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joreadsbooks's review
3.0
Listened to the audiobook
A Song for No Man's Land falls into a similar subgenre that Pan's Labyrinth does: a wartime novel interspersed with moments of fantasy. Robert Jones is a man who tries to get his shit together after a life of gambling and debauchery, so he enlists in the army during World War I. It also flashes back to a boy running through the "Devil Wood" and the horrors that lie within.
What I really enjoyed were the duality of magical horror and the horrors of war. The existential questioning that arises when you're trapped in an impossible situation. The images were grounding and harrowing. I couldn't really connect with the main character, however. I think because the work is so short and trying to juggle a few concepts at once, he gets a little lost. But for those who enjoy grim historical fiction with a touch of magic should definitely give this one a read.
A Song for No Man's Land falls into a similar subgenre that Pan's Labyrinth does: a wartime novel interspersed with moments of fantasy. Robert Jones is a man who tries to get his shit together after a life of gambling and debauchery, so he enlists in the army during World War I. It also flashes back to a boy running through the "Devil Wood" and the horrors that lie within.
What I really enjoyed were the duality of magical horror and the horrors of war. The existential questioning that arises when you're trapped in an impossible situation. The images were grounding and harrowing. I couldn't really connect with the main character, however. I think because the work is so short and trying to juggle a few concepts at once, he gets a little lost. But for those who enjoy grim historical fiction with a touch of magic should definitely give this one a read.
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