The Casemate Classic War Fiction Series publishes new editions of
forgotten classics that perfectly capture their era.
The Whistlers' Room is the surprisingly gentle, sensitive story of a
section in a German hospital where three soldiers try to recover from
battle injuries. They are known as the Whistlers, as all were shot in
the throat and their breathing results in a sound "like the squeaking of
mice". The author vividly captures the strong young men the soldiers
used to be and the battered, wounded people they have become. Pointner,
whose obstinacy in holding onto an English sniper's cap means he is
mistaken for the enemy, is the worst injured of the trio. Kollin
continually dreams that he is cured, and for a brief, heartbreaking
moment his breathing appears to be free when he awakes. The precarious
balance of life in the hospital shifts when Harry, an English prisoner
of war, becomes another whistler. His initial reception by the other
patients, and his eventual acceptance into their group, reminds us of
what must be so blatant day-in day-out in a hospital: men are all the
same regardless of the country they fight for.
The story progresses through a simple series of vignettes which are
delicately presented without demanding empathy or flinging the reader
into a maelstrom of emotion. It is all the more rare, precious and
powerful as a result.
