The Charioteer

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Few events in his early years had prepared Laurie Odell for that day in the veterans’ hospital when he first met Andrew Raynes. Laurie, who was recovering from wounds sustained at Dunkirk, had seen a bit of life, but the moment he met Andrew was unique for him – it was a moment that provided clarity and logic for the many things that he vaguely knew about himself but had never fully understood. With Andrew everything became right – love entered Laurie’s life and with it, finally, a sense of self. But with this discovery began Laurie’s difficult journey between two communities – that of the soldier and that of the gay man – and the delicate task of navigating the precarious waters that flow between them. In The Charioteer Ms. Renault has created a stunning work of historical fiction that is as fresh as today’s headlines. This is a novel that thoroughly succeeds in illuminating the world around us.