“Tender, honest and dramatic. . . . Bock paints a broad, yet vivid account of a man’s life on the battlefield, and illuminates the personal and political ideals amid the confusion of war." —The Providence Journal"Bock’s spare narrative draws a well-rounded character study of a dedicated, flawed individual ultimately ravaged by the tedium and monstrosity of war surrounding him." —Entertainment Weekly"Reminiscent of Marilynne Robinson’s Gilead in gravitas and lyricism, Bock’s novel about a man who means to do good in the world, steadfastly faces death, and reveres the planet’s beauty is a study in sorrow, courage, and mystery." —Booklist"Bock’s descriptions of war’s detritus–the wounded, the dying, the starving, the haunted–recall Goya’s darkest visions. . . . Deeply affecting." —The Boston Globe
