The Cartographer of No Man's Land
From a hardscrabble village in Nova Scotia to the collapsing trenches of France, a debut novel about a family divided by World War I.In the tradition of Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife and Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn, P. S. Duffy’s astonishing debut showcases a rare and instinctive talent...
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From a hardscrabble village in Nova Scotia to the collapsing trenches of France, a debut novel about a family divided by World War I.In the tradition of Robert Goolrick’s A Reliable Wife and Karl Marlantes’s Matterhorn, P. S. Duffy’s astonishing debut showcases a rare and instinctive talent emerging in midlife. Her novel leaps across the Atlantic, between a father at war and a son coming of age at home without him. When his beloved brother-in-law goes missing at the front in 1916, Angus defies his pacifist upbringing to join the war and find him. Assured a position as a cartographer in London, he is instead sent directly into the visceral shock of battle. Meanwhile, at home, his son Simon Peter must navigate escalating hostility in a fishing village torn by grief. With the intimacy of The Song of Achilles and the epic scope of The Invisible Bridge, The Cartographer of No Man’s Land offers a soulful portrayal of World War I and the lives that were forever changed by it, both on the battlefield and at home.
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Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780871403766 (0871403765)
Publish date: December 20th 2013
Publisher: Liveright
Pages no: 384
Edition language: English
This is a period of history that really interests me. Unfortunately, though this book touched on many important points of the time period, the way some of the topics were covered seemed scholastic instead of intrinsic. The parallel storylines, though interesting and brought together smoothly at th...
Angus McGrath has always lived for other people. In Snag Harbor, Nova Scotia, he plies a coastal trader boat for his father. He keeps his wife on an even keep. He cares for a wayward cousin's child. And when his brother-in-law, Ebbin, disappears after the Battle of Flers-Courcelette, Angus signs up ...
Fucking gorgeous, unsentimental debut novel about a father and son who lose their bond when they are separated by war, but manage to connect again in a more mature and somber way when the father returns from the front. Why is this book not getting more attention? Rah rah, Ms. Duffy. Superb writin...
Touching, endearing and at times bringing out a smile. This novel flowed eloquently through the story between views of the characters. Each felt like an actual person although it felt as though more fleshing out was done on one more than the others. Even so it's not that much of a distraction to pre...