Superb World War I tragicomedy
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Everything about this novel is right. The narrator, Otto Prohaska, is an Austro-Hungarian naval officer and pilot; the book is his account of three busy months on the Isonzo Front in 1916. His narrative voice is urbane, calm, tolerant; the story he tells is in striking contrast, for it is the tale of the war's mounting insanity. The novel's structure is episodic, but it works well, giving the story an almost kaleidoscopic feel that serves to emphasize the uncontrollable craziness into which the world was being sucked. Out of that craziness Biggins brilliantly mines both black comedy and unbearable tragedy. Biggins is not a well-known author, but he deserves to be. I think it no exaggeration to say that The Two-Headed Eagle is the best war novel written in English since The Caine Mutiny. If that assertion seems to cover a lot of ground, all I can say is: Try it and see.
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United States | 
United Kingdom | 
Canada