Back
Henry Green
New York Review Books
<i>Back </i>is the story of Charlie Summer, who is back from the war and a POW camp having lost the woman he loved, Rose, to illness before he left and his leg to fighting. In other words, Charlie has very little to come back to, only memories, and on top of that he has been deeply traumatized by his experience of war. Rose's father introduces him to another young woman, Nancy, and Charlie becomes convinced that she is in fact Rose and pursues her. <i>Back</i> is at once a Shakespearean comedy of mistaken identities, a voyage into the world of madness, and a celebration of the improbable healing powers of love.