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Doctor Georg Hofmeister serves on a medical train. It’s 1942, and Russia’s armies are engaged in a war of attrition with the Nazi menace. At great risk to himself, Georg remains neutral, assisting the wounded on both sides of the conflict. In the course of a journey that takes him across the Soviet Union during one of the bloodiest winters in history, he delivers babies, prescribes home remedies, performs risky operations, joins a circus, and engages in passionate affairs with a number of women.
As the snow begins to settle on Hitler’s dreams of a thousand-year reich, Georg witnesses the notorious siege of Stalingrad, in which women and children become combatants and hundreds of thousands are slain. Having been separated from his wife, Rose, shortly after their wedding, Georg attempts to reach home without being murdered, aware that his profession makes him vulnerable to anyone carrying a weapon.
There are moments in this book that approach greatness. A great deal of research seems to have been done on the geography of Soviet Russia, the logistics of warfare, and the physical hardships involved, which gives the story a pleasingly visceral quality. The long philosophic dialogues on the nature of human cruelty are frequently moving, and even minor characters (such as a clown who pretends to be an infant) show unexpected flashes of humanity. Seemingly, every female character wants to sleep with Georg, but, intriguingly, he never considers how these flings might affect his relationship with his wife. Possibly, this trait is meant to convey how a conscience can become seared in the heat of conflict. Whatever the case, there is much in this book to admire and ponder.