The Sojourn is a 2011 debut novel by Andrew Krivak which was shortlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction.[1][2][3] The novel is a Family Saga which deals with American emigrant to Austria-Hungary, Jozef Vinich who gets dragged into World War I.[1] Multiple reviewers compared the novel favourably to A Farewell to Arms.[2][4]

First edition
(publ. Bellevue Literary Press)

Reception

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Reception of the novel was overwhelmingly positive.[3] NPR reviewer Alan Cheuse called the novel "splendid", marking surprise that such a short novel can do such a good job examining the experience of the war.[2] The Christian Science Monitor, similarly gave praise to the novel's simple language and compelling story telling, which effectively challenges the glorification of war, creating an "anti-war novel with all the heat of a just-fired artillery gun".[4] Kirkus review noted that the novel is late to the World War I in literature genre, it's "an assured, meditative novel that turns on a forgotten theater in a largely forgotten war."[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Andrew Krivak, The Sojourn - 2011 National Book Award Fiction Finalist, The National Book Foundation". www.nationalbook.org. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  2. ^ a b c "Book Review: 'The Sojourn'". NPR.org. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  3. ^ a b Dirda, Michael (2011-10-31). "Andrew Krivak's 'The Sojourn,' reviewed by Michael Dirda". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  4. ^ a b Abrams, David (2011-05-30). "The Sojourn". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2016-05-19.
  5. ^ "THE SOJOURN by Andrew Krivak | Kirkus Reviews". Kirkus Reviews. Retrieved 2016-05-19.