I love the era of World War One, and was looking forward to being whisked away by a riveting story complete with the historical details of that fascinating period. The historical detail was there, and I particularly enjoyed the description of the famous Christmas truce, but beyond that, I felt that the story lacked emotion. I couldn't sympathize with the protagonist because the prose was dry, almost in the style of a report. There were no haunting descriptions or accounts of the wrenching emotions that a soldier in the trenches would experience. The author is a historian turned novelist, and even though the history was accurate, I had to make myself finish the book.