The Return of the Soldier
Registered by gypsysmom of Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada on 8/21/2020
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
This book was recommended on LibraryThing as a good book from the 1001 Books to Read Before You Die list. I couldn't find a copy locally so I ordered this used book from Better World Books.
I've known of Rebecca West for quite a while due to her affair with H. G. Wells which has been the subject of books and plays. In 2016 I read her book Harriet Hume but I wasn't overly impressed so I hadn't picked up any more books by her until this book was recommended in the LibraryThing 1001 Books group as being excellent. And it was! Hard to believe this is a first novel as every sentence seems exquisite.
The story is quite simple. Captain Chris Baldry has been injured while fighting for the British forces during World War I. He has lost the last 10 years from his memory which means that he does not remember his wife Kitty. He does remember Margaret who was the young woman he loved 10 years ago and it was Margaret who received the notification that Chris was injured. Margaret is now married herself and leaves not too far from the Baldry estate so she comes to the house to break the news to Kitty. When Chris is brought home from France he only wants to see Margaret who comes every afternoon to spend time with him. If Chris can be made to regain those 10 lost years he will probably be sent back to the fighting but if he continues with the memory loss he will be continually confused and unhappy. All this is narrated by his cousin Jenny who seems to have lived with her cousin and his wife for some years. She cares for all three of the people in this triangle and yet she hopes that Chris can be spared having to return to the Front.
Here's one example of the writing at pp. 37 and 38 that is found throughout this gem of a book:
In the liquefaction of colours which happens on a summer evening, when the green grass seemed like a precious fluid poured out on the earth and dripping over to the river, and the chestnut candles were no longer proud flowers, but just wet white lights in the humid mass of the tree, when the brown earth seemed just a little denser than the water, Margaret also participated.
Can't you just picture that scene?
The story is quite simple. Captain Chris Baldry has been injured while fighting for the British forces during World War I. He has lost the last 10 years from his memory which means that he does not remember his wife Kitty. He does remember Margaret who was the young woman he loved 10 years ago and it was Margaret who received the notification that Chris was injured. Margaret is now married herself and leaves not too far from the Baldry estate so she comes to the house to break the news to Kitty. When Chris is brought home from France he only wants to see Margaret who comes every afternoon to spend time with him. If Chris can be made to regain those 10 lost years he will probably be sent back to the fighting but if he continues with the memory loss he will be continually confused and unhappy. All this is narrated by his cousin Jenny who seems to have lived with her cousin and his wife for some years. She cares for all three of the people in this triangle and yet she hopes that Chris can be spared having to return to the Front.
Here's one example of the writing at pp. 37 and 38 that is found throughout this gem of a book:
In the liquefaction of colours which happens on a summer evening, when the green grass seemed like a precious fluid poured out on the earth and dripping over to the river, and the chestnut candles were no longer proud flowers, but just wet white lights in the humid mass of the tree, when the brown earth seemed just a little denser than the water, Margaret also participated.
Can't you just picture that scene?
Journal Entry 3 by gypsysmom at White Horse statue in St. Francis Xavier, Manitoba Canada on Thursday, September 17, 2020
Released 3 yrs ago (9/16/2020 UTC) at White Horse statue in St. Francis Xavier, Manitoba Canada
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
I left this book at the base of the statue bagged against the elements. This release is for the 2020 52 Towns in 52 weeks release challenge - Town #23. When you find a BookCrossing book it is yours to do with what you like. You can read it and keep it or pass it on or if you don't think it is your kind of book pass it on to someone who might like it or release it in a spot for someone else to find like you just did. Whatever you choose it would be great if you could write a short note letting us know what new adventures the book is on.
