Product Description

John Hilliard, a young subaltern returning to the Western Front after a brief period of sick leave back in England blind to the horrors of the trenches, finds his battalion tragically altered. His commanding officer finds escape in alcohol, there is a new adjutant and even Hilliard's batman has been killed. But there is David Barton. As yet untouched and unsullied by war, radiating charm and common sense, forever writing long letters to his family. Theirs is a strange meeting and a strange relationship: the coming together of opposites in the summer lull before the inevitable storm. ‘The feeling of men under appalling stress at a particular moment in history is communicated with almost uncanny power’ Sunday Times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22284 in Books
• Published on: 1982-08-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 192 pages

About the Author
Susan Hill is the author of many books published by Penguin. Her novels include I'm the King of the Castle and Mrs de Winter, the sequel to Du Maurier's Rebecca. She is also well-known for her children's books (Can it be true? won the Smarties Prize). She has written non-fiction, autobiography & has edited women's short stories and other classic fiction for Penguin. A regular broadcaster and reviewer, Susan Hill lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, Stanley Wells, the Shakespeare scholar.

Customer Reviews

Moving novel about friendship on the WWI battlefield.
The theme of this novel is friendship, a friendship between two English soldiers, set against a background of the atrocities of the battlefield during the First World War.

John Hilliard, a young officer, returns to his battalion in France, after a period of sick leave in England. In the mean time a new officer has arrived. It's David Barton, 21 years old and slightly younger that Hilliard.

Hilliard, who is rather stiff and reserved and has been lonely all his life, feels that he is changing under the influence of the open, easy-going and cheerful Barton, who can express his feelings so easily.

The great merit of this book is that Susan Hill shows us what it means to people to be intimate friends, to share feelings and to be happy in each other's company. Under normal circumstances this friendship might never have developed to such an extent. In this war it could.

The nightmare world of the front line trenches is depicted so vividly, that we realize that this war was not only terrible, but also senseless; it only led to enormous loss of lives.

A wonderful story - sad and moving.

For further reading I recommend "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1929) by E.M. Remarque. It's a beautifully written and very moving story of German trench soldiers in WWI.It's the best anti-war novel I've ever read and has become world-famous.

Excellent.
Please, please do not dismiss this book as boring. Once I had engaged with the characters (which happened practically before I'd picked up the book) then I couldn't bear to miss a single word because each one gave insight into them. It was never boring. Susan Hill is an outstanding writer and captured this friendship (the 'strange meeting') and the characters of John and David perfectly (is this echoing the inseparable David and Jonathon from the Bible?)

If you think you would like to read this but can't really get into it the first time round, leave it. Wait till you want to. (I had been 'meaning to read it' for a couple of years but never really really wanted to.) I didn't pick it up again until the other day when for some reason I just wanted to read it, and then I was so glad I had: it's one of the best books I've ever read (much, much better than the Pat Barker trilogy, although they are good in themselves).

I don't normally write 'rave' reviews but this book is special. Read it.

w-o-w
I read this in year 11 (please dont be put off in any way by my age) at school and was completely blown away by it. Seriously-you HAVE to read this. The relationship is so emotional that you will find it difficult to put the book down. I wouldn't say this about any random book. The ending is so sad i cried for an hour.
DONT let this put you off-you HAVE TO READ IT!
My favorite WW1 book (so far...!)