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tommooney's review against another edition
4.0
Another superb short novel about men at war by this excellent French novelist. This time Mingerelli tackles the Russian Revolution, following four soldiers from the Red Army as they battle winter, boredom and the looming dread of what is to come. They form tight friendships as they while away the hours playing dominoes, talking or just sitting by a secluded pond.
Mingerelli does such a superb job of depicting the base daily events of soldier life. He strips away the politics, refuses to take sides and has such empathy for his characters. Wonderful stuff.
Mingerelli does such a superb job of depicting the base daily events of soldier life. He strips away the politics, refuses to take sides and has such empathy for his characters. Wonderful stuff.
andrew61's review against another edition
3.0
This was an interesting novella set in 1919 as Russian troops fight the civil war post revolution. That being said there is little to distinguish the actual conflict which perhaps is apt given that this is a book about the universality of a soldiers experience and particularly their comradeship when in a period of lull in the fighting.
So as winter approaches a division has to make shelter in the woods until the spring. the four soldiers and eventually one of other are a diverse bunch who make there timber hut and discover a pond nearby.
the book is about the friendships and how they cope including the interaction with local farmers, how they support each other through times of emotional distress in the case of the narrator and the war toughened Pavel who has nightmares that disturb him, exchages both cruel and funny particularly over cigarettes, and how much reliance in an object as a symbol of luck the soldiers hold (here a photo of a woman in a pocket watch).
Definitely an interesting reflection on war and as such a slight read worth trying .
So as winter approaches a division has to make shelter in the woods until the spring. the four soldiers and eventually one of other are a diverse bunch who make there timber hut and discover a pond nearby.
the book is about the friendships and how they cope including the interaction with local farmers, how they support each other through times of emotional distress in the case of the narrator and the war toughened Pavel who has nightmares that disturb him, exchages both cruel and funny particularly over cigarettes, and how much reliance in an object as a symbol of luck the soldiers hold (here a photo of a woman in a pocket watch).
Definitely an interesting reflection on war and as such a slight read worth trying .
sebastianrutter's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
tasmanian_bibliophile's review against another edition
4.0
‘I am from Dorovitsa in the province of Vyatka.’
Set somewhere near the Romanian border in the winter of 1919, while the Russian Civil War is in its second year. During a lull in the fighting, four soldiers set up camp in a forest. They become close, these four men, Benia (our narrator), Pavel, Kyabine and Sifra, awaiting their orders. The rest of their battalion is close by. They smoke, they talk, they requisition animals and foodstuff from local peasants. They have their rituals as well, including a watch they pass between them which contains a photograph of a woman. The watch no longer works, but the photograph of the unknown woman connects each of them to humanity.
They find a pond and try to keep it to themselves. Moments of tranquillity, fragments of happiness snatched from the horror of war. They smoke, they talk, they wait. Spring will arrive soon; they will move on to fight. Benia feels affection for Pavel but is conflicted. Kyabine, a giant from Uzbek, is frequently the source of amusement. They are afraid of what might come but take comfort from being together.
And then they are joined by a fifth soldier. Kouza Evdokim is a young peasant recruit from Vsevolozhsk, near St Petersburg. Nicknamed the ‘Evodkim kid’, he is frequently observed writing. The others, illiterate, are suspicious of him (of what is he writing, and why) but come to realise that the Evodkim kid’s writing may be the only way to create a record of this period before the fighting resumes. Each of the soldiers, particularly Benia, wants the Evodkim kid to make a careful record. Writing will make this experience real, whatever the future may hold.
I finished this novel (novella?) profoundly moved. In fewer than two hundred pages, Mr Mingarelli slows down time to portray a break in the fighting, where soldiers are briefly (just) men trying to exist the best way they can. There is a twist which makes this even more poignant.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Set somewhere near the Romanian border in the winter of 1919, while the Russian Civil War is in its second year. During a lull in the fighting, four soldiers set up camp in a forest. They become close, these four men, Benia (our narrator), Pavel, Kyabine and Sifra, awaiting their orders. The rest of their battalion is close by. They smoke, they talk, they requisition animals and foodstuff from local peasants. They have their rituals as well, including a watch they pass between them which contains a photograph of a woman. The watch no longer works, but the photograph of the unknown woman connects each of them to humanity.
They find a pond and try to keep it to themselves. Moments of tranquillity, fragments of happiness snatched from the horror of war. They smoke, they talk, they wait. Spring will arrive soon; they will move on to fight. Benia feels affection for Pavel but is conflicted. Kyabine, a giant from Uzbek, is frequently the source of amusement. They are afraid of what might come but take comfort from being together.
And then they are joined by a fifth soldier. Kouza Evdokim is a young peasant recruit from Vsevolozhsk, near St Petersburg. Nicknamed the ‘Evodkim kid’, he is frequently observed writing. The others, illiterate, are suspicious of him (of what is he writing, and why) but come to realise that the Evodkim kid’s writing may be the only way to create a record of this period before the fighting resumes. Each of the soldiers, particularly Benia, wants the Evodkim kid to make a careful record. Writing will make this experience real, whatever the future may hold.
I finished this novel (novella?) profoundly moved. In fewer than two hundred pages, Mr Mingarelli slows down time to portray a break in the fighting, where soldiers are briefly (just) men trying to exist the best way they can. There is a twist which makes this even more poignant.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
rwims's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
1919 war. 4 soldiers. Their story as they wait to go to the front line. The days spent quietly waiting. The last time to think to contemplate. The unknown that is coming. The 4 soliders depend and rely on each other until the end. So much left unsaid, hidden. Great read very atmospheric. Characters real and memorable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, and War
flobbsreads's review against another edition
3.0
This book set in a period of history which I am well versed with and I was enamoured at how this book really set a personal tone and voice to the individuals in the Russian civil war which i had never heard before. Learning many facts and statistics about an event only takes one so far but this was wonderful and provides greater depth to the reality but also highlights friendship and isolation.
erictlee's review against another edition
5.0
Despite the title, this is not a book about war, but about friendship. It tells the simple story of four men serving in the Red Army during the Russian Civil War, but has almost no combat, nor deaths. It has nothing of the period, no discussion of politics, no history -- it could have been set anywhere, at any time. Because of that, it is a universal story, touching and on a very human scale. Highly recommended.
blairebrandt's review against another edition
5.0
i wasn’t sure i was gonna like this book, but it was perfect + just what i needed.
simple yet touching. no baroque sentences, but perfectly captured beauty. i cared for the characters; they were real, their struggles were understandable or relatable.
when we study wars, we often neglect the ‘small person’, or only focus on a few of them - this served as an excellent reminder of how strange that practice is.
simple yet touching. no baroque sentences, but perfectly captured beauty. i cared for the characters; they were real, their struggles were understandable or relatable.
when we study wars, we often neglect the ‘small person’, or only focus on a few of them - this served as an excellent reminder of how strange that practice is.
52weekswithbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Short and simple, but depicting a very clear and a bit stylized screenshot of the life of soldiers during the war. An un-romanticized picture of ordinary men, trying to cope with life during the war. Not tragic, nor victorious, just one day at a time.