The Winter Ghosts

The Great War took much more than lives. It robbed a generation of friends, lovers and futures. In Freddie Watson's case, it took his beloved brother and, at times, his peace of mind. Unable to cope with his grief, Freddie has spent much of the time since in a sanatorium. In the winter of 1928, still seeking resolution, Freddie is travelling through the French Pyrenees - another region that has seen too much bloodshed over the years. During a snowstorm, his car spins off the mountain road. Shaken, he stumbles into the woods, emerging by a tiny village. There he meets Fabrissa, a beautiful local woman, also mourning a lost generation. Over the course of one night, Fabrissa and Freddie share their stories of remembrance and loss. By the time dawn breaks, he will have stumbled across a tragic mystery that goes back through the centuries. By turns thrilling, poignant and haunting, this is a story of two lives touched by war and transformed by courage. [return][return][return]Shortish read, based 10 years after the Great War, when Freddie still hasnt recovered from the loss of his older brother in unknown circumstances whilst at the front.[return][return]It is a story about loss and memory, both for Freddie and his brother, and those in the area of France where he stops and who have a longer memory of all the people who have been lost over the centuries due to wars and battles. As ususal Mosse's work reflects an interest in the "memory of place"

Mosse has brought us to the line between life and death and showed us there is nothing to fear. Freddie is struggling to come to grips with the WWI death of his older brother. His survivor's guilt (even though he was a mere schoolboy when his brother was killed) even leads him to a brief period of institutionalization. Now on the path to recovery, Freddie is touring the French Pyrenees by motorcar and has one final experience on the edge between life and death that finally, truly helps him heal.