The Soldier

by R.C. Binstock

Phillip's insular artistic life borders on self-exile. He lives in the woods of New Hampshire in a centuries old farmhouse. He does not simply prize his privacy, he insists on it. When a young female relative arrives, to whom he has offered a temporary haven, he finds the intrusion not at all displeasing. Instead of resenting the invasion of his solitude, he finds himself liking it, and her.
But how alone has he actually been? How isolated is his existence? A woman prowls the grounds. A soldier of a war fought long ago dreams of home. Lives, past and present, flow together in mystical collusion, amplifying one another's conflicts, joys, desires. They inform Phillip's life and art, infusing his isolation and imagination.

282 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1996

Reviews

[Deb · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you aren't a fan of multi narrator books then don't bother. This author switched narrators multiple times within a chapter. This didn't make me want to seek out anything else that the author had written and I probably won't be recommending it to anyone soon but it was alright. I kept reading because I was hoping to figure out more about the characters but in the end I was unsatisfied with the book as a whole.