Name: House of War and Witness
ISBN: 9781771483131

Mike Carey

Louise Carey

Linda Carey

House of War and Witness

Janice Hopper

Wow, I really enjoyed this book.

I'm a sucker for a tale where Story is important. And this book if full of stories. And ghosts. 

Stories are what keep us alive here, what keeps the ghosts alive. Time is fluid and changeable. We learn from stories, and live within stories.

This particular story takes place in a (relatively) unfamiliar time and place. As best I can tell, Charles VI of Austria has died (1740.) His daughter Maria Teresa reigns as archduchess. Not everyone in the surrounding countries is happy about this. Uppity women on thrones, bah! seems to be the attitude. Prussia, in particular, is threatening war. Under these circumstances, a troop of soldiers and artillery are sent to reinforce a spot of border. They take up residence in a crumbling mansion called Pokoj. The soldiers are attended by the usual camp followers and whores. The officers have their wives with them, because apparently that was a thing back then.

And there's Drozde, described by some characters as a "gypsy". She's a puppeteer who entertains the troops with puppet shows. She's accepted the bed and protection of the company's cook, Molebacher. Molebacher is a cunning and brutal man. He's managed to ingratiate himself with the company's commander. Lieutenant Klaes is a young soldier, with more scruples than are strictly helpful for a man in his position.

Drozde has seen ghosts all her life. The ghosts she sees at Pokoj, however, are more vivid than any other ghosts she's seen. And they have secrets.

This is, in part, a story about women's dependence, and about women's strength and INdependence. Drozde and other women in the camp have made a pragmatic decision to take male protectors (soldiers in camp), even though it makes them whores in the eyes of the rest of the world. They look after each other. Their lives are hard, but they do their best. There are other women among the living and the dead whose stories we learn. I think it's a really strong feminist work without being strident or preachy.

It's a good story that wraps other, small stories up within itself. Some of those small stories will stick in your mind.

I picked this book up because it had Mike Carey's name on it, and I've enjoyed his work in the past. I'm not sure who Linda and Louise Carey are in relation to Mike, but I'm glad they all wrote this book.

House of War and Witness

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