Synopses & Reviews
It was all her doing. She had cried wolf, and the wolf had come. It's July 1940, and eleven-year-old Lydia has just run away from life as a child evacuee in Wales. She arrives in her English village, gas mask in tow, only to find it abandoned. Her family's house is shuttered and empty, the windows covered by black-out blinds--but Lydia settles in, determined to wait there until they return.
Late that night he comes: a wounded soldier, gun in hand, heralding a full-blown German invasion. There are, the man explains, certain rules that Lydia must now follow. He says he won't hurt Lydia, but she cannot leave the house.
As the unlikely pair coexists in the claustrophobic confines of the house, each becomes dependent on the other for survival. But when Lydia tries to uncover what brought the soldier to her door, she realizes that he knows more than he should about her family--and that he's plotting something for them both.
Eerie, gripping, and piercingly sad, The Dynamite Room brings a strikingly original and contemporary resonance to the great tradition of war classics. It shrinks the global theater of history's most devastating war to a game of cat and mouse played out in a single house--resulting in a moving portrait of war and how it affects soldiers and citizens alike.
Review
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott PrizePRAISE FOR THE DYNAMITE ROOM:
"Suspenseful and powerful. A novel of great humanity that exposes the absurd contradictions of war."--Samantha Harvey, author of the Orange shortlisted/Booker longlisted The Wilderness
Review
"Superb. Absorbing, suspenseful and with a beautifully poetic touch."--Nathan Filer, author of the Costa Award-winning The Shock of the Fall
Review
"Clever and unsettling, this most unconventional of war stories had me totally gripped."--Shelley Harris, author of Jubilee
Review
"An effective psychological drama between two extraordinary characters. Claustrophobic, touching, character-driven, and told in lovely prose...Readers who loved The Boy in the Striped Pajamas will have a strong affinity with The Dynamite Room."--Katie Ward, author of Girl Reading
Synopsis
"Accomplished, resonant and surprising" (Guardian)--a debut for fans of SUMMER OF MY GERMAN SOLDIER.
In July 1940, eleven-year-old Lydia escapes life as a child evacuee in Wales. She arrives home to her English village, gas mask in tow, only to find it abandoned. Her family's house is shuttered and empty. Lydia settles in though, determined to wait out the war.
Later that night he arrives: a wounded soldier, gun-wielding, heralding a full-blown German invasion. He says he won't hurt Lydia, but she cannot leave the house.
The unlikely pair coexists in their claustrophobic confines, becoming dependent on each other for survival. Lydia soon realizes that the soldier knows more than he should about her family--and that he's plotting something for them both.
Eerie, gripping, and incredibly moving, The Dynamite Room brings an original and contemporary resonance to the great tradition of war classics.
Synopsis
A young English girl is held captive in her house by a German soldier in this thrilling debut novel about the personal impact of warIt's July 1940, and 11-year-old Lydia has just run away from life as a child evacuee in Wales to return home. Finding her English village abandoned, she breaks into her family's boarded-up house to wait for their return. But inside she discovers a wounded German soldier with a gun -- he says he won't hurt her, but he won't let her leave the house.
Trapped in the claustrophobic confines of the house, Lydia slowly realizes that this soldier knows too much about her and her family, and that he's plotting something for them both.
The Dynamite Room shrinks the global theater of history's most devastating war to a game of cat and mouse played out in a single house; the result is a moving portrait of war and how it affects soldiers and citizens alike.
About the Author
Jason Hewitt was born in Oxford and lives in London. He has a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English from the University of Winchester and a MA with distinction in Creative Writing from Bath Spa University. After completing his degree he spent a number of years working in a bookshop in Oxford before moving into the publishing industry where he worked primarily as a Marketing Manager in a number of professional and academic publishers. He is also a playwright and actor, and his first written play will be performed later this year. THE DYNAMITE ROOM is his first novel.