Postcards from No Man's Land [Paperback]

Two craftily interwoven stories, separated by 50 years in time, make upthis emotionally and intellectually challenging novel. Set in Holland, one story tells of the passionate love between a young Dutch woman and Jacob Todd, a wounded English soldier: "I filled the glass and gave it to the soldier who had not yet spoken, who now said, 'Thanks, miss, you're an angel of mercy.' He had eyes that made me melt."

The other story finds the English soldier's grandson visiting Amsterdam for the commemoration of The Battle of Arnhem. Before he knows it, he's way out of his emotional depth: "His arrival yesterday had been embarrassing. His visit to the Anne Frank house had been upsetting. His confusion of boy for girl unnerved him. The mugging had left him duff." The learning curve is steep and readers can't help becoming thoroughly engrossed in the powerful emotions as well as being confronted with questions which simply don't have easy answers. This is a riveting, thought-provoking and thoroughly worthwhile read. (12 years and over). --Tamsin Palmer

" A superbly crafted, intensely moving novel."
- "Sunday Telegraph" --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Aidan Chambers' extraordinarily powerful, Carnegie Medal-winning novel --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

What happens to Jacob Todd when he visits his grandfather's grave at the annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem is paralleled in time by the events of the dramatic day in World War II, when retreating troops were sheltered by the family of Geertrui Van Riet.

Jacob Todd, abroad on his own for the first time, arrives in Amsterdam for the commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem where his grandfather fought fifty years before. He meets the terminally ill Geertrui, an old lady who tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal, linking Jacob with her own Dutch family in a way he never suspected and leading him to question his place in the world.

This richly-layered novel, spanning fifty years, powerfully evokes the atmosphere of war while brilliantly interweaving Jacob's exploration of new relationships in contemporary Amsterdam.

The fifth in a sequence of six ground-breaking and provocative novels that explore different aspects of teenage love and self-discover. This new edition includes an Afterword by the author.

'A superbly crafted, intensely moving novel' SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'The type of serious teenage fiction that should be cherished' INDEPENDENT

'Writing and literature at its best' SCHOOL LIBRARIAN

'A terrific novel' DAILY TELEGRAPH

Not suitable for younger readers

--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Aidan Chambers lives in Gloucestershire with his American wife, Nancy, who is the editor of Signal magazine. He divides his time between his own writing and lecturing which he does extensively in Australia, the USA and Europe. His provocative and challenging novels for teenagers and young adults have won him international acclaim. Postcards from No-man's Land is the fifth novel in what he perceives as a sequence; this starts with Breaktime, continues with Dance on my Grave, and carries on through Now I Know to The Toll Bridge. This is All completes the sequence. Each novel stands on its own exploring a different aspect of contemporary adolescence. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.