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A review by flavius_nichifor
Legiunea Blestemaților by Sven Hassel
5.0
A gritty depiction of the life of a ww2 soldier written with a great amount of detail that send shivers into the spine of the reader.
I feel somewhat guilty to say this, but I liked the manner in which the wartime was painted: the uncountable loss of human lives, especially young ones, the feelings of dread, fear, insanity and hopelessness combined into a first-person confesion of a simple soldier, that is enrolled into the nazis forces against his will, and forced to take part in numerous crimes against humanity, all for the sake of the illusions of a rotten form of government.
Even though there are plenty of fighting scenes that deliver the utmost vivid images of the grey muddy war zone, soaked in human blood and innards, this book has some great passages that underline the post-war effects this event had on the survivors. The times the characters get to spend with their beloved ones, or their families, only to later be sent again into the hellish depths of a new front.
The overall tone of the book leaves close to no room for optimistic views, left for some scarce moments of humanitarian behavior between the soldiers from opposite sides.
The author's point of view is clear, war is meaningless, born only from the ambition of devious people, that put too little, or no value on the human life they have to sacrifice in order to achieve their goal. Not only this, but the survivors are left in such a state, that reintegration in the society is so far from them, that suicide seems like a more mercifull choice.
Overall, a great book, I highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to reading the next ones from this series.
I feel somewhat guilty to say this, but I liked the manner in which the wartime was painted: the uncountable loss of human lives, especially young ones, the feelings of dread, fear, insanity and hopelessness combined into a first-person confesion of a simple soldier, that is enrolled into the nazis forces against his will, and forced to take part in numerous crimes against humanity, all for the sake of the illusions of a rotten form of government.
Even though there are plenty of fighting scenes that deliver the utmost vivid images of the grey muddy war zone, soaked in human blood and innards, this book has some great passages that underline the post-war effects this event had on the survivors. The times the characters get to spend with their beloved ones, or their families, only to later be sent again into the hellish depths of a new front.
The overall tone of the book leaves close to no room for optimistic views, left for some scarce moments of humanitarian behavior between the soldiers from opposite sides.
The author's point of view is clear, war is meaningless, born only from the ambition of devious people, that put too little, or no value on the human life they have to sacrifice in order to achieve their goal. Not only this, but the survivors are left in such a state, that reintegration in the society is so far from them, that suicide seems like a more mercifull choice.
Overall, a great book, I highly recommend it, and I'm looking forward to reading the next ones from this series.