Testimonial Category: The Verdun Affair

“Beautifully written, romantic, and atmospheric, the novel has a lyrical pace that evokes an earlier style of writing and does not as much aim to keep readers turning the pages as it does to draw them into a different time, full of melancholy and unspoken emotions. With the understated style of Ernest Hemingway, this novel will appeal to lovers of classic wartime romances (A Farewell to Arms) as well as fans of literary historical fiction by authors such as Paula McLain.” —Library Journal, starred review

“Gripping…a cleverly constructed page-turner…Dybek is a master at creating an atmosphere of war, of decadence amid the rubble, and at dipping in and out of history, teasing the reader with beguiling clues concerning the secrets each character harbors…a complex tale of memory, choice, and the sacrifices one sometimes makes by doing the right thing.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“Dybek has created a carefully constructed, deeply inquisitive, and broodingly romantic tale of mourning resonant with judicious echoes of Hemingway and Fitzgerald and spiked with piquant insights into the loss, longing, and delusion rampant in the haunting aftermath of war.” —Booklist, starred review

“An absorbing tale … in delicate, evocative prose, Dybek captures the grim devastation of scarred battlefields, bombed villages, and fetid soil and conveys with sensitivity his characters’ unabated desire to see in the shellshocked soldier an answer to their deepest desire.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A haunting, beautiful, and wholly absorbing book, that is at once a gripping story of war, a poignant coming of age, and a bittersweet romance. Dybek conjures the time period with elegance and visceral detail. I didn’t want it to end!” —Madeline Miller, author of The Song of Achilles and Circe

“Love, war, the mysteries of who we are — it’s all in The Verdun Affair. A masterful novel that will fizz your brain and enchant your heart.” —David Ebershoff, author of The Danish Girl and The 19th Wife

“I am still haunted by the images of war so deftly conjured in the midst of an elegiac love story. Dybek writes with a commanding sense of story and language. This novel will not let you go.” —Helen Simonson, author of Major Pettigrew’s Last Stand and The Summer Before The War

“The Verdun Affair is a masterful, sweeping novel of love and war and the way we reconstruct ourselves and our stories after everything has come apart. Nick Dybek is a vivid storyteller, and this is a beautiful and exciting book.” —Ramona Ausubel, author of Sons and Daughters of Ease and Plenty and No One is Here Except all of Us

“The Verdun Affair is an intensely gripping story set in the immediate aftermath of war. From a still-smoldering battlefield, Nick Dybek conjures a sweeping saga of secrets, lies, mistaken identity, love and betrayal. This is the kind of book you can’t put down.” —Claire Vaye Watkins, author of Gold Fame Citrus and Battleborn

“The Verdun Affair is ravishingly beautiful, and as much about love as about war. Nick Dybek is a storyteller of great power. I found myself drawn in immediately, believing the place, the characters, everything in his magnificently woven story. If there’s any justice, this novel will be widely read and recognized. I absolutely adored it.” —Paula McLain, author of The Paris Wife and Circling the Sun