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Strange Meeting (Paperback)

by Susan Hill (Author) "He was afraid to go to sleep ..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
RRP: £7.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 192 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin; New Ed edition (26 Aug 1982)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0140036954
  • ISBN-13: 978-0140036954
  • Product Dimensions: 19.2 x 12.8 x 1.4 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 7,029 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in this category:

    #3 in  Books > Fiction > Genre > War > First World War

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Product Description

Product Description
John Hilliard, a young subaltern returning to the Western Front after a brief period of sick leave back in England blind to the horrors of the trenches, finds his battalion tragically altered. His commanding officer finds escape in alcohol, there is a new adjutant and even Hilliard's batman has been killed. But there is David Barton. As yet untouched and unsullied by war, radiating charm and common sense, forever writing long letters to his family. Theirs is a strange meeting and a strange relationship: the coming together of opposites in the summer lull before the inevitable storm. ‘The feeling of men under appalling stress at a particular moment in history is communicated with almost uncanny power’ Sunday Times.

About the Author
Susan Hill is the author of many books published by Penguin. Her novels include I'm the King of the Castle and Mrs de Winter, the sequel to Du Maurier's Rebecca. She is also well-known for her children's books (Can it be true? won the Smarties Prize). She has written non-fiction, autobiography & has edited women's short stories and other classic fiction for Penguin. A regular broadcaster and reviewer, Susan Hill lives in Oxfordshire with her husband, Stanley Wells, the Shakespeare scholar.
Inside This Book (Learn More)
First Sentence
He was afraid to go to sleep. Read the first page
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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Strange Meeting
67% buy the item featured on this page:
Strange Meeting 4.3 out of 5 stars (11)
£5.99
All Quiet on the Western Front
11% buy
All Quiet on the Western Front 4.9 out of 5 stars (46)
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Birdsong
10% buy
Birdsong 4.2 out of 5 stars (268)
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Regeneration
6% buy
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Customer Reviews

11 Reviews
5 star:
 (6)
4 star:
 (3)
3 star:
 (1)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Moving novel about friendship on the WWI battlefield., 21 Mar 2001
By A Customer
The theme of this novel is friendship, a friendship between two English soldiers, set against a background of the atrocities of the battlefield during the First World War.

John Hilliard, a young officer, returns to his battalion in France, after a period of sick leave in England. In the mean time a new officer has arrived. It's David Barton, 21 years old and slightly younger that Hilliard.

Hilliard, who is rather stiff and reserved and has been lonely all his life, feels that he is changing under the influence of the open, easy-going and cheerful Barton, who can express his feelings so easily.

The great merit of this book is that Susan Hill shows us what it means to people to be intimate friends, to share feelings and to be happy in each other's company. Under normal circumstances this friendship might never have developed to such an extent. In this war it could.

The nightmare world of the front line trenches is depicted so vividly, that we realize that this war was not only terrible, but also senseless; it only led to enormous loss of lives.

A wonderful story - sad and moving.

For further reading I recommend "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1929) by E.M. Remarque. It's a beautifully written and very moving story of German trench soldiers in WWI.It's the best anti-war novel I've ever read and has become world-famous.

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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars w-o-w, 22 April 2007
By A reader! (Jersey, England) - See all my reviews
I read this in year 11 (please dont be put off in any way by my age) at school and was completely blown away by it. Seriously-you HAVE to read this. The relationship is so emotional that you will find it difficult to put the book down. I wouldn't say this about any random book. The ending is so sad i cried for an hour.
DONT let this put you off-you HAVE TO READ IT!
My favorite WW1 book (so far...!)
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40 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent., 24 Nov 2002
By A Customer
Please, please do not dismiss this book as boring. Once I had engaged with the characters (which happened practically before I'd picked up the book) then I couldn't bear to miss a single word because each one gave insight into them. It was never boring. Susan Hill is an outstanding writer and captured this friendship (the 'strange meeting') and the characters of John and David perfectly (is this echoing the inseparable David and Jonathon from the Bible?)

If you think you would like to read this but can't really get into it the first time round, leave it. Wait till you want to. (I had been 'meaning to read it' for a couple of years but never really really wanted to.) I didn't pick it up again until the other day when for some reason I just wanted to read it, and then I was so glad I had: it's one of the best books I've ever read (much, much better than the Pat Barker trilogy, although they are good in themselves).

I don't normally write 'rave' reviews but this book is special. Read it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't put it down
I am 17 and I have just started studying A level English Literature so I've been stocking up on books about World War 1, as that is the topic in question. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Laura Morris

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful wonderful book
Strange Meeting is the story of two men meeting whilst serving together in WW1. It is a gently-paced, completely absorbing tale, with characters that draw you in as it... Read more
Published on 23 May 2006 by R. Clifton

5.0 out of 5 stars Strange Meeting
Absolutly fantastic book. I would strongly reccomend this book for A levelstudents as it gives a female perspective on war despite the patrioticvalues seen during WW1. Read more
Published on 27 April 2004

5.0 out of 5 stars True friendships are rare
Only if one was lucky enough to encounter or experience such a friendship, which, if at all, happens once in a lifetime, one can truly appreciate this book. Read more
Published on 8 Dec 2003

4.0 out of 5 stars One of the best books about WW1.
I happen to feel that Susan Hill shows what it was like to go to the first world war and it also happens to show how freindships were formed throught the times of difficulty. Read more
Published on 24 Jul 2003 by susva

4.0 out of 5 stars Descriptions of human anguish and love dominate this book!
This is a truely amazing book, which communicates the feelings of love, apprehension, doubt, fear and uncertainty of the men waiting to go into battle on the front line, in the... Read more
Published on 24 Jun 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars Ultra dull
This was a very well written book but incredibly boring. Its a short book but it took me ages to get through it as I couldn't be bothered to read it. Read more
Published on 11 April 2001

3.0 out of 5 stars A love story, a war story and it's all futile
It took me a little while to get into this book; but in the end I'm glad I did. The war part of the story was well told, although generally I think the story could actually have... Read more
Published on 30 Oct 1999

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