Book Recommendation

[rosemary_green]

While wandering through the library in search of my usual copy of Rudyard Kipling's poetry, I came across a YA book called Kipling's Choice by Geert Spillebeen. It is a fictionalized account of the life (and in particular, death in WWI) of Kipling's son John. He was reported "missing, believed killed" after the battle of Loos in 1915, and the novel moves back and forth between scenes of his life leading up to this point and imagined scenes of him dying slowly over the course of the day. It is beautifully written, and very heart-wrenching -- have your handkerchief at the ready!

A couple of reviews are here.

The author has written other books set during WWI, but this looks like the only one that has been translated into English (he is from Belgium).

Comments

Kipling's choice

[(Anonymous)]

This book is indeed very special. Read what "Chasing Ray" says:
Kipling's Choice is a fascinating novel, told primarily in flashbacks as John dies in the opening pages. Geert Spillebeen has done an interesting thing by allowing John's thoughts as he is dying to permeate the book, to remind the reader that it is brutally painful and lonely to be shot in the middle of a muddy field, that everyone longs for Mom and Dad and home in those last agonizing moments, that everyone begs and pleads their way to death. It is not beautiful or glorious after all.

see http://chasingray.blogspot.com/2005_10_01_chasingray_archive.html

Re: Kipling's choice

[rosemary-green.livejournal.com]

Thank you for the link -- I enjoyed reading your thoughts about this book. I've also added The return of the soldier to my reading list...