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Featherstone, Nigel: Bodies of Men

Nigel Featherstone

Bodies of Men, Hachette Australia, Sydney, 2019; electronic version available

A beautifully evocative tale of two men whose lives are brought together in tragedy – for lovers of books by Kevin Powers and Sebastian Barry. There is nothing more important than love and refuge. Egypt, 1941. Only hours after disembarking in Alexandria, William Marsh, an Australian corporal at twenty-one, is face down in the sand, caught in a stoush with the Italian enemy. He is saved by James Kelly, a childhood friend from Sydney and the last person he expected to see. But where William escapes unharmed, not all are so fortunate. William is sent to supervise an army depot in the Western Desert, with a private directive to find an AWOL soldier: James Kelly. When the two are reunited, James is recovering from an accident, hidden away in the home of an unusual family – a family with secrets. Together they will risk it all to find answers. Soon William and James are thrust headlong into territory more dangerous than either could have imagined. (blurb)

The book is reviewed for Honest History by Noah Riseman. Other reviews: Michael McKernan (Canberra Times); Simon McDonald; Living Arts Canberra (including author talk); Whispering Gums; Steve Dow (Guardian Australia; includes interview with author).