Peace

by Richard Bausch

Book Overview

This small masterpiece with the same emotional force and moral complexity as Conrad's Heart of Darkness and Tolstoy's Hadji Murad" (Colm T ib n) inspired the forthcoming film, Recon. Italy, near... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307268330
• ISBN13: 9780307268334
• Release Date: April 2008
• Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf
• Length: 171 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.6" x 7.8"

Customer Reviews

Man's (In)Humanity to Man

Richard Bausch's taut novel tells us what happens when civilian soldiers go to war. It's a powerfully atmospheric story about three American soldiers sent up a mountain in Italy near Cassino during the brutal winter of 1944. Their mission: see what the Germans are doing on the other side. Their mental state: conflicted by the shooting of a German woman they witnessed just before they left. Was it murder? An act of war? Should they report it when they return or simply fold it into their psyches? They struggle with the moral dilemma while they slog their way up the cold, miserable mountain. Bausch's ability to bring the reader fully into his story is well-demonstrated in this book. The tension builds page by page until the wholly satisfying climax, the niggling arguments among the men are just repetitive and just disconcerting enough to make the reader angry, and the perfectly-mounted descriptions of the cold, hard rain, the wet, view-obliterating snow make you wish (just like the soldiers) that you were somewhere else. Ambiguity is a beautiful thing in Bausch's hands. The squad's guide, Angelo, could be a simple peasant or a German spy--or something else entirely. The protagonist, Corporal Marson, could be a baseball-playing All-American hero or a morally-bereft corporal looking for the easy way out. How these and the other sources of tension in the book are resolved propels the reader through to the end. Dave Donelson, author of Heart of Diamonds: A Novel of Scandal, Love and Death in the Congo

Not an Anti-War Novel- Short, but a Gem

Beg to differ with previous reviewer, but this is not an anti-anything work. It's a story of conscience and the dignity of man in inhuman circumstances. Highly recommended.

A Must Read for Citizens of the World

"Peace" is a poignant and moving story, written in clear and simple language. It's brevity contributes to its emotional impact. The narrative is one of the dehumanizing effects of war and the redemptive power of choice. It is an anti-war narrative told with inescapable logic. Military authorities will likely bar it from the libraries of the armed forces. "Peace" will have universal appeal and I hope it will be translated into the languages of the world for all to read.

A Wonderful Story

This is a beautifully crafted novel, somewhere north of a short-story, but still a satisfying, rich read. The prose is spare, the feelings and insights intense, the characters briefly drawn but memorable. I couldn't put the book down, and reread chapters several times, amazed at the author's ability to say so much in so few words. Highly recommended. This is a story that stays with you.

no words are wasted

PEACE, the title of Bausch's new novel will throw many readers. This is a war story where the tension builds inexorably and there are rarely any moments that feel peaceful. Readers have to earn this peace. Most of the story takes place on a cold winter night in 1944 in Italy as the German army retreats with the US Army hot on their tails. Three Americans are sent up a hill to see if they can spot the Germans and report back on their movements. The main character, Corporal Marson has Joyner and Asch serving under him. They have a guide, an elderly Italian man who they found driving a cart in the area, As they climb the hill the weather turns from bad to worse as night falls and they determine that this hill is actually much bigger than they knew. It is a mountain and as they bivouac on the side of it in a blizzard they begin to fear the worst. This pithy novel is written with utter economy. We feel the fear and the pain of our 3 soldiers as they stalk their invisible enemies. I won't give any more away except that when you reach the conclusion you will find peace, but only for a moment. Simply magnificent writing here.