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Four Steps to Death

by John Wilson

In the summer of 1942, Hitler sent a massive army of German tanks, bombers, and infantrymen east into Russia to take the city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd). What was supposed to be a glorious victory for the seemingly invincible Nazi powers, and the first big step in conquering communist Russia, has since become nearly synonymous with the massive human tragedy and waste of life that is modern warfare.

In his newest historical novel, Vancouver Island author John Wilson tells the story of Stalingrad from the vantage point of Vasily, an idealistic Russian scout, and Conrad, an equally idealistic German tank officer. Caught between them is Sergei, an eight-year-old Russian boy who survives the siege of his city by hiding in a basement with his family and stealing food and supplies from dead soldiers on both sides. The novel goes back and forth between these characters until all three narrative threads come together at the book’s climax. That they do come together is easily guessed, but the brutality and violence of their meeting is unexpected.

A fair amount of history and research are packed into this book, but Wilson’s intention goes beyond simply introducing young readers to a pivotal moment in Western history. Four Steps to Death is a thoroughly anti-war war novel. The occasionally glib tone and clichéd or overly expository dialogue in the book’s first half are more than made up for by the dark, visceral, and pessimistic tone of the second, wherein Wilson shows just how miserable and futile the practice of war is for those who must fight it. It is with bitter and heavy irony that he subtitles the book’s first chapter “The Adventure Begins.”

 

Reviewer: Nathan Whitlock

Publisher: Kids Can Press

DETAILS

Price: $19.95

Page Count: 208 pp

Format: Cloth

ISBN: 1-55337-704-4

Released: Aug.

Issue Date: 2005-9

Categories:

Age Range: 9-15