A novel by Gene Wilder, with a hero as sweet and bumbling, and of course ultimately triumphant, as one of Wilder's movie characters. In fact, the novel reads almost as a sketch for a movie script. It's short and poignant, and very economical with its language. It's the story of Paul Peachy, who joins up to fight WWI and then deserts almost as soon as he gets to Germany -- as soon as he realizes that "trench warfare" means "run right into the enemy's machine-gun fire with absolutely zero protection, and watch both your closest friends get killed within seconds."
Luckily for Peachy, he's an actor, and has recently met a very famous spy. An elaborate hoax saves his life, but for how long.
Really, a lovely, graceful, delightful work. Way to go, Gene.
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