World War I, Book Review | featured news

This earnest, well-meaning novel begins with two magnificently compelling depictions of violence: the battle for a small French village during World War I and, shortly after, the racist hysteria of a lynch mob in Nebraska. Stephen Harrigan handles these scenes with immaculate detail, an acute ear for fear and cruelty, and an eye for the unpredictability of human behavior in moments of passion.

Known to children around the world for the best-selling Lionboy series (written with her daughter under the name Zizou Cor­der), Louisa Young makes use of her abundant storytelling gifts in her first novel for adults: “My Dear I Wanted to Tell You,” a moving tale of men and women tested to their limits by World War I.