John Hilliard, a young subaltern returning to the Western Front after a brief period of sick leave back in England blind to the horrors of the trenches, finds his battalion tragically altered. His commanding officer finds escape in alcohol, there is a new adjutant and even Hilliard's batman has been killed.
But there is David Barton. As yet untouched and unsullied by war, radiating charm and common sense, forever writing long letters to his family. Theirs is a strange meeting and a strange relationship: the coming together of opposites in the summer lull before the inevitable storm.
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He was afraid to go to sleep.- PART ONE
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(Bolinda, 11 December 2014, audiobook, 6 hrs 47 mins, borrowed from Glasgow Libraries via BorrowBox)
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I really enjoyed Strange Meeting. I'm a huge fan of the author but had never heard of the book before I saw it was available to borrow. I've read some fiction set during WWI but none quite a powerful and intimate as this. At times I felt I was listening to a memoir because I felt so close to John and David. John and David and the friendship, even love they find in each other is the heart of this tragic, beautiful book. The author does not shield from the horror of war. This is a remarkable book
