The Soldier

by R.C. Binstock

No Synopsis Available.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1569470596
• ISBN13: 9781569470596
• Release Date: January 1996
• Publisher: Soho Press
• Length: 282 Pages
• Weight: 1.02 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 8.6"

Customer Reviews

A refuge for the heart

R.C. Binstock has once again written a book that explores the depth of human passion and possibility with remarkable insight and tenderness. Emotionally blocked and embittered, the writer Phillip has cloistered himself away to avoid further injury from the world, and perhaps, also, to avoid burdening others with his pain. But in a gesture that surprises even himself, he opens the door to a troubled, young woman and offers her refuge and companionship, things he had thought himself no longer capable of giving. The two begin a sensual dance, grounded in need, but drawing them into a dangerous territory beyond society's limits and their own. THE SOLDIER takes the reader on a journey into the deepest wells of feeling and to the boundaries of the self and self-imposed exile. Breathtaking prose and an unforgettable story.

An impressive achievement

In "The Soldier," R.C. Binstock expertly weaves a number of story lines together to create a unified theme of love and loss. The main narrative, involving a reclusive author and the young, female cousin who comes to stay with him, is a moving and sensitive portrayal of one man's paralyzing sense of disconnection and yearning, and the difficulty he has in reaching out to experience love. Other story threads -- involving a middle-aged woman coming to terms with her own losses; a civil war soldier struggling with the horrors of war; and a benign, ghostly presence -- illuminate the main narrative in ways that are both surprising and subtle. This is a challenging novel that reveals itself to the reader slowly and unexpectedly, long after one has finished reading. Mr. Binstock's style is poetic, without compromising a sense of realism. In addition, the book is powerfully erotic -- the charge between the main character and his young houseguest, from their first scene together, keeps the reader riveted to the story. Like the ghostly visitor, "The Soldier" has a way of haunting the reader. It is a triumph and a treasure.