Quiet in the Land

"Jacob (Yock) Bauman, a young member of an Amish community near Kitchener, Ontario, chafes at the strict (and, he believes, outmoded) beliefs of his elders, particularly those of his father, Christy. World War I is raging in Europe, and most of Canada's young men have gone off to fight with the British forces, but the Amish, because of their pacifist convictions, have refused to join the war effort. By deciding to enlist, Yock alienates himself not only from family and community, but also from the lovely Katie Brubacher, with whom he has fallen in love. When Yock returns from the war Katie has wed someone else and, ironically, the very acts of bravery which have made him a hero to the rest of Canada have made Yock a bloody-handed villain to his own people. Although the compassionate Katie offers to leave her husband and go off with him, Yock accepts his status as an outcast and departs alone, but not before admitting that, while standing over the body of a slain German soldier, the meaning of pacifism was, at last, powerfully revealed to him. In the end, Yock's stern father (now a bishop) is vindicated--but at the loss of the one he sought to save, his beloved and only son!"--Playdatabase.com.