The Human Body: A Novel [Paperback]

From the bestselling author ofThe Solitude of Prime Numbers, a searing novel of the journey from youth into manhood
 
A heartrending, at times darkly comic but ultimately redemptive novel, Paolo Giordano’sThe Human Bodyis an exploration of brotherhood and family, of modern war and the wars we wage within ourselves. It is a novel that reminds us of what it means to be human.

A platoon of young men and a single woman leave Italy for one of the most dangerous places on earth. At their forward operating base in Afghanistan—an exposed sandpit scorched by inescapable sunlight and mortar fire—this band of inexperienced soldiers navigates the irreversible journey from youth to adulthood. But when a much-debated mission goes devastatingly awry, their lives are changed in an instant. And on their return home, they will confront the most difficult challenge of all: to create a life worth living. “The Human Bodyis a great novel of life in wartime: a chronicle of war's multifarious crimes against the body and soul, and a heartfelt meditation on how men, together and collectively, repair the burdens of their fate.”
—Joshua Ferris, author ofTo Rise Again at a Decent Hour
 
Paolo Giordano's new novel, like his last, is full of sensitivity and intelligence.The Human Bodyis a brilliant addition to the literature of our modern wars.
—Kevin Powers, author ofThe Yellow Birds
 
“With an extraordinarily keen eye and a pitch-perfect ear, Giordano has magnificently captured the surreal existence of the modern soldier.  By turn poignant and gripping – when not downright hilarious – every page ofThe Human Bodyrings with an authenticity and appreciation of the absurd that very few novelists writing about men stumbling about the business of war have achieved.  Very few indeed; think of O’Brien’l£§