Outstanding classic lifted by brilliant narration

Loved this book and totally disagree with the reviews that criticise it for (I paraphrase) it's so called poor pacing and lack of narrative flow, for in reality it is a deliberate, meandering, poetic sojourn through one young man's rite of passage via the medium of war. Using the the term 'youth' throughout, despite us knowing the character's name, the author evokes a sense of an intensely personal reaction to the alien events happening to the boy, beginning with the fear that cause him to flee the field and ending with his self styled redemption, viewed largely through the window of his own mind, though also sometimes from without, such as when someone tells him they had overheard a group of officers praising him for his actions. The only thing I would add is that this fine tome also requires a written copy to hand for your full appreciation, because otherwise you may find yourself pausing to reflect on this or that beautiful image that the author has just created. This classic is highly recommended by this reader.

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