War today is such a more visible thing. We see it on television, on CNN. In 1914, war was a concept. There was a naivety and stupidity that war would be a great lark. It's not that different from Gone With The Wind, where all the young men can't wait to go off to fight and then two hours later in the movie, we see how the reality of that has come home to them.
John BoyneThere's things that happen in a person's life that are so scorched in the memory and burned into the heart that there's no forgetting them.
John BoyneDo you see the irony at all, Tristan?โ I stare at him and shake my head. He seems determined not to speak again until I do. โWhat irony?โ I ask eventually, the words tumbling out in a hurried heap. โThat I am to be shot as a coward while you get to live as one.
John BoyneIn his heart, he knew that there was no reason to be impolite to someone, even if they did work for you. There was such a thing as manners after all.
John Boyne