Chocolate Soldier, A

Some Wars Never End In this page-turning first novel, David W. Millar tells the story of Neil, an eighteen-year old who dreams of going to Cambridge University to study history. The trouble is, up until a recent Damascene conversion, Neil had been on track to pursue a career in the sciences. When he gains temporary employment in a care home for the elderly, Neil meets Oleg, a survivor of the Siege of Stalingrad. Oleg has witnessed his family murdered by German soldiers with his sister raped and killed. But the old Red Army veteran carries his own guilty secret from the war and is beset by nightmares. Neil and Oleg start up an uneasy friendship, which is brokered by Sheila, the care home manager. As the novel progresses, we meet Sheila s son Harry, who has his own adventure. The story culminates in an unusual dénouement for Neil, Harry, Sheila, and Oleg. With its themes of love, guilt, friendship, and redemption, A Chocolate Soldier is a gripping novel that reminds us that we are always in a state of becoming