The Winter Warriors: a Guardian book of the year

WINNER OF THE PRIX JEAN GIONO FINALIST FOR THE PRIX INTERALLIE A GUARDIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR A bestselling, award-winning World War II novel about the heroism of a single Finnish infantry company - and the best sniper the world has ever seen - defending their country against the largest army in the world. November 1939- The Soviet Union invades its tiny, relatively defenceless neighbour Finland, just three months after the declaration of World War II. So begins what is known as the Winter War. A small makeshift company of soldiers, workers, and farmers must face off against columns of tanks and Stalin's Red Army fighters. In this propulsive and deeply moving narrative based on the true story of the Finnish infantry division, heroes emerge- the star sniper Simo Hayha, nicknamed the 'White Death'; the young men from farms and villages who meet again on the battlefield to fight for their homes; and nurses who must treat old childhood friends. The soldiers go to battle with old guns as their wounds freeze in the unforgiving cold, and yet not only do they resist the Soviet soldiers, but they force the superpower to offer terms for peace only a few months later. Drawing on the real-life figures and battles of the Finnish-Soviet Winter War, The Winter Warriors is a riveting, heart-pounding, epic historical thriller from one of Europe's most acclaimed crime writers. 'The Winter Warriors is the timely, thrilling, and deeply affecting novel of this extraordinary national cliffhanger ... Combining fascinating reportage with actual and imagined conversations, this page-turner falls into a genre of new fiction in which the verite of events becomes subordinated to Norek's brilliant character-study of a shy but natural-born killer ... The appeal of this tour de force owes a lot to its intensity, brilliance, and ferocity, but also to a deeply moving portrait of an accidental patriot who discovers that the way to save his country is to perfect the fine art of the sniper's revenge.' -Robert McCrum, The Independent 'A novel you will not put down. Maybe never.' -Richard Ford 'Olivier Norek's novel conjures the majestic yet bleak wintry backdrop of Finland in World War II ... The sense of glacial cold stalks through the pages ... Translated from French, Norek's novel brings to life an often-overlooked part of the war in all its futile carnage.' -Kat Trigarszky, Washington Post