Postcards from No Man's Land

The annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem brings Jacob to Holland to visit the grave of the grandfather whose name he bears. His grandmother's Dutch friends seem inexplicably guarded and unwelcoming until he discovers that Geertrui, terminally ill, is soon to have an assisted death. Before she dies she has a story to tell and the book's parallel narrative, set at the time of Arnhem, reveals love and betrayal of the deepest kind, introducing Jacob to a family he did not know he had. This is a long, complex book: a challenging read for older teenage readers and adults. Chambers frankly airs the thorny issues of sexuality, euthanasia, the morality of war and the nature of love. His portrayal of the young Geertrui, in love with Jacob's grandfather (by whom she bears a child) and displaced from home and family by the war, is both moving and convincing. However, there are occasions when the narrative is less successful; wordy passages in need of an editor's pencil and an artificial, staged tone to some of the conversations --- particularly those between Jacob and Hille, the Dutch girl he falls in love with during his visit. These reservations aside, this is an ambitious and often contentious book which deserves consideration by an older, accomplished reader.