Killing in war isn't murder.'

'But it feels like it, before God. A battlefield is the best place to hide a corpse ...isn't that what they say?"

The Law of War, if there is such a thing, does it override all laws?'

'No.'

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Tirpitz-the largest battleship in Europe-was launched by Hitler's navy in 1939, with a crew of over 2,500. No other target is comparable, Winston Churchill said at the start of World War II. On November 12, 1944-after facing little direct action-Tirpitz was bombed and sunk outside Tromsø, Norway by the British. 971 men died.

In this stunning novel, acclaimed Norwegian poet Ingrid Storholmen resurrects the lives, trials and dreams of the men on board-and that of their wives, lovers, family and the local Norwegians who encountered the ship-with profound immediacy and grace. Through monologues, conversations and letters Stormholen traces the personal journeys of those caught in the war. Young farmhands like Otto-hopeful about escaping anonymity and starting a new life; educated skeptics like Kaspar-forced to enlist to keep his father out of jail; fascists like Carl-fighting for the purity of the Aryan race; young Norwegian women like Berit-who swaps thankless domestic drudgery for shipyard cleaning; among countless others.

Here Lay Tirpitz is an immersive chorus of voices waiting for life to begin, or death. It shows us the beauty, vulnerability-and ugliness-of men and women, in a world overrun by hatred and power. Now, when such forces are in ascendance yet again, Storholmen reminds us of the human cost of war. In this scintillating English translation, we have a timely masterpiece: audacious, sensuous and devastating.