Devastation Road written by Jason Hewitt, publisher Scribner UK (an imprint of Simon and Schuster UK), is available NOW in ebook, hardcover and paperback format.
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Product Details (as per amazon page)
Spring, 1945: A man wakes in a field in a country he does not know. Injured and confused, he pulls himself to his feet and starts to walk, and so sets out on an extraordinary journey in search of his home, his past and himself.
His name is Owen. A war he has only a vague memory of joining is in its dying days, and as he tries to get back to England he becomes caught up in the flood of refugees pouring through Europe. Among them is a teenage boy, Janek, and together they form an unlikely alliance as they cross battle-worn Germany. When they meet a troubled young woman, tempers flare and scars are revealed as Owen gathers up the shattered pieces of his life. No one is as he remembers, not even himself – how can he truly return home when he hardly recalls what home is?
I’d like to thank the author and his publishers for an arc in return for a review. This book is quite different to my usual genre of women’s contemporary fiction and romance however, I’ve read a few wartime sagas that have transported me to an era that changed the world we live in now and have been fascinated. Nonetheless, I do feel this story held some similarities to my usual genre as it was a story of how people, from all walks of life, react with each other during a traumatic time. Their reactions of love, of hate, of respect and honour, of kindness, of survival, of fear of the unknown and of fear visibly seen before their eyes.
The story starts in 1945 with a man, Owen, waking up bewildered in a field. He’s battered, bruised and bloody. He doesn’t recognise his whereabouts and can’t recall how he got there. Bit by bit his memory vaguely recalls something or he finds something he believes maybe of some significance. He has to write it down to help him remember but also to make it feel more real. He feels like he is losing his mind, as if he’s in a ‘groundhog day’. He knows he has to get back to England as he’s figured out he’s far from home. Along his journey amongst the mass of refugees, with barely anything to call their own, he befriends two battle scarred lost souls; a young man called Janek and a young mum, Irena, with her baby. They form an unlikely comradeship across a war torn Germany, seeking help, refuge, their lost family and a way to get home.
This was a very poignant, engaging read that throws no punches and shows the raw side of people trying to survive a war that has shaken the world to it’s core. Jason Hewitt manages to open your eyes and feel the hidden sights and sounds in a landscape torn apart. Such a horrific time for all but humanity remained and the tender, heartrending moments felt more intense. This is a story that I won’t forget in a long time. 5/5*
To find out more about Jason Hewitt and his books please visit the following pages:
kraftireader 
Just loved this book. Such a talented writer.
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Such a compelling read.
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