A Time to Love and a Time to Die

Set on the Eastern Front and in Germany during the Second World War, this novel follows Ernst Graeber, a German soldier given a short leave. At home he finds his city bombed, his parents missing and daily life shaped by shortages and fear. He meets Elisabeth, a childhood acquaintance, and a close bond forms in the little time they have. The book examines conscience, complicity and the longing for ordinary happiness under a violent regime, as Graeber questions what he has seen and what he is expected to do.