What is the significance of the title, War and Turpentine?

The title of the novel highlights the lifelong struggle of Urbain Martien, a man who adored art his entire life as a means of expression but also as a means of love. Yet, as a man, he was always forced into action for someone else. As a child, he had to engage in hard labor and as an adult, he was thrust into a war, something that he carried with him his entire life. Urbain's journey over the years was balancing the painter with the soldier, something he struggled with consistently.