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Joan Brady
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Theory of War Kindle Edition

by Joan Brady (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 out of 5 stars 167 ratings
'A modern work of genius' Spectator

Winner of the Costa/Whitbread Book of the Year Award 1993

Forced into slavery as a child, Jonathan Carrick escapes to a new life but within him lies the need for revenge against George Stokes, the son of his former master.

Mallory Carrick, confined to a wheelchair, seeks to find out the truth about her grandfather's history.

Haunting, elegant and passionate, Theory of War is a novel about how the past lives on through following generations. It follows one woman's journey to discover what her grandfather might have experienced and how his suffering still haunts his descendants.
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  1. Print length
    257 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Simon & Schuster UK
  4. Accessibility
    Learn more
  5. Publication date
    26 Jan. 2012
  6. File size
    617 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Product description

From the Inside Flap

vid historical novel--part poignant biographical fiction, part raw frontier epic."
TIME
Taking flight from an extraordinary real-life family history, here is a riveting novel of how the past lives on, generation after generation. THEORY OF WAR is the richly imagined story of one woman's journey into what a distant relation might have experienced--and how echoes of his suffering haunt his descendents to this day.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B006WG1HM6
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Simon & Schuster UK
  • Accessibility ‏ : ‎ Learn more
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ 26 Jan. 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 617 KB
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 257 pages
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1849839532
  • Page Flip ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Customer reviews:
    4.4 out of 5 stars 167 ratings

About the author

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Joan Brady

Joan Brady

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
167 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's pacing engaging, with one review noting how it draws readers into a strange world. The book receives positive feedback for its readability, with customers describing it as wonderful.

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6 customers mention ‘Pacing’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the pacing of the book engaging, with one customer describing it as enthralling throughout, while another notes how it draws readers into a strange world.

"This is wonderful book, telling a story heaped in misery yet layered in such a way as to offer some sense of salvation as it weaves to its complex..." Read more

"...book with subtle humour that balances it out and makes it very thought provoking and enjoyable read" Read more

"...This is both a moving and a compulsively readable story with the strange and moving climax to Carrick's story giving a punchy ending." Read more

"Quite simply one of the best novels I read; gripping and enthralling throughout." Read more

6 customers mention ‘Readability’6 positive0 negative

Customers find the book readable and wonderful, with one describing it as hard hitting.

"This is wonderful book, telling a story heaped in misery yet layered in such a way as to offer some sense of salvation as it weaves to its complex..." Read more

"It was worth my time" Read more

"Excellent read, hard hitting book with subtle humour that balances it out and makes it very thought provoking and enjoyable read" Read more

"Compulsive story-telling is at the heart of this extraordinary book...." Read more

Top reviews from United Kingdom

  • LesVince
    5.0 out of 5 stars Exquisite Theory of War
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 September 2024
    Verified Purchase
    This is wonderful book, telling a story heaped in misery yet layered in such a way as to offer some sense of salvation as it weaves to its complex close. Highly recommended, but read it slowly.
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  • rowen
    4.0 out of 5 stars Really enjoyed rereading this book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 August 2024
    Verified Purchase
    I had read this book just after it was published. I enjoyed it then and even more on my second reading
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  • Dumitru Caracas
    5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing book
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 7 August 2021
    Verified Purchase
    It was worth my time
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  • Snaggle
    3.0 out of 5 stars Three Stars
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 21 January 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Okay
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  • Anonymous
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 10 June 2016
    Verified Purchase
    Excellent read, hard hitting book with subtle humour that balances it out and makes it very thought provoking and enjoyable read
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Eileen Shaw
    4.0 out of 5 stars The story of Jonathan Carrick
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 September 2009
    Verified Purchase
    Compulsive story-telling is at the heart of this extraordinary book. It tells the life story of a four year-old white boy who was sold into slavery just after the American Civil War. The narrator is the boy's granddaughter and she is visiting her Uncle Atlas, who is an amiable drunk who has preserved his father's diaries, which are written in code. The lively narrator is confined to a wheelchair because of a benign growth on her spine and she is clever enough to decipher the code used by her grandfather and to read his words for the first time.

    The author is not the narrator of the book, and the story is probably not the real story of her grandfather, but the gist of the story is true. Her grandfather really was sold as a slave - and he was not the only white child that this happened to in the desperation of the years following the Civil War.

    The events of the slave Jonathan Carrick's life follow chronologically with the visit of the granddaughter to her Uncle Atlas and his long-suffering wife and Brady cleverly weaves the two accounts together, although the shift from one to the other is often not signalled, which makes for some rather abrupt changes of focus. Nevertheless, this is an accomplished and fascinating book. Jonathan Carrick is a troubled individual and his life as a "bounden-boy" is at the heart of his tragedy. This is both a moving and a compulsively readable story with the strange and moving climax to Carrick's story giving a punchy ending.
    5 people found this helpful
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  • Amazon Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best novels I've read.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 September 2017
    Verified Purchase
    Quite simply one of the best novels I read; gripping and enthralling throughout.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Lorraine Dent
    4.0 out of 5 stars A great insight
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 February 2019
    Verified Purchase
    Draws you into a strange world with well drawn characters .The tension builds towards the inevitable climax .Not always a comfortable read.
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Top reviews from other countries

  • David M. Williams
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good book
    Reviewed in the United States on 9 August 2024
    Verified Purchase
    Well written. Pulls no punches. I think the author did a lot of research on various 19th century topics. The story is well told through the first person granddaughter reading her grandfather’s diaries, aided by her uncle’s recollections.
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  • Quinn
    4.0 out of 5 stars Theory of War
    Reviewed in the United States on 9 May 2017
    Verified Purchase
    I liked this book a lot even though the main character is extremely abused. Sometimes I can't read books that are too dark but I was able to read this and root for the main character, Johnny. It was interesting to think about the passing on of trauma to our descendants. Occasionally, the book jumped from one character to another and that was hard to follow and I would have to reread that paragraph to figure out who was talking. I read this with my Bookclub and most of us liked it. I would recommend it to a friend.
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  • Kindle Customer
    5.0 out of 5 stars Important insights, beautifully rendered
    Reviewed in the United States on 31 August 2015
    Verified Purchase
    Based on the true life-story of the author's grandfather, this book offers an important understanding of the ways human beings hurt and are hurt and how that pain leads them to enmity, revenge and, ultimately, warfare. It may be taken as a warning, but it's not specifically political nor self-help. It is beautifully, even poetically, written, with anger, sensitivity & compassion. The grandiose title proceeds to a story of small details. It describes the relationship between two people, starting in their early boyhood, fraught with jealousy, resentment, fear, cruelty & obsession. One is the slave of the other's father. As individuals, they are tragic. Multiply these typical individuals by several hundred thousand and catastrophe is predictable.
    Personally, I always think of this book in tandem with "The Drama of the Gifted Child" by Alice Miller. I don't know why.
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  • Charle-Ann Martin
    4.0 out of 5 stars Good book for people who want the reak history of our country.
    Reviewed in the United States on 15 February 2020
    Verified Purchase
    Good book about a part of history that wasn't taught.
    Report

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