The Sojourn — Alan Cumyn

By the award-winning author of Burridge Unbound, a finalist for the Giller Prize
A Globe and Mail Notable Book of the Year

Highly praised as one of the best novels of the First World War, Alan Cumyn’s The Sojourn tells the story of a young Canadian soldier’s emotional journey through duty, fear, and love. From the front lines at Ypres to the seductive streets of London to memories of a West Coast childhood, we follow Ramsay Crome, a private with the 7th Canadian Pioneers who has volunteered against his father’s wishes. After a particularly horrible assault, Ramsay is granted a ten-day leave to London. It is here that he meets his cousin Margaret, a fervent objector to the war and the woman who will determine his fate in unexpected ways. As Ramsay tumbles into the suffocating embrace of family and the whirl of city life, he is forced to defend his honour and confront his own doubts and terror about the war, knowing that he must ultimately return to the Front. The Sojourn is a powerful yet intimate story about the passions of ordinary people caught in the tide of war.