Four Soldiers is about four boys in the Red Army during The Russian Civil War in 1919 and the friendship they form while at camp near the Romanian border. Despite the violence that lies ahead, the boys enjoy each other's company and form a close bond. They know come spring,they'll be matching off,their fate uncertain. Despite the promise of war, their days at camp are filled with love and happiness.they spend their time playing dice, smoking cigarettes, and going to a pond they discovered,hidden from the rest of the camp. They promise they will be there for each other no matter what.

The day comes too soon, they have to leave camp. Scared and freezing, they march off in the dark of night.

This is also where the book marches away from me. The ending is odd and left me very confused. What happened?! I don't understand at all.

I really enjoyed the rest of the book and the characters. The friendship they form despite the horrible situation they are in, is truly beautiful.

Mingarelli paints a small picture of war and he does it brilliantly. It's a war story about those quiet moments between action: how friendship and commitment develops in that kind of circumstances. I like the way Mingarelli tells a story: with a lots of unspoken emotions and details which becomes important turning points. Simple gestures and words can break a heart a bit.
Also, it is a story placed in history: 1919 Russia civil war but because of the character execution and development it's basically universal and timeless.

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Four Soldiers by Hubert Mingarelli (translated by Sam Taylor) is a short novel taking about members of the Russian Army fighting the Russian Civil War in 1919. Mr. Mingarelli is a French writer, he won the Prix Medici prize in 2003 for this novel.

The story is told by Benia, a soldier in the Red Army fighting in the Russian Civil War on the Romanian border. Together with his three friends, Pavel, Kyabine, and Sifra, they spend a boring winter in the forest trying to stay busy by gambling, sleeping, and trying to feed themselves.

When spring arrives, the lull in the war is over and the four friends march into battle.

This book is a portrayal of four simple men waiting for boredom to break so they can go into battle. Much of the book is spent examining the psychological affects that boredom has on men who are waiting for a fight.

This is a short book, and slow with very little action, simply written and direct. I found the story of this rugged crew of soldiers by choice and circumstance to be haunting and simple. The story, written from one perspective, could have been easily been told in diary form.

This is not a historical novel, it doesn’t cover any battles or historical events, just the challenge of day to day existence and the sheer boredom while waiting for something, anything, to happen. The four friends share their fears, wishes while passing the time knowing it is running out.

Thankyou to NetGalley, The New Press and the author, Hubert Mingarelli, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of Four Soldiers in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
I thought this book offered a good, quick read. I was hooked from the start.

A simple story about men at their most vulnerable and where friendships are forged amid common fears and shared enemies.
The Red Army were a mixed bag of illiterate peasants and working class men who were mobilised to secure the rewards of the people’s revolution. The story takes place during the Russian Civil War in 1919. The troops are close to the Romanian front in retreat and seek sanctuary in local forests to see out the harsh winter. Those that had survived skirmishes with the enemy now died from the freezing temperatures or from hut fires trying to keep warm.
Food was short and the land not plentiful nor the isolated farms abundant to share their produce.
The book is the memories of one soldier many years later about his experiences. Fundamental to his survival appears to have been the relationships forged between his fellow combatants.
He is drawn to Pavel and they were joined by a giant of a man, Kyabine and a quiet soul Sifra.
During this hiatus from fighting and having endured the worst of the winter these four spend their time together. It isn’t free from bad dreams or the fears rejoining the slaughter but in the basic things they do a certain poetic harmony is created.
I enjoyed Hubert Mingarelli’s brilliant ‘A meal in winter.’ So I was pleased to have the opportunity to read this book.
The simplicity of the men’s conversations, their daily routine and chores were engaging and completely engrossing. The author says more by what is unsaid and much is inferred in quiet moments and the men’s need for special places like a local pond they strive to keep as a secret location just for them.
The relationships are later initially strained, when a young child volunteer is assigned to their care. In the end his presence is enjoyed in that he records their antics in his notebook. The thoughts that these days are recorded in writing seems to make them more alive and validate their current situation.
The dialogue is basic but borne out of conflict and confinement. It rings true and pierces the heart of the reader. You realise their lives are on hold and their future is not within their own making. It makes their simple happiness almost childlike, their superstitions real and their desire to remain by the pond understandable.
I think it speaks loudly to all who would hear that war bears a deeper cost than just simple statistics. That lives that are lost are not the building blocks of a better future but real people as deserving of life as anyone. A lost son, father and brother are unfulfilled lives and the cost is best seen in the futility of war.
Four Soldiers is one such book and a literary masterpiece from a creative, thoughtful writer.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this book. It was unlike any book I have ever read and I am glad that I persevered as I found the book very moving.

The book tells the tale of four soldiers in the Russian Civil War but there is not a lot of war action in the book. Rather, it focuses on relationships and the time spent just waiting in the war. The style is brief and as a result is a quick read but the characters stay with you. I would recommend this book to anyone interested in an unusual take on a war story.

A small masterpiece and a future classic of war literature. Powerful and haunting, it takes place in 1919 during the Russian Civil War where four ordinary soldiers find themselves living together as the army sits out the winter in a forest on the Romanian front. As the days and weeks go by, a strong bond is forged between them through which they find friendship, comfort and even joy. The writing is spare and concise with not a word wasted. The author paints a vivid picture of the time and place in a deceptively simple style beneath which is a profound and moving meditation on men at war. Highly recommended.

A short easy read, kind of simplistically written (or maybe it just translates that way?)... it was interesting enough though, even if kind of at a slower pace.... It follows 4 young Russian soldiers marching along with their infantry company in 1919 during the Russian Civil War, & how they spend their time awaiting battle/fighting. It explores their fears/concerns, camaraderie, making good use of time & wasting time...just how young men/boys might get along during such an experience. I enjoyed it, & liked the shorter length too.....it was well worth the time to read it. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes a quick historical fiction.
I received this e-ARC from NetGalley & publisher "The New Press", in exchange for my own fair & unbiased review. All opinions are my own.

Told in a simplistic style with authentic and distinctive voices; Four Soldiers is a short tale of friendship with undercurrents of dread and horror running throughout. Haunting at times and near maddening in its mundane moments, the book reminded me of All Quiet on The Western Front in places.

Definitely worth a look.

This was an ARC in exchange for a honest review. With thanks to Netgalley and The New Press,

This book was beautiful, eerie, sad, heartbreaking, painful, and amazing. I relished every work of it, and will go back to read it again and again. A rare gem of a book!!!

I knew from the description that this would be more "slice of life," "a day in the life, etc" I was prepared for that as well as something without a great deal of plot. Unfortunately, it's just too simplistic to hold my attention and will not be a book that I will finish no matter how short it is.

Someone else reviewed this book as haunting which is a perfect description. It is told by one of the four soldiers, they are a ragged crew that met up while trying to get away from the Romanians. The writing is exactly as if you were listening to a soldier, not well educated, rather simple. I wouldn’t say it was an enjoyable read, it is fairly short and almost reads like a diary. Simple is another word to describe it, there really isn’t a plot and the ending basically leaves you hanging. It doesn’t really cover any events of the war, it just covers the day to day life of their existence as life was difficult and challenging as a soldier.
This one is really hard to review, some people may absolutely love it, and find it enthralling and poetic, not so much for me. I did want to finish it, but it did not bring out a lot of feelings one way or the other for the characters. A few of the things that happened I would consider rather odd.
I was given the opportunity to receive this book from The New Press through NetGalley. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own. This one gets 3***’s.

Wow, this is a fantastic short work, and I honestly couldn't put it down. It is a very minimalist work, basic and to the point but capable of conveying a great deal of feeling and "soul." The story is very basic. The titular four soldiers are the smartass but haunted Pavel, the mighty but childish Kyabine, the quiet and sensitive Sifra, and insecure narrator Benia, as well as the Evdokim kid, the shy new volunteer. No great battles or glorious charges are to be found here, nor any pretentious politicizing. Just a handful of comrades enjoying a series of "good memories" as they wait to be sent back to the war where there are no "good memories." It is all simple, matter of fact statements by characters with no grand eloquent ideals, although that does not mean that they are incapable of introspection and intense moments of feeling.

This work reminded me of that short section of All Quiet on the Western Front where the soldiers are all behind the lines and away from the war, just laying in the sun, in "Four Soldiers' " case next to their pond, not thinking of death and destruction. Of course the war and it's themes are always lingering over the story and pick away at the edges of their happiness.

Honestly, I really don't know what else to say. The book is superb and I am excited to see what other works Mr. Mingarelli has crafted.

I received an copy of this book from Netgalley.

This is a copy provided by the publisher and the author in exchange of an honest review. Thank you to them!

A book that is easy and quick to read and tends in its simplicity.

I was charmed by the way the characters interacted revealing the importance of friendship and, above all, companionship. They were completely different characters from each other, that way they compensate for each other. So, I enjoyed the reading through their bond narrated in just a simple way, with short dialogues that brings reliability. I also loved Kyabine so much, because he was the only one who aroused a stronger connection during the reading. He had a well-defined personality, his vices, his way of interpreting life as a child, and the last but not least he is the one that created a most empathy within the group of soldiers and myself. On the other hand, I felt that the characters needed deeper layers so I could feel and understand why some attitudes and personalities of them, like a description of a more consistent background!

The introduction of another character in this narrative, the boy named Kouzma Evdokim, in this group of friendly soldiers was the highest point of this book for me, because it came to retake the whole thread with doses of mystery and a deep meaning that became transcendent for all the history. To me, this was a brilliant choice that the writer take to present his character who rarely speaks, but who contributes to the whole outcome and meaning of this book. Kouzma decided to spend this journey with this group writing in his notebook what the they were contacting and for me this gesture became as a way to immortalize the small and good moments that the four soldiers had.

I would love to give more qualification to this book and I know it has enormous potential to be a successful novel, but as I mentioned earlier I need more context and more density of characters to harmonize everything.

Happy readings,

Next to a Book.

Author, Hubert Mingarelli, pulled me aside for a trip back in time to revisit the Russian Civil War; the year was 1919. It'd been the one clash between nations I knew so little about - until now. Exceptional credit is extended to Sam Taylor who did a fabulous job of translating this novel from French into English. I can't begin to imagine the effort that that took. Well done Sam.

The morose, panic-stricken scenes were an actual testament to the slow decay of the mind when subjected to the endless pitfalls of combat troops in war. Life as they had known it slowly dragged on one impossible day at a time.

Four soldiers met up and became best of friends while they were attached to the Red Army and fought on the Romanian front. Times were beyond difficult; they were unbearable. In order to survive, they were forced to eat their horses and scavenge whatever food and provisions they could gather from local homes they passed along the way. The days were bitter cold, the night's intolerably freezing. That was cause enough for the war to take a break and wait it out till spring. It would not go away.

With the rest of their company, the four comrades built a hut for themselves and made camp hidden away in the middle of a forest. They did whatever they could to occupy the endless days and nights. Mindless hours of shooting dice for cigarettes helped ease their troubled minds. Clear days were spent sitting by a pond concealed from the rest of their company within the reeds. They knew their time was running out. War would not let go.

As always, time had a way of marching on, and in their case, too fast. Spring had finally arrived and it was time for them to pull out, time for some to sacrifice their lives for a cause they could not begin to comprehend. All that waited ahead for them down the dirt road were bullets and bombs. If lucky, their demise would come quickly.

I extend my gratitude to NetGalley and The New Press for this ARC in exchange for an unbiased review.

A haunting story of four soldiers during the Russian Civil War 1919. There is a lull in fighting and the men find time to rest and enjoy the simple things - eating, smoking, drinking tea, being together, having shelter, washing and not thinking of the dangers of the war they were in. They share a pendant, which has a photo of a woman in it, and each night one of them get to sleep with "her". Another soldier carves hands and sells them to men looking for some solace.
Mateship is a strong theme. What affected me the most was when a new recruit joined the unit. He writes in a notebook and the men want him to record their every achievement. After he is killed the narrator finds the boy could not write. And this is what makes the book so powerful - these men can't read, are mostly farm labourers, have little experience with women or life - and they keep marching to the enemy, running from battles and watching out for each other.