First published 1998
Thomas Somers drives through France with his family when a disturbing realization hits him. Before this vacation ends, he will have lived longer than his father managed before death claimed him. The milestone unsettles Thomas in ways he cannot shake. Sleep brings him vivid dreams that transport him to historic battlefields where Wellington once commanded troops. In these nocturnal visions, Thomas begins to understand the wounds that shaped his father's life. The dreams force him to confront how his father's damaged past affected their relationship. Through these battlefield encounters, Thomas must reconcile with both his father's legacy and his own advancing age. The French countryside becomes the backdrop for a son's reckoning with inherited trauma and the weight of outliving a parent.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, 21st-century, family-drama
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: coming-of-age, family-legacy
Setting: France
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
288 pages · Paperback · Gollancz
Content warnings: mental-illness