The Remembered Soldier - Anjet Daanje | Buy Online at Beetle Bookshop

The Remembered Soldier: Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026

(Author: Anjet Daanje | Translator: David McKay)

An extraordinary love story and a captivating novel about identity, grief, and the power of memory and imagination.

Flanders, 1922. After serving as a soldier in the Great War, Noon Merckem has lost his memory and lives in a psychiatric asylum. Countless women, responding to a newspaper advertisement, visit him in the desperate hope of finding their spouses who vanished in battle.

One day, a woman named Julienne arrives and recognizes Noon as her missing husband, the photographer Amand Coppens. Taking him home against medical advice, their miraculous reunion fails to match the picture-perfect narrative Julienne presents to her envious friends. Only gradually do the two grow close, with Amand’s life story pieced together through Julienne’s accounts. But how can he be certain she is telling the truth?

In The Remembered Soldier, Anjet Daanje immerses readers in the psyche of a war-traumatized man who has lost his identity. As Amand begins to question Julienne’s words, a riveting spiral of mystery, confusion, and psychological tension unfolds.

Praise for the Book:

• “A novel of epic scope that resonates powerfully while wars of tragic loss continue to be fought on multiple fronts…” — Tobias Grey, Financial Times

Key Highlights:

• Internationally Acclaimed: Longlisted for the International Booker Prize 2026, National Book Award Finalist, and New York Times Notable Book.

• Psychological & Atmospheric Depth: Explores memory loss, trauma, identity, and the lingering shadow of World War I.

• Masterpiece of European Fiction: Written by bestselling Dutch author Anjet Daanje and beautifully translated by David McKay.