Hamer's War

All Books are second hand
Francis Cottam
9780743239530

Journalist Cottam's first novel, The Fire Fighter, was set in Britain in World War II. This time he switches sides to the harrowing life of a brave, principled German officer who becomes a hero of the Reich for destroying a Russian tank and thereby turning the tide of battle for a while on the Russian front. His recovery from a bullet wound while posted to a Polish labour camp is interspersed with flashbacks revealing the loss of his family's lands, his flawed marriage and a monumental deception which removes a cornerstone of his existence. Cottam's is a fascinating tale of love and a professional soldier's bitter war for an atrocious regime. His writing shows enormous promise but is over-complicated by so many flashbacks which put hiccups into the narrative drive of an otherwise compelling story.