Philip Gray (6)

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Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray is a thriller/mystery set on the battlefields of the Somme, a few months after the Armistice of World War I. Mr. Gray is a journalist and teacher, this is his first novel.

Amy Vanneck has arrived on a battlefield in northern France, where her fiancé has disappeared. Amy wants to find his body without reservation so he can have a proper burial.

Assisted by Captain Mackenzie, Amy discovers that Edward Haslam has unquestionably fallen at Two Storm Wood. This is a place where atrocities and savagery, shocking even for the brutal war, have happened.

While it was a bit difficult for me to get into this book, by the time I finished it was surprisingly difficult to put down. I was very impressed with the research that went into Two Storm Wood by Philip Gray which, indeed, gives the reader a good idea of what those battlefields looked like.

This is not a book that glamorizes the thunder of battle. It follows the volunteers whose job it was to unbury dead soldiers, attempt to identify them in whatever state of decompression they might be, and by all means, give them a proper burial.
Over half a million bodies.

Mr. Gray did a vast amount of research, it certainly shows in this book which is both dark and moody. Kudos to him for writing about the unknown soldiers, a subject filled with grief, as well as horror. The living hell of the aftermath of war, seen through the eyes of a female English aristocrat, comes through vividly and in detail.

The aftermath of World War I is something I knew very little about. For example, I had no idea that many Chinese men were brought over to do much of the menial work like digging trenches, and exhuming bodies. Their efforts, it seemed, have been all but forgotten.

The author wrote this book to honor his grandfather, a veteran of both World Wars, including the Battle of the Somme. A consummate record keeper, he supplied much of the maps and manuals the author used to write this book.
I can’t think of a more fitting tribute.… (mere)

Amy is from a well to do family and believed that she would never find love. When she met Edward at a church, they both became interested in each other and went on many secret dates before he enlisted in the army. Their dates had to be secret because her parents would never approve of someone in a lower class. When she received notification that he was missing in action, presumed dead, Amy decided to go to France to find him or find his body to bring home for burial. She didn't know what to expect when she arrived in France and went to the battlefields where soldiers were working to identify the dead with many of the unknowns being buried in mass graves. She encountered barbed wire, putrid water, and rat-infested tunnels everywhere she searched. Would she ever find Edwards body or was there a chance that he was still alive?

The author did considerable research to write this book about the unknown soldiers left in France and Belgium. It's a dark book filled with grief. Parts of it were difficult to read but weren't there for shock value but were based on information from the war. Amy is well written character and what she went through to find Edward's body was horrific. Not only was she told over and over that a woman shouldn't be in that area but her determination and tenaciousness helped her through the worst times. Most women in this era would never have gone to some of the places that she went looking for information. Actually most women would have never gone at all.

This dark novel is about solders who have given their all. It's beautifully written about an often ignored time in history. Thanks to the author's research, this book gives the reader more information about WWI and the after effects - including PTSD, drug usage, shell shock and horrible injuries.

Several years ago, I visited a World War I cemetery in Belgium Military cemeteries are always sad but this cemetery was even worse. Many of the crosses had no name on them and it was depressing that so many soldiers were lost in WWI that went unnamed and uncelebrated.

Thanks to Book Browse for a copy of this book to read and review… (mere)