The Warm Hands of Ghosts by Katherine Arden- Publishes 2/13/24

 


Dark and haunting yet filled with an undertone of hope and life.  "The Warm Hands of Ghosts," is unlike any historical fiction novel I have read before.  The novel is set during WWI and the story alternates between Laura, a nurse, who is living in Canada, and her brother, Freddie, who is a soldier in Belgium. Laura has recently lost her mom and when she receives news that her brother is missing and presumed dead she feels that she has to do something.  She has so many questions about what has happened to him. An opportunity presents itself to travel to Belgium to work at a hospital and she thinks she may be able to find answers about her brother.  Freddie is trapped in the ground but he is not dead yet and he also isn't alone.  His struggle is to stay alive yet even if he gets out what can possibly do after being left for dead with his enemy.  His story is one that will pull at your heart strings. 


What makes this novel unique is the element of fantasy that is woven into the very real aspects of World War I.  The writing is superb and I felt myself transported back to 1917.  I desperately wanted to know what was going to happen to Freddie in the pillbox.  I wondered whether Laura would ever find her brother or what she would do.  As the war rages on and life seems unbearably hard, these two characters have to find a way to survive. Ultimately they have an enemy to defeat and it is not the Germans.  A beautifully written story that will make you so thankful that we are not living during a world war right now but also will keep you enthralled. 

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