First published 2011
Family tragedy forces Jozef Vinich to abandon his life in a Colorado mining town and follow his father back to Austria-Hungary, where they scrape by as shepherds in the countryside. When war erupts across Europe, Jozef enlists alongside his adopted brother as a sniper in the Austrian army. He faces brutal combat while crossing the icy Italian Alps, only to fall into enemy hands when his side loses. The war tests everything Jozef believes about loyalty, family, and survival. Czechs, Slovaks, Austrians, and Germans fight together despite speaking different languages and coming from different worlds. Jozef must navigate not only the violence of the battlefield but also the complex bonds between fathers and sons, the pull of the American dream his family left behind, and the question of where he truly belongs as Europe tears itself apart.
Genres: historical-fiction, 20th-century, war, adventure
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, found-family
Setting: Austria-Hungary, Colorado
Period: World War I
192 pages · Paperback · Bellevue Literary Press
Content warnings: violence, war