Gral

A writer, accompanied like apparitions by Emperor Franz Joseph and Jesus Christ, discovers a cemetery of First World War soldiers whom he feels bound to bring back to life and whose story he means to tell. In the inner story, soldiers who wandered off after the last battle of the war are stuck in a swamp. The Roma they supposedly hold captive claim they will show them the way out, but only if the soldiers pan enough gold for them in the river Angelika, an amount that seems out of reach yet gives each man the private hope of gathering enough for an easy life and an escape of his own. Those who try to flee vanish or return sick in body and mind. The central figure, Lazar, often drifts into a state between dream, hallucination and spiritual reality.

AI-generated summary

About the book

Form

Novel

Length

357 pages in the original

Genres

War, Historical (assigned by AI)

First published

2023 by Beletrina

Author's age

65 when first published

ISBN

9789612980429 (original)