Title: The Wound Closest to the Sun: A Novel
Author: Karl Berger
Publisher: Bookside Press
ISBN: 978-1778835490
Pages: 364
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs / Historical Fiction
Reviewer: Anthony Avina
Pacific Book Review
If one were to ask the average person what the hardest thing to live with is their life is, more likely they would reply with “regret.” There are many moments in life which instill a sense of regret into a person’s life, from the choice not made or the words not spoken, to the moment not spent with someone no longer in their life. While some moments of regret can be rectified, most of the time people must be willing to learn from that regret, and build a new life for themselves.
Regret and finding redemption are two big themes that run through author Karl Berger’s The Wound Closest to the Sun: A Novel. The book follows Yann, a French journalist and professor plagued by a lifetime of regrets. Following him through three historic periods of time, readers learn of his relationship with the German soldier who saved his life in 1919, then again during WWII, and the tragic events that would plague both their lives and the life of the soldier’s son years later.
A sense of heartbreak and morality pierces the tension which builds throughout this powerful and moving historical fiction read. The author creates a fantastic use of imagery throughout the novel, capturing the nation of France so profoundly through so many of the nation’s most tumultuous and shocking periods of time. The tension that built the novel’s main plot was expertly crafted, adding drama and intrigue to the events Yann lived through and faced as the protagonist, and adding more depth to the moral choices that he was forced to make throughout this narrative.
In dealing with themes of memory, regret, and the redemption that can be found later in life, readers who enjoy historical fiction, especially those dealing in WWII history and fueled by rich character development and emotional storytelling, will be enthralled by this novel. The flow of the book felt natural as well, weaving together both the personal stories of Yann and Karl throughout their history together with the more collective story of the war and the events both preceding and following this monumental moment in world history. The heartbreaking reality of Karl’s personal struggles and the emotional weight of Yann’s decisions will resonate with so many readers and keep them engaged in his developing narrative. Karl Berger takes readers on a journey through one man’s reckoning with the choices that shaped him, and the hope that rises from honest confrontation with the past.
