Read/Viewed: No Man's Land: a postwar sketchbook by George Pratt, 1992, 187945064x.
I saw something online about a World War I sketcher. The website was about a Canadian soldier whose work took him from the ditches into a safer job. There was a compilation book of the guy's work and while checking the catalog (it was not available) I ran across this.
But, this is not the same. This is work by a cartoonist who was doing research for a WWI themed book. Heck, I recognize some of the photographs that Pratt worked from. The work itself is good - mostly - but I wanted to see work by a participant.
This is mostly ink sketches and grey monotypes. There are a few color pieces with washed out, earth colors. I do not care for most of the ink sketches, they were too rough and quickly done for me. There is one (untitled and no page numbers) I did like with some Limeys looking over a ditch's parapet with their rifles on the sandbags.
Quotes are spread throughout.
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Have you read any of Charles Todd's books? I picked him up because of his name, but he's actually pretty good. The series revolves around a guy fresh out of the trenches of WWI and trying to resume his career at Scotland Yard. But he's also trying to hide his case of shell shock from everyone.
His sidekick (his Watson, if you will) is a voice in his head. The voice is that of a sergeant he had executed for cowardice in the war and while it helps him solve cases, it also keeps nudging him towards suicide and/or insanity.
I don't think I ever heard of the guy. The only WWI fiction I remember reading are the first two of Siegfried Sassoon's autobio novels. Oh, I also read BIRDSONG by Sebastian Faulks which reminded me of Sassoon.
I have usually ended up reading nonfic. The best one I found was on the tunnel war - and now I cannot find the dang title.
Speaking of fiction, I'm going to attend Bouchercon in St. Louois this September rather than attend a library conference.
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