No Man's Land

October 31, 2016
Inspired by his grandfather J.R.R.’s experiences during World War I, Tolkien (Final Witness) has written a satisfying bildungsroman. Adam Raine is born in poverty in London but rises slightly when, due to a series of circumstances, he is brought to the estate of mine owner Sir John Scarsdale, to be raised alongside his spoiled son, Brice, who becomes Adam’s instant enemy. Adam eventually attends Oxford and becomes engaged to Miriam Vale, a pastor’s daughter from back home. But his happiness is interrupted by the advent of war. Adam goes off with Scarsdale’s coal miners and fights on the Somme, where he finds that the true enemy isn’t the Germans, but the stupidity and shortsightedness of the officer class. Returning home on leave, Adam, haunted by what he has seen and done in the trenches, finds that he can no longer relate to Sir John and Miriam. He makes a fateful decision regarding Miriam and returns to the war, setting in motion tragic events that last into the first year after the Armistice. The novel suffers from its melodramatic plotting and one-dimensional characterizations; Adam and Miriam are good and long-suffering, whereas Brice is as villainous as a character out of Dickens. The novel is entertaining but hardly tells us anything new about the supposed war to end all wars.

Christian Coulson, of Harry Potter film fame, narrates this historical novel with cool authenticity. While recounting the horrors of WWI trench warfare, it's really an audiobook about English life before, during, and after the war. Charged with delivering London, North Country, and upper-class accents, Coulson handles them well. The hero has the sound of a truth teller, and the villain, as well as numerous coal miners, soldiers, aristocrats, and their servants, is fully believable. All in all, Coulson's narration enhances this tale of battles between countries and classes. Simon Tolkien's renowned grandfather, J.R.R. Tolkien, used his experience in WWI allegorically in his WAR OF THE RING. His grandson has done the family name proud in this tautly written novel. A.D.M. � AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine