will have changed for them. All n all,not my usual read, and don't expect big action and dreadful suspence, but a wonderful study of human life and the more 'subtle' sufferings of war.
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