What does the fall of an empire look like when distilled down to its most basic elements? This absolutely beautiful and elegiac novel shows us as it traces the lives of the father and son Trotta, descendants of the senior Trotta who saved the Kaiser’s life in the Battle of Solferino. That singular act casts a long protective shadow over the family, taking every generation under its wing. Roth traces Junior’s gradual disillusionment with his military duty, honorbound as he is by tradition and his father’s word. As the empire crumbles, the Trottas stand out in even starker contrast. Brilliant!
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