Anthony Burgess includes this novel as one of his 99 best English novels written since 1930 and is absolutely correct to do so.
It is the story a RAF Bomber Squadron and their German opposition over a 24 hour period. From the planning of a 700 plane attack on Germany until they land again back at their squadrons.
It makes for a very harrowing read and it in no way glorifies war. It accentuates the exceptional bravery of those involved but it lays out for all to see the utter waste that war is.
I didn't realise how young the pilots in WW2 were, you had 23 year olds captaining Lancaster Bombers with 18 year old crewmen and 21 year old Germans trying to shoot them down. Thousands of these young men died. When they got hit by a canon round, they didn't just fall down dead with a neat little hole in them, they vaporised, suffered horrendous burns, all terrible stuff.
It is a great read and as it was first published in 1970, I wondered why it had not had the acclaim that other anti-war novels have garnered. My theory is that Deighton was primarily known for his spy thrillers at the time. It deserves to be a very famous book.
It is a wonderful book, without the humour and cynicism of "Catch 22" but the message is the same.
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