An excellent and intense novel about guilt and atonement after killing and surviving WWII. Thought provoking: it is much easier to follow orders without having to make a decision, or is it so? Can you decide acting against orders? Often, reflecting happens later, then feelings of guilt appear. What should or could a soldier have done? Can a soldier seek and reach atonement?
This novel set in WWII in Germany could have taken place in any country at war. Its convincing cast of characters touched me deeply, and while this poignant story reveals degrading and uncivilised human behaviours, this novel also shows a real sense of humanity. Highly recommended, one of the best novels I have read and definitely will not forget it.
I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel from NetGalley and I am leaving voluntarily an honest review.

Paul Brandt was a college student in Vienna at the beginning of WWII. He was part of the resistance & his carelessness caused his arrest and the arrest of the girl he was growing to love. Given the choice of going to a camp or joining the German army, Brandt chose the army. She was sent to a labor camp. The Constant Soldier, by William Ryan, tells Brandt’s story.

After fighting for four years, losing his arm, and suffering severe facial burns, Brandt returns home only to be asked to work at a rest hut for the workers at a nearby labor camp. Women prisoners cooked and cleaned for the Germans who came to the hut. Brandt recognizes the woman from Vienna. Knowing the end of the war was near, he worked to see that she lived and escaped. All of this had to be done while appearing to be loyal to the Germans. The book is a little slow at times, but it closely follows the events at the close of WWII. I was allowed to read an ARC on #NetGalley.

1944.

He was a soldier. It’s been a long time since he was home. His name is the same. Paul Brandt. But in the period he was away, he’s changed. He doesn’t look the same, nor does he feel the same—one of the things that happens in a time of war.

He’ll stay home on the farm with his father and sister. Home was in a village in Poland. Now it is part of Nazi Germany—the future unknown. The war continues. A morning walk gives him a plan. This time he could help her. She may not recognize him, but he’s never forgotten her. Five years ago, Vienna was a different place, a different time. He had two names then. So did she.

WWII historical fiction unlike any other I’ve read, principally from the perspective of a soldier, a soldier in the Wehrmacht. A man riddled with guilt. A man that can’t change the past, but perhaps there is yet time to atone. The atmospheric writing is gripping in intensity. The imagery is haunting, chilling. The reader is grasped by the extent of depravity while others in their midst risk everything to turn the tide even for a moment, even if only possible for a few.

War. Orders. Resistance. Guilt. Redemption. The book is well-written, profound, complex, powerful, exemplary, and essential to the whole of literary WWII historical fiction. Highly recommended.

The "Author’s Note" at the novel’s end provides inspiration for the fictional version of the storyline based on SS officer Karl Höcker, actual locations, and events. The note includes a bibliography of work read during the author’s meticulous research.

Thank you to William Ryan, Skyhorse Publishing (Arcade), and NetGalley for the opportunity to read an eARC of this book.

#TheConstantSoldier #NetGalley

Historical fiction is my favorite genre. And stories set in the WWII era are my favorite. This one was a bit different from most others I’ve read. It follows Paul Brandt, a German soldier who has returned home after a devastating war injury. As one of the many men who were forced into serving, he has a lot to make amends for. He finds himself playing both sides of the field as he tries to keep the trust of the German soldiers around him while at the same time working to save anyone he can as things come closer to an end. This is a good story with lots of different layers. It’s a war story while also being a story about family and loyalty. A solid four stars!

The Constant Soldier is a beautifully written novel that captured my heart. I enjoy historical fiction, especially WWll, but this is told from the point of view that I have never heard before. From an SS soldier. His name is Paul Brandt and he is returning home wounded from fighting the Russians on the eastern front. He is, however, unsettled by what the German army has been doing to the jews and camp prisoners. So, when he sees his former love as a prisoner who is working at a “retreat camp” that caters to tired officers,he volunteers to work there.

There are some very raw, heartbreaking scenes that were hard to read. It was sickening to learn how men who were once against the monstrosities would end up participating to save their own lives. Brandt is courageous, though, and stays true to his conscience. He is being challenged in different ways while he is trying to save others. The other SS soldiers are suspicious of him while his own family is ashamed of him. The Germans are also hurrying to flee from incoming Russian military.

It is a very suspenseful story and I could not wait to see what would happen.

At the end of the book the author explains what compelled him to write the book and gives sources so you can read them too. I am looking forward to reading William Ryan’s other books.

Many thanks to Skyhorse publishing and NetGalley for the chance to read this book.

Talk about amazing!! I absolutely adored this book, many ww2 books tend to blend together but this is a stand out!

William Ryan’s “The Constant Soldier” sets itself apart from other World War II novels with its unusual setting, a rest-hut for German soldiers, where the protagonist, Paul Brandt, is sent, not to be ministered to for his own wounds, but to serve as a steward for SS officers, whom the hut is specifically intended for. To give them a break from the stresses of combat, Brandt is told, something he knows all too well about, having lost an arm and suffered other horrendous wounds in fighting on the Eastern Front. Not so appreciated are his sacrifices, though, by higher-ups, with how his military service came about because of a choice he was given – enlist or be sent to a camp – after he was caught distributing Resistance materials along with his lover, who, in an improbable turn of events, ends up imprisoned at the same place as Brandt. Improbable too, it seemed to me, that he was given the chance to enlist, rather than simply being sent straight-off to the camps, given the nature of his offense. A compelling read, nevertheless, Ryan’s novel, though not greatly different from others of the genre – except, as I say, for the unusualness of the setting, where the most interesting characters for me were not Brandt and his lover but the officer in charge of the rest hut, who is haunted to the point of visions by an act he once committed, and another officer recuperating at the hut who displays a sardonic sense of humor born of his own experiences in the war.