The Constant Soldier
A Novel
Published on 7. November 2023
408 pages
978-1-956763-84-3 (ISBN)
Description
Set near the concentration camps of Auschwitz, an accaimed historical thriller of the end of World War II that has been called "A masterpiece of empathetic imagination and storytelling flair" (BBC History Magazine, "Historical Novel of the Year")
1944. Paul Brandt, a soldier in the German army, returns wounded and ashamed from the bloody chaos of the Eastern Front to find his village changed and in the dark shadow of an SS rest hut-a luxurious retreat for officers recuperating from their injuries and for those who manage the nearby concentration camps of Auschwitz. The hut is run with the help of a small group of female prisoners from the camps who, against all odds, have survived the war so far. When, by chance, Brandt glimpses one of these prisoners, he realizes he must find a way to access the hut. For inside is the woman to whom his fate has been tied since their arrest five years earlier, and now he must do all he can to protect her.
As the Russian offensive moves closer and partisans press from the surrounding woodlands, the days of this rest hut and its SS inhabitants are numbered. And while hope for Brandt and the female prisoners grows tantalizingly close, the danger is greater than ever. In a forest to the east, a young female Soviet tank driver awaits her orders to advance . . .
The Constant Soldier has been hailed as "a masterpiece" and "a modern classic" and praised on its UK publication as "An extraordinary novel, with the intensity and pace of a thriller and a wisdom and subtlety all of its own. I was gripped to the very last page" (Antonia Hodgson).
1944. Paul Brandt, a soldier in the German army, returns wounded and ashamed from the bloody chaos of the Eastern Front to find his village changed and in the dark shadow of an SS rest hut-a luxurious retreat for officers recuperating from their injuries and for those who manage the nearby concentration camps of Auschwitz. The hut is run with the help of a small group of female prisoners from the camps who, against all odds, have survived the war so far. When, by chance, Brandt glimpses one of these prisoners, he realizes he must find a way to access the hut. For inside is the woman to whom his fate has been tied since their arrest five years earlier, and now he must do all he can to protect her.
As the Russian offensive moves closer and partisans press from the surrounding woodlands, the days of this rest hut and its SS inhabitants are numbered. And while hope for Brandt and the female prisoners grows tantalizingly close, the danger is greater than ever. In a forest to the east, a young female Soviet tank driver awaits her orders to advance . . .
The Constant Soldier has been hailed as "a masterpiece" and "a modern classic" and praised on its UK publication as "An extraordinary novel, with the intensity and pace of a thriller and a wisdom and subtlety all of its own. I was gripped to the very last page" (Antonia Hodgson).
More details
Person
William Ryan is the author of six novels, including the Moscow Noir series set in 1930s Russia and, under the pen name W. C. Ryan, A House of Ghosts. His books have been shortlisted for numerous awards, including the Irish Fiction Award, the Theakstons Crime Novel of the Year, and the Crime Writers' Association's Steel, Historical, and New Blood Daggers. His latest novel as W. C. Ryan, The Winter Guest, is set during the Irish War of Independence and was described by Ann Cleeves as "a stunning book, beautifully written" and by the Sunday Times as "a ripping yarn." He resides in London.
