I probably would’ve enjoyed it more if I understood anything about Russian literature and history, but it was still a compelling read wherein I cared about the characters and how the story would end. While vulgar, it truly encapsulates what it is to be a boy and what it is to be at war. 

18+

TW/CW: Torture, cannibalism, graphic animal death, dismemberment, mention of rape

“It made me happy that poems are referred to in the present tense even when the poet is in the past tense.” (109)