Jacob Todd is abroad on his own for the first time, visiting his grandfather's grave at the annual commemoration of the Battle of Arnhem in Amsterdam. There, he meets Geertrui, a terminally ill old lady, who tells an extraordinary story of love and betrayal, which completely overturns Jacob's view of himself and his country, and leads him to question his place in the world. Jacob's story is paralled in time by the events of the dramatic day in World War II when retreating troops were sheltered by Geertrui's family. An intensely moving and richly layered novel, spanning 50 years, which powerfully evokes the atmosphere of war while brilliantly interweaving Jacob's exploration of new relationships in contemporary Amsterdam.
Author Biography
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.
