by John Boyne
First published 2011
It's 1919 and Tristan Sadler travels to deliver letters to the sister of his fallen comrade, Will Bancroft. But Tristan carries a secret he can no longer keep. As he recounts their bond forged in the brutal trenches of World War I, he grapples with the intense emotions that brought him joy, confusion, and unbearable pain. This masterful story lays bare the devastating human costs of war, where heroism and betrayal intertwine in an extraordinary and unexpected conclusion.
Genres: literary-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, war
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, unreliable-narrator
Setting: Western Front, Western Front (World War (1914-1918))
320 pages · Paperback · Random House Export
Content warnings: death, war