Review Detail

The Loss of the Burying Ground is an introspective novel about Cora and Vivienne, two girls from warring countries who are caught in the aftermath of a failed diplomatic expedition and the storm of intrigue, propaganda, and covert operations that come in its wake.

Beautifully written and told in dual points-of-view, this story is quieter than what might be expected for a war novel. Cora and Vivienne separately wash up on a deserted island just after a massive shipwreck, and there the journey of survival begins. The sinking of the ship is mentioned in passing, but that sort of action isn’t the focus. Instead, the inner conflict and personal struggles of the girls are front and center, and the first half of the book is entirely about basic survival.

Cora and Vivienne are a highlight of the book. Their relationship is generally contentious, at best, and underlines the differences in worldview, temperament, and upbringing which they both recognize in each other, and either wonder about or despise. Cora comes from a more progressive nation, where soldiers instruct children in wilderness survival and leaders are determined by election. In contrast, Vivienne is a palace servant with a reverence for nature and spiritual intuition, and obedience to customs which even she admits are restrictive. Through comparison, neither side is labeled as consistently right or wrong, and the ideas are explored, both on an individual level and as an analogue for the national policies and wartime attitudes of the girls’ respective nations. The enemy is not a man holding a gun – it is the circumstances, misinformation, or manipulation that put him there.

As I mentioned, despite the wartime setting, daring escapades are few and far between, and it may feel particularly slow in the first half. This section deals with the girls’ individual survival, and even after they are aware of one another, they continue to act independently for some time, until additional threats force them together. These scenes highlight their resourcefulness, differences in upbringing, and struggles with nature, but the inner monologue does grow a bit repetitive as the girls repeat their same worries in each chapter.

Pick this up for a tale of survival and how ordinary people can be forever changed by the smallest part of a war.