Extraordinary that I have read the book before and enjoy it so much but remembered nothing from the first reading. I cannot complain because it allowed me to appreciate fully the twist in the tail for a second time. Brilliantly constructed with a narrative thread woven with pieces of the past life of the soldier hero (wonder if you read this one Graham?). In a way it was constructed like an early opera with the plot interrupted by solos and group singing by the main characters used to further discovery of the psychology and emotional complexities of those characters (did you intend that Iain?).