Synopsis from Amazon:
After a court martial in January 1917, five Frenchmen convicted of self-mutilation (in order to avoid combat in WW I) are dragged along the network of zigzagging trenches to the improbably named frontline trench, "Bingo Crepuscule." What exactly happened in Bingo is as labyrinthine as the trenches themselves, but Mathilde Donnay, the fiancee of one of the soldiers, is a determined young woman whose wheelchair is unable to contain her fiercely independent and willful spirit. Aided by an indulgent, well-to-do father, a generous private investigator, soldiers who survived the conflict and the families of those who didn't, Mathilde begins the long and spotty process of re-creating events.
My review:
I really like books like this that go back and forth between the present and the past. This is the story of Mathilde who tries to find out exactly what happened to her fiance who was killed during WWI. Mathilde is a great character. She has been confined to a wheelchair for most of her life, but she doesn't let that stop her from doing what she wants. Through talking to the other men's families and other soldiers who were there, she figures out what really happened to her fiance. This book was very well written and I really enjoyed it. I really want to watch the movie, and I think Audrey Tautou is the perfect choice for Mathilde.
I've seen the movie of this but I had no idea it was a book! Thanks for putting it on my radar :). I'm here from Cym Lowell's review party, and I'll definitely be back!
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