Page Forty

Small Wars by Sadie Jones

"The outrage of the collective frees the individual to commit terrible acts" (141).

It is 1956 and British soldier Hal Treherne is defending the British colony of Cyprus. His wife, Clara, and two twin girls join him. Hal has built his life around his love for his country and the army. A respected Major, Hal is impatient to see "action." However, like many soldiers, Hal soon becomes disallusioned with the army and the role he plays when things in Cyprus begin to heat up. Hal becomes increasingly emotionally disturbed by the events around him and thus increasingly emotionally distant from his wife and family, while Clara attempts to maintain the 1950s wife persona - accomodating, supportive, pleasant - even when Hal's internal struggle begins to change him in ways they never thought possible.

Jones captures the futility of war, the disallusionment of fighting for something that becomes difficult to believe in, the effects of war on family and marriage, and the struggle to remain human in an inhuman world. Her characters are believable and multi-dimensional, her writing descriptive, and her story powerful. This was a great book.