The Return of the Soldier

I wish I'd liked this more than I did. It sounded like such an interesting idea for a story but just didn't work for me. :/

At times it was 2 stars, other times it was 4 stars. rounding it to 3.

First, I see the historical significance of this book. War is brutal, unforgiving and cruel. World War I was especially harsh. So was society. The men went off to fight a terrible war, while the women fought their own battles back home.

The Return of the Soldier focuses on 3 women. They are the wife, cousin, and ex-lover of a soldier. The cousin and wife live together while the soldier is away. Suddenly a woman shows up claiming she received a telegraph from the soldier. He's wounded and is suffering from memory loss, but remembers this ex-love. The rest of the story follows the women as they interact with each other and the soldier (his name is Chris). Overall I found the story to be heartbreaking. It is a difficult topic, and a sad reminder of what really happened. The writing was more of a challenge. It would fluctuate between third person description and first person dialogue. Some parts were eloquently written, but other times it was hard to follow.

I do think this is an important read. Yes, there may be better books now, but it is good for it's age. I did expect a little more on the ending.

A novella (and short even for that) about a guy who returns from war shell-shocked. He's forgotten the last 15 years, including his wife, and is madly in love with the woman he was in love with 15 years earlier. An interesting story.