Stories really are a funny thing, aren’t they? It’s thanks to stories like The Warm Hands of Ghosts that I can vicariously experience some of the worst things that have happened in the history of humanity in all their enormity. And have a good time doing so.
Thanks, fiction!
The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a historical fantasy set during World War One, in the mud and corpse-filled battlefields and the overburdened hospitals further back from the frontlines. Laura is a decorated nurse who has been sent back to Halifax, Canada, after being seriously injured when the hospital she was working at was bombed by the Germans.
However, she is drawn back to the front lines after being sent some of her brother’s effects. Freddie had enlisted, and the fact Laura has his things suggests he’s been killed in battle. Why then, can nobody give her a straight answer as to his fate? Freddie, meanwhile, after escaping from a collapsed pillbox with a German soldier named Winter, finds himself being lured into the power of the mysterious fiddler known as Faland.
Can Laura find her brother, and what will be left of him if she does?
I’m not usually big on historical fiction. Especially not about either of the World Wars. Those were topics that were done to death in school history classes, although I of course respect the reason why it’s important every generation learns of their horrors.
That’s interesting context for this review. The Warm Hands of Ghosts is a wonderfully powerful, deep, and disturbing look at the realities of war, about the invisible damage it inflicts upon people, and the toll it takes on human lives. There’s a spark of hope laced throughout the narrative – why else would Laura keep on searching? – but Katherine Arden does a fantastic job of bringing the realities of the conflict to life in gruesome yet necessary detail.
The fantastical elements of the book are subtle and integrated perfectly with the reality that Arden describes. This was war on an unprecedented scale, full of horrors hitherto unimaginable – why wouldn’t evil take many forms? How could ghosts not stalk the battlefields and surrounding landscapes? She’s used a blend of historical figures and entirely fictitious characters to create a compelling and believable story. The characters are well-rounded, and this novel is a master class in writing dialogue. Interactions between the characters surgically sharp, but never sterile.
The novel builds to a satisfying conclusion that manages to not only offer a spark of hope, but simultaneously acknowledge the long-lasting impact and horrific legacy of the Great War. This may be fantastical, but it’s no fairy tale.
While I won’t be diving back into historical fiction straightaway, when I do Katherine Arden will be at the top of my list of authors to read.
