Another instance of picking up the right book at the right time. I really enjoyed this, and found myself wanting to read slowly, to savor and think about it, rather than blasting through to the end to “find out what happens” because in the end we know what happens already. I bought this book in 2019 as a blind date with a book from Trident Booksellers. I think if I read it any sooner than I did, I wouldn’t have appreciated the metaphor and history. The edition I read had a Zadie Smith introduction that definitely enhanced my reading experience. I’m usually bored by “war” fiction but this was an exception!