P.S. Duffy's was one of the superb authors to speak at Books On The Night Stand's Booktopia Vermont event this past weekend. Procrastination found me reading Penny Duffy's The Cartographer of No Man's Land at the last minute. I literally finished at lunch just before her talk.

I truly did not realize I could be so interested in a book about the first world war. Penny Duffy feels this is due to America's distance from the causes and issues. The reality of war jump right off the page as her descriptions of battles, trenches and the like make you feel you are there, feel the pain, the sorrow, the devastation that these men endured. Do not let this keep you from reading The Cartographer of No Man's Land. There is more. It is a story about fathers and sons, husbands and wives, loss and love. The language is exquisite.

It quickly became evident to me that this fast reading was a huge mistake. I did get the essence of the story and a realization that this is a special book, one that merits a closer, slower, reading. I am certain I missed things in my fast read. My plan is to revisit this when a larger piece of reading time permits. The Cartographer of No Man's Land deserves no less.