This is a novel set in 1917. The action takes place simultaneously in Nova Scotia and with the Canadian Expeditionary Forces in France. The lead character is Angus MacGrath, a mid-thirties seaman, son of an anti-war pacifist, husband of Lettie and father of 13-year-old Simon. Because of his skills as an artist and navigator, he is trained as a cartographer, but nonetheless winds up as a lieutenant in the endless maw of filth and violence that is the trenches. He tries to find his missing best-friend and brother-in-law, Ebbin. Back home, his wife is lost in a netherworld of fear, anxiety and worry. Everyone on the home front pours over maps and newspapers and follows the action of the CEF. Angus does find Ebbin, but he no longer answers to, or even seems to acknowledge the name. Indeed, the Army has announced Ebbin as dead. But he isn't. He is now Lcpl. Havers, the legendary survivor of four years of battle. Havers, though, appears to be a series of different men who have taken up the dog-tags in an attempt to create and embellish a legend. Soon thereafter, the decision was made by the Generals for the Canadians to attempt a massive attack comparable to the British multiple failed attempts on the Somme. The attack at Vimy Ridge became the focus and pride of the Canadian nation. It was, however, the end of Ebbbin/Havers - shot by the Germans and witnessed by and the scene of a serious wound for MacGrath. The story then moves to Angus's time in recovery without the use of his right arm and hand and his bittersweet homecoming. The book has been very well received and reviewed. The author was a neuroscience writer for the Mayo Clinic and this is her first novel. Her family has had a lengthy connection to Nova Scotia and her facility with the sailing scenes is obvious. Her career transition has generated enthusiasm amongst the reviewers. That said, for me, it wasn't that exciting and offered no particular new insights to the war.
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