A Long Long Way by Sebastian Barry

The tale of Willie Dunne, 18 years old from Dublin who volunteers for the Royal Dublin Fusiliers at the start of WW1. The book takes us through his years in Flanders, through the gas attacks, the mud, the death, the heart wrenching terrible times, and introduces a little of what it was to be Irish and to be fighting for the King.

Irish Home Rule discussions had been put to one side when war broke out, but many had already volunteered into the British Army to fight the Germans. After the Easter Uprising in 1916 and the subsequent executions of their leaders, feelings of many more Irish people turned against the British so the returning Irish soldiers were not always treated with compassion. This book gives a flavour of those confused times.

It's a straightforward narrative, but is told in such a beautifully lyrical language that you'd hear it read with a soft Irish accent in your head. Nearly every page has a phrase, a sentence or whole paragraphs that you read twice for their simple grace.

Barry's descriptive skills are wonderful - the passage that describes a gas attack when the lads are in the trenches, and have no idea what the strange fog is that comes is truly horrific and will stay with me for a while.

Luckily I was the first to nab this book from the library as it's not been long out, and has been nominated for the Booker prize. Silly wanting it to win as I've not read any of the others, but this one moved me to tears in spite of the familiar account of a generations lost innocence.

I really recommend this book, please read it.