Forgotten Soldier by Guy Sajer

[fusilier955]

it is a good book that a recomend anyone to read. it gives a autobiographical perspective to the mindset of a german soldier during world war two, in a losing battle. the author was 17, a youngman who was not ready to deal with what he would see. the loss of morale as time went on, the poor treatment of soldiers in the german forces, the lack of information on the rest of the war effort. if you think you have read everything about WWII, you may want to read one more. you wont be dissappointed.

 

[Danjanou]

Sounds like an interesting read. How available is in Canada? Are copies available in larger chains such as Chapters and/or Indigo?

 

[Infanteer]

You bet sir, I picked up my copy at Chapters. However, there is controversy over the authenticity of this book. Some have argued convincingly that this is infact a grand piece of fiction. I believe Mike Dorosh knows a little more about this.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Hee hee ... best fiction out there.

You be the judge. Apparently the author has been located and is a cartoonist in France.

Check out my page at

http://members.shaw.ca/grossdeutschland/sajer.htm

then read the book and draw your own conclusions. As a good read it is probably ok; as a bible on what it was like to be a German soldier in Russia, SOLDAT by Siegfried Knappe is much better.

 

[Marti]

One thing I found a little off while I was reading was the temperatures. While training in Poland he describes 20 degrees as a cold morning, which sounds reasonable if meassured in Farenheit, but during the Russian winters he describes temperatures going down in the minus 60s which seems a bit extreme if also measured in Farenheit. Any idea if this was just muddled up in translation, and converion of units by an American publisher, or is it just annother sign that this is a fake?

 

[fusilier955]

Sounds like an interesting read. How available is in Canada? Are copies available in larger chains such as Chapters and/or Indigo?

I could not tell you unfortunatly, I had it given to me by a substitute teacher in high school. I do believe you can get it at chapters. I dont know about the claims of it being fake, i thought that they gave the guy a literary award or something (it was on the cover of my copy which was from 1990)i would like to hear more about it though.

 

[Danjanou]

Nice link Michael. Now I‘d really like to get a copy of it just to try and see for myself if it‘s legit or not.

 

[Michael Dorosh]

Sheesh, guys, go on Amazon.ca I‘ve even reviewed it there.

 

[East Side Soprano]

Fiction or not. Truly an EXCELLENT read in my opinion. A very personal account of a German soldiers experiences on the Eastern front. A must read, regardless if you love the Wehrmacht or loathe it. I also reccommend "Soldat" by Siegfried Knappe, "Panzer Commander" by Hans von Luck and "Bloody Combat" by an author whos name escaped my mind. Personally I enjoy reading German war narratives more than US/British/Canadian etc ones because I find that they offer more insight ito the harsh realities of war than just "getting the Krauts." You really are missing out on a lot by not reading "Forgotten Soldier" and the titles that I have mentioned.

 

[Padraig OCinnead]

I‘ve read in a article somewhere that same thing about him just doing vague research and muddling through most details for this fiction. I‘ve read it and enjoyed it. He talked like a soldier though. On the surface it seems credible to most readers.

 

[Padraig OCinnead]

I just read "With our backs to Berlin" by Le Tissier. They are accounts from German soldiers in the last few months of the war in Europe. It gave a different version than the beaten, disheveled Germans that some historical books led us to believe were all that were left.