3.5
The Warm Hands of Ghosts
ByPublisher Description
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • During the Great War, a combat nurse searches for her brother, believed dead in the trenches despite eerie signs that suggest otherwise, in this hauntingly beautiful historical novel with a speculative twist, from the author of The Bear and the Nightingale.
“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander
“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly Education
ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
“A wonderful clash of fire and ice—a book you won’t want to let go of.”—Diana Gabaldon, author of Outlander
“Spectacular—a tour de force, wonderful and deep and haunting.”—Naomi Novik, author of A Deadly Education
ONE OF BOOKPAGE’S TEN BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR
January 1918. Laura Iven was a revered field nurse until she was wounded and discharged from the medical corps, leaving behind a brother still fighting in Flanders. Now home in Halifax, Canada, Laura receives word of Freddie’s death in combat, along with his personal effects—but something doesn’t make sense. Determined to uncover the truth, Laura returns to Belgium as a volunteer at a private hospital, where she soon hears whispers about haunted trenches and a strange hotelier whose wine gives soldiers the gift of oblivion. Could Freddie have escaped the battlefield, only to fall prey to something—or someone—else?
November 1917. Freddie Iven awakens after an explosion to find himself trapped in an overturned pillbox with a wounded enemy soldier, a German by the name of Hans Winter. Against all odds, the two form an alliance and succeed in clawing their way out. Unable to bear the thought of returning to the killing fields, especially on opposite sides, they take refuge with a mysterious man who seems to have the power to make the hellscape of the trenches disappear.
As shells rain down on Flanders and ghosts move among those yet living, Laura’s and Freddie’s deepest traumas are reawakened. Now they must decide whether their world is worth salvaging—or better left behind entirely.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesThe Warm Hands of Ghosts Reviews
3.5
“While this is a story about the first world war it is inherently about human resilience and suffering and the bonds that make us endure past what we thought would be possible.
The warm hands of ghost reminds me of so many things and its a work worth reading to anyone.
Someone once told me that you should cherish the blood while it's still warm and this reminds me so much of that.”
“I had the pleasure to meet Katherine recently for her more recent book “the unicorn hunter”. She mentioned during her talk about the process of writing this book and its content, which made me decide to purchase.
The story was captivating, heartwarming and beautifully explored the themes of war, ptsd and complexity of grief.
The veil artfully drawn around the characters add an interesting and compelling perspective. It helps guides us through the story.
The war was imagined in a beautifully sensitive and gritty way, bringing the humanity into but also the sheer gravity and detachment it had on people.
The second half of the book was faster paced and was throughly enjoyable. It does though suffer from feeling confusing and rushed in parts.”
About Katherine Arden
Katherine Arden is the New York Times bestselling author of the Winternight trilogy and the Small Spaces Quartet. In addition to writing, she enjoys aimless travel, growing vegetables, and running wild through the woods with her dog, Moose. She lives in Vermont.
Other books by Katherine Arden
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