I just finished The Dog in the Wood, by Monica Schröder, and had to write about it right away. I loved this book.

Fritz is ten years old and living with his mother and sister on his Nazi grandfather’s farm when the Russians push back the German army, and liberate the country. Well, they liberate some and terrorize and imprison others.

What was life like after the war for the children of Nazis?

Ms. Schröder writes beautifully. Fritz’s emotions come across so clearly that you can’t help but ache for the poor kid.

War, like any other trial, brings out the best in some people and the worst in others. Against the dark backdrop of war, there is opportunity for kindness to shine bright. In this book, there are acts of cowardice and kindness, but true to life, perhaps, there are no heroes. The boy survives because humans are adaptable and they have a will to survive.

Fritz is a brave boy and in some ways he’s very much a hero. But if you are looking for a book where the kid saves the world, look elsewhere. In the real world, ten-year-olds don’t usually defeat conquering armies and though this is a novel, it’s firmly rooted in the real world.

I can’t say I closed it with a great feeling of the triumph of the human spirit. I can’t say I closed it thanking God for people who risked their lives to help others. It’s not one of those stories. But I closed it feeling like I had met a new friend. Wishing that I could sit and chit chat with Fritz. And feeling pretty sure that the boy who loved growing things, grew himself to be a fine man.

This title is one of four electronic books namelos has been offering free (today’s the last day! March 31, 2010) and which they will be selling after today. Or you can get a hardback copy from any bookstore or at Amazon.

This is a short, really well written book that will move you and change you and make you feel things…convicted, guilty, alive, happy, sad, longing for heaven—what you feel will depend on where you’ve been and where you’re going. I’m just saying this is a book worth spending an hour or two on because it will not leave you the same as it found you.

Also, I must say, I read the Kindle version and I love my kindle but I get a little cranky when I pay paperback prices for an e-book and the formatting is all screwed up. But with namelos, apparently you don’t have ugly formatting. The book looked great.

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