An illuminating non-fiction anthology of writing on the First World War, in which a lieutenant writes of digging through bodies that have the consistency of Camembert cheese; and a nurse tends a man back to health knowing he will be court-martialled and shot as soon as he is fit.
Edited by the bestselling author of Birdsong and Devil May Care, this is an original and illuminating non-fiction anthology of writing on the First World War
A lieutenant writes of digging through bodies that have the consistency of Camembert cheese; a mother sends flower seeds to her son at the Front, hoping that one day someone may see them grow; a nurse tends a man back to health knowing he will be court-martialed and shot as soon as he is fit. In this extraordinarily powerful and diverse selection of diaries, letters and memoriesmany of which have never been published beforeprivates and officers, seamen and airmen, munitions workers and mothers, nurses and pacifists, prisoners-of-war and conscientious objectors appear alongside each other. The war involved people from so many different backgrounds and countries and included here are, among others, British, German, Russian and Indian voices. Alongside testament from the many ordinary people whose lives were transformed by the events of 1914-18, there are extracts from names that have become synonymous with the war, such as Siegfried Sassoon and T.E. Lawrence. What unites them is a desire to express something of the horror, the loss, the confusion and the desire to helpor to protest. A Broken World is an original collection of personal and defining moments that offer an unprecedented insight into the Great War as it was experienced and as it was remembered.
Recenzijos
the pleasure of the book is in the straightforward human responses . . . simplicity scores higher than writerly rhetoric -- Libby Purves * The Times * As you would expect from [ . . .] Sebastian Faulks, the selections have extraordinary literary power . . . they speak with distinctive voices, which echo in the mind. -- Charles Moore * Daily Telegraph * a marvellous collection -- Arifa Akbar * Independent * it is the pain, suffering and confusion that dominates this impressive work, the reality of warfare summed up by Private Frank Cocker, who wrote from the front in 1915 following the loss of his brother, My heart is so stunned I dont know whether it is broken or not. * Daily Express * It is very much the First World War anthology for our time. * Evening Standard * Profound, moving and important * Reader's Digest * This is a unique collection of contemporary accounts and just as compelling as the work of any historian. * The Scotsman * Reflecting civic life as well as life in the trenches, the accessible style allows you to dip in and out as you please, exploring a world unknown to most. * Big Issue *
Daugiau informacijos
Edited by the bestselling author of Birdsong and Dr Hope Wolf, this is an original and illuminating non-fiction anthology of writing on the First World War.
Sebastian Faulks has written nineteen books, of which A Week in December and The Fatal Englishman were number one in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. He is best known for Birdsong, part of his French trilogy, and Human Traces, the first in an ongoing Austrian trilogy. Before becoming a full-time writer, he worked as a journalist on national papers. He has also written screenplays and has appeared in small roles on stage. He lives in London. Hope Wolf is a Research Fellow in English at Girton College, the University of Cambridge. Her main interests are in modern and contemporary literature, life writing and culture. She holds a PhD from Kings College London, and her doctoral research focused on archives at the Imperial War Museum.
