Overview

Part coming-of-age story and part family drama, set against the harsh backdrop of World War II Ukraine and Germany. Where does one seek refuge when all the world’s gone mad? The last winter of the war comes as young Jakob Fritsch’s German village in Ukraine is torched by Russian troops. Separated from his mother and younger brother, he’s shoved onto a train’s stock car. Rumors float among them; they’re being taken to a work camp over the Urals, where they will be worked to death. As morning dawns, a lone Stuka dives from the sky, dropping its bomb on the locomotive, and the stock cars are blown from the tracks, tipped, and smashed. Through splintered boards, Jakob and others scramble out, running for the surrounding woods as the Russian guards begin shooting them down. Jakob escapes into the endless pines, running until he’s exhausted. Some time later, he chances upon other survivors from the train: his sick and aging schoolmaster who’s a Nazi supporter at heart and the disagreeable postmaster, a man Jakob can’t stand and doesn’t trust. Always on the lookout for deserters, partisans, and Russian soldiers, the three make their way across war-torn Ukraine, begging for food and shelter where they can. A tragic turn of events forces Jakob to journey on alone. Ever watchful, he must chance crossing the desolate countryside of Poland en route to Berlin, the only place he can go — the land of his forefathers, the heart of Germany, which is being bombed to its knees and torn apart from all sides.

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9781770418509

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Reviews

“Kalteis has crafted a propulsive historical page-turner that manages to be both heartbreaking and breathtaking as it cuts deep into the horrors experienced by civilians caught in the chaotic collapse of Hitler’s fever dream. He is unflinching in his portrayal of both the brutality and banality of Nazism, as well as the ice cold randomness of war as it impacts people on all sides. Rust and Bone is a clear-eyed exploration of the depths and the heights the human spirit can achieve.” — Philipp Schott, author of The Willow Wren

Author Information

Dietrich Kalteis is the winner of the 2022 Crime Writers of Canada Award of Excellence for Best Crime Novel for Under an Outlaw Moon. Acclaimed by critics and readers in Canada and abroad, he is the prolific author of 13 novels, two of which won Independent Publisher Awards. Kalteis enjoys life with his family on Canada’s beautiful West Coast, in West Vancouver, British Columbia.

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