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NEW FICTION & MYSTERY (1/23/12)
GEORGIA'S BOOK REVIEW
The Sojourn
By Andrew Krivak
Andrew Krivak's debut novel tells the moving story of a young soldier who joins the Austrian army to fight against Italy during World War I. More than a war story, The Sojourn is also a powerful tale of family bonds, love, loss and coming of age.
Josef Vinich’s story begins at the turn of the century in Pueblo, Colorado, where his immigrant parents have settled to begin a new life. A horrible family tragedy sends Josef and his father back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where they live as shepherds. In the rugged Carpathian Mountains, the boy is taught from an early age to hunt and shoot using his father’s prized Krag rifle.
When World War I comes to the Southern Front, the under-aged Josef and his cousin enlist in the Kaiser’s army. Recognized for their rifle skills, they are trained as sharpshooters and become part of an elite team of snipers. In the harsh landscape of the Italian Alps, the two teenagers stalk and kill high-ranking enemy. Their innocent dreams of glory become lost to the cruel realities of war. “We were hunters … who were now being taught to hunt men. You must find the soldier of rank and then kill as if it were your only chance to live.” Josef is eventually taken prisoner and, in the final portion of the story, will try to survive and find his way home.
The Sojourn is well researched
and rich with historical details of a lesser-known part of World War I. Some of
its content is based upon the life of the author’s Slovakian grandfather. It is
a poignant and compelling story that is narrated in a deliberate and spare
manner. Krivak’s writing style is quiet, elegant and poetic. Each word is
carefully chosen and each sentence highly crafted. He sometimes uses
paragraph-long sentences which may be an effort to read, but are rewarding in
their beauty:
"The northwestern Carpathians, in which I was raised, were a hard place, as
unforgiving as the people who lived there, but the Alpine landscape into which
Zlee and I were sent that early winter seemed a glimpse of what the surface of
the earth looked and felt and acted like when there were no maps or borders, no
rifles or artillery, no men or wars to claim possession of land, and snow and
rocks alone parried in a match of millennial slowness so that time meant
nothing, and death meant nothing, for what life there was gave in to the forces
of nature surrounding and accepted its fate to play what role was handed down in
the sidereal march of seasons capable of crushing in an instant what armies
might – millennia later – be foolish enough to assemble on its heights.”
Because the novel is in large part a war story, scenes of violence and death do appear. Krivak describes these in a serene, steady voice and, as another reviewer puts it, approaches combat “…with the placid nature of a Zen master.” Some readers may find the book to be dark, but this is balanced by its positive messages of persistence, hope and survival.
It is rare to find a book that is so memorable the reader wishes it would not end. The Sojourn is that kind of book. It was a deserving finalist in fiction for the 2011 National Book Awards. Hopefully it will be considered an important contribution to World War I literature.
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