An Ice-cream war

Hello hello!

I'm going to talk to you about a book written by William Boyd, called "An ice-cream war".

An ice-cream war is set between England and East Africa during World War One. Indeed, the book is a mix of several stories, blending and intersecting. The story begins between English East Africa and German East Africa, where two colonists, an american and a german, coexist peacefully and in harmony across the border. Meanwhile, the story begins as well in England, where two beloved brothers try to deal with their peacetime problems in their wealthy family: Gabriel, an enthousiastic officer, marries a woman named Charis while Felix gets bored in Oxford University. Then, war breaks up in Europe and consequently in Africa, scattering the characters and turning love into betrayal. The story is then going to follow the three characters in their split and destruction while in Africa, the two friendly colonists become foes.

The writing style and the way of construction of this book are fascinating and add authenticity to the story. I think the unrestrained and singular way of construction keeps the reader in suspense by managing to get him lost: the characters don’t know where the story is going and neither does the reader, which adds authenticity, and makes the story look more realistic. This complex writing technique conveys to the reader how complex war can be and how it can have an overwhelming and destructive impact on relationships: making friends become enemies, and interfering deeply in people’s private life. In the manner of Boris Vian in ‘Le déserteur’, William Boyd denounces the absurdity of war by describing terrible situations with devastating humor.

What I most enjoyed in this book is the construction of the characters: I think they are developed and unpredictable (as well as human beings I guess) and consequently appear more real and more lovable: the reader gets more attached to realistic characters than perfect and indestructible ones. What makes the characters even more human is their constant evolution. Indeed, each character has developed because of war, proving again its huge impact.

I recommend you this book, because I think it helps to understand the effects of a society disruption on individuals (and the story is cool as well).

See you!