The taylor’s son Kimber is only twelve years old when he sees his father collapse and die under the weight of the heavy sack of flour on his shoulders. Feeling guilty of his father’s death, Kimber escapes south from Silkeborg in Denmark and tumbles straight into the Thirty Years’ War. The year is 1626.

German dukes and princes are slaying each other, taking large parts of the population with them into death. Young Kimber joins forces with Master Theo, a medic, and together they travel from one theatre of war to another, making it possible for the people they save to return to their miserable lives. But Master Theo is not only an expert on amputating limbs and healing wounds – he also introduces Kimber to the world of books. And from that point on, Kimber’s spiritual curiosity is aroused. What messages do these books carry with them? How does beauty enter the world? And what about love? Can there really be a place where it exists?

Chaos and the Purity of the ;oment is a brief, but rich and wondrous novel. It’s hero is an ordinary man placed right in the heart of the chaos of war, but Kurt Aust nevertheless succeeds in telling a truly beautiful story.

“This little novel appears in the shape of a legend with allegorical overtones. Set in the Thirty Years War, the portrayal of the times can easily be seen as parallel to the many brutal and meaningless wars in our own time, whether in Rwanda, Bosnia or Afghanistan. The way I read it, its message lies in the belief that beauty and knowledge can counterbalance violence, brutality and war.”
Tønsbergs blad