What a great book to finish the year with. Angus McGrath, a Nova Scotian boat skipper, enlists to fight in WWI when his wife's brother goes missing at the front. Angus is also an artist so he hopes to work as a cartographer away from the front, but is instead sent to fight. His wife Hettie and son Simon Peter are left at home, along with his pacifist father Duncan.
The book alternates between events at the front and those back in Nova Scotia. The author writes vivid descriptions and evocative characters as the war changes their way of life. Angus must deal with the deaths of his men, the cold and despair at the front as well as the courage of men driven to kill or be killed. Simon Peter misses his father but is growing up as he deals with his irascible grandfather, his mother's growing independence, and his German teacher who is suspected of spying.
I really enjoyed the book, rating it a solid 4 stars until the end. I loved the ending which is probably a bit of a cliffhanger for some readers but felt like a perfect conclusion for me.