Shot at Dawn by John Wilson

Cold, Brutal, Bitter

              Fiction based on battles in France during WWI

 Plot Preview

This book puts you right in the middle of the action of WWI. Allan is the protagonist is a Canadian soldier who goes through the combat of WWI and has emotions are the what makes his decisions. The author does very well in showing the reader how the war toiled on a soldiers emotions. The author John Wilson was born six years after WWII and had relatives that fought in the war. He did a lot of research on disorders caused by war. His wife's uncle fought in WWII so Wilson intertwined his research with his wife's uncles story. The book was built on a great outline filled with true facts. I learnt a lot about what WWI soldiers faced when they went to war. I learnt that you didn't just fight against the enemy but end up spending more time against yourself. For being a war book there was few characters so that the author could give more detail than if there was more. The themes of the book were strongly used thought the book such as "don't judge others until you are in their position", and "friends are the best therapy".  John Wilson has a very modern style of writing. He did not explain much about scenery but care more about explaining the thoughts of characters and what action was happening. This book was a great read while i learnt a lot about Canadian history. 

5/5