The first casualty

• Book: The First Casualty
• Location: Flanders, Ypres
• Author: Ben Elton

History, politics, mystery and moral dilemmas, this book has it all. Set in 1917, the battlefields of France are of course described in graphic and gory detail. Through the central character’s eyes we see the ironies and horrors of war and through the other strong characters we see the impact on daily lives and on different personalities. The description of troops being packed onto trucks to travel for hours, then marching to the front line, being traumatised and injured in battle, ferried back for treatment and then declared fit enough to start all over again is harrowing yet has a very subtle comedy to it – the book is full of ironic situations and illogical arguments. A very entertaining, gripping and sometimes emotional read that brings experiences of the battlefields into a bigger context.

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