Connections to Other Novels

Three Day Road, a Canadian novel by Joseph Boyden, is a story of a young native man named Xavier who has been severely wounded in the bloody trench warfare of World War I and is suffering from morphine addiction. His aunt Niska, takes him on a three day journey back to his home in order to revive him from his sickness, and during this journey, we are told the dreadful experiences that Xavier and his closest friend Elijah faced during the war.

The Wars, a novel by Timothy Findley, have a lot of things in common with the book Three Day Road.  The main character Robert who blames himself for his sister’s death, enlists in the army in order to make up wrong doings, similar to Xavier in the novel Three Day Road who volunteers to participate in the war. Both books share the tragedy of losing close friends and family around you which eventually drives the characters into madness. The Wars is a great book to read after reading Three Day Road since it will provide a nice transition.  

The Guns of August is not necessarily a novel but a volume of history by Barbara Tuchman. This book provides great details of World War I and will give you a general idea of what war was like back then. Since the novel Three Day Road mentions a lot of important places during the time of war, places like Sommes and Ypres, it will be very helpful to read this book before reading Three Day Road as it will give you background information  and will give you deeper understanding of the novel.

          All three books involve tragedy of seeing a close one suffer and the bloody, cold ground of WWI battlefield. Even though the books share the same general theme of World War I, each book has its own unique way of expressing the emotional conflicts involved in the war. So go ahead, try out each of the books and see for yourself.

-PK