Review: Sand Queen by Helen Benedict

Review by John for Sand Queen by Helen Benedict.

John’s quick take:  A searing novel about a female US soldier and a young local woman in the Iraq War – a damning condemnation of the war, its execution and the treatment of women in the army.

John’s description:  Kate Brady is a nineteen year old woman who joined the US army hoping to bring honor to her family and to help bring democracy to the Middle East. Instead she is shipped off to Iraq and finds herself in a US-army base guarding a makeshift prison full of mostly-innocent Iraqi civilians. While she has to handle a bemused and fearful local population in addition to the inmates, most of the time she is more at risk from her own predatory male colleagues than she is from the Iraqis.

Naema Jassim is a young medical student whose family has fled Baghdad hoping to find more peace away from the seething capital city. But while staying at her grandmother’s house her frail father and young brother are rounded up by US soldiers for no apparent reason and imprisoned in the camp that is being guarded by Kate. Prior to the US invasion her father had been imprisoned and tortured by Saddam Hussein’s security forces for not openly supporting Hussein’s Ba’ath party – now he is jailed by Hussein’s US enemies.

Naema travels to the camp desperately trying to find out information about her family but finds an implacable system that cannot or will not share any information. Naema tries to latch onto Kate but the US soldier, in common with her colleagues, is almost as bemused and ignorant as the civilians. Despite the dangers she has to face daily, Kate decides that she will try and help Naema.

But with no civilian authorities left in place Iraq is rapidly descending into chaos, made even worse as insurgents fight back against the US forces and factions in the country start to tear the society apart. Kate faces ever-more deadly threats from both inside and outside the camp and both she and Naema desperately cling to hopes that they can return to some sort of normal life.

John’s thoughts:  This is a powerful novel. I couldn’t for one second call it an enjoyable read as the content is raw, brutal, anger inducing and pretty depressing. But it is gripping and enlightening and I’m very glad that I read it.

I was prepared to hear about the sheer stupidity of the war, the chaos caused by lack of planning and forethought, the inefficiency and ineptitude of the war machine, the awful conditions in the Iraqi desert, the heart-stopping fear of fighting in a war and the tremendous bravery of the common soldiers – and the book delivered in spades on all of those fronts. What I was less prepared for was the truly dreadful treatment of female soldiers in the US army, the horrors that Iraqis had to face and the privations of soldiers returning from the war. These were thoroughly shocking.

Of course this is a novel so it could be said that it is not reporting facts, but Benedict carried out some thorough research, including interviews with over forty veterans of the war. It has the stamp of authenticity and is eminently believable.

In addition to being a war story, this is very much a tale of women’s place in the world. The US is supposedly one of the most enlightened and liberated countries in the world, yet its treatment of women in the army is barbaric. Iraq suffered under the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein and yet Iraqi women had more autonomy than Muslim women in most of the Middle East. According to Benedict (and Naema) the Iraqi War and subsequent events have set back women’s rights by fifty years. Among other things, the book jacket describes Sand Queen as “at times funny” and “a story of hope”. I have to say that I didn’t see much of either of those things.

I’d rate this book 4 stars and thoroughly recommend it to anyone who is interested in the role of women in the army, women’s rights, the Iraqi War, the troubles in the Middle East, or war stories generally. But be warned, this is not a comfortable read.

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Hardcover | 312 pages | Soho Press | August 2, 2011

Review: Nobody Comes Back by Donn Pearce

Review by John for Nobody Comes Back by Donn Pearce.

John’s quick take: A gritty historical fiction set during the Battle of the Bulge in WWII – think an updated The Red Badge of Courage crossed with a dose of Catch 22.

John’s description:   As WWII reaches its climax, an unsettled Toby Parker is too young to enlist in the American Army but can’t think of anything else to do. To date his life has been characterized by neglect, instability and struggling to make ends meet. He manages to finagle his way into the army and after some brief training finds himself shipped off to France. It is late 1944 and Germany is struggling to hold back surging Allied forces - but Hitler decides to make one last major offensive push in the Ardennes with the ensuing “Battle of the Bulge” totally taking the Allies by surprise. After landing Toby is almost immediately thrown into a vicious battle.

Any thoughts Toby might have had about the nature of war are soon swept away. Quite apart from the terrifying and bloodthirsty engagements with the enemy, what he experiences is bewildering, confusing, totally chaotic and at times absolutely illogical. Having to learn quickly, a wounded Toby tries desperately to survive, but it is sometimes not clear if the greatest danger comes from the Germans or from some on his own side. A lifetime’s worth of experiences are crammed into just a few searing days.

A historical footnote for those that are interested - the Battle of the Bulge was the largest and bloodiest battle fought by the United States in WWII. It also severely depleted Germany's war-making resources, thereby restricting Germany’s ability to defend itself during the final stages of the war.

John’s thoughts:   This book doesn’t pull any punches about the nature of war; it is very graphic and feels authentic. Apart from the viciousness of humans, one of the overriding themes of the story is the chaos of war. For sure the Battle of the Bulge was a confusing engagement and I’m not sure if Pearce has accurately reflected that or whether he has embellished it a bit – but it certainly makes for a compelling story. The development of the Toby Parker character over just a few days is remarkable. I’ve no right to comment on whether or not it is realistic, but it certainly does ram home the awful nature of war and what it does to people.

The element of Catch 22 comes in with the idiotic behavior of some people and the bureaucratic and nonsensical orders that had to be followed. There is also some deep irony in enemies sometimes treating people better than supposed friends.

There is a lot to like about this book. It is easy to read, interesting and pulls you along. Sometimes the action almost got to be almost too much – but there again what was I expecting in choosing to read a book like this? If you like historical fiction set in times of war then I’d certainly recommend this book. I’d rate it three stars.

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Forge Books | October 2013 (first pub date 2005) | Trade Paperback | 256 pages

For more information on Nobody Comes Back please see our Incoming Books feature for November 8, 2013.

Review: Of Blood and Brothers by E. Michael Helms

Review by John for Of Blood and Brothers: A Novel of the Civil War by E. Michael Helms

John’s quick take:  An interesting story about the American Civil War and brothers who ended up fighting on different sides.

John’s description:  It’s 1927 and Calvin Hogue, a young reporter, is sent to cover a family reunion in the Florida panhandle. What makes the reunion different is that the two old Malburn brothers who will be there fought on different sides in the American Civil War. Hogue is nervous and not sure what to expect, but he is at least given a warm welcome by younger members of the Malburn family.

He is introduced to Daniel, the older of the two brothers, who at first seems like a rather irascible old man. But eventually, assisted by a glass or two of moonshine, the old man starts to tell Calvin his story, which then spreads over a few meetings between the two men. In particular Daniel tells all about his involvement as a Confederate soldier in the great battle of Chickamauga in Northern Georgia, when the Confederate army inflicted one of the worst defeats of the war on the Union army. The battle was savage and bloody, and Daniel Malburn spares no details.

Eventually Calvin is also introduced to Elijah, Daniel’s brother. The young Elijah did not sign up for the army alongside his older brother, but instead stayed at home to help run the family farm. After helping out at a salt works (salt was vital to the war effort) Elijah is captured by Union soldiers, and reluctantly chooses to join up as a Union scout rather than be sent to a prisoner of war camp. He figures that somehow he will be able to escape, but is horrified when his unit is sent to raid the countryside around where his family and friends live.

Calvin is totally drawn into the complex wartime stories of the two old men, which he turns into weekly episodes for the local newspaper. At the same time he becomes ever closer with the Malburn family.

John’s thoughts:  This is an interesting and enjoyable account of the Civil War, when many families were torn apart and found themselves on different sides. In this case one of the brothers found himself on the opposing side almost by accident, but is nonetheless drawn into actions which will damage the lives of those he has grown up with.

Helms certainly does a good job of depicting the chaos and confusion of the Civil War – both on and off the battlefield. He pulls no punches in describing the gory details of battle, but also effectively describes the anxieties and actions of those not of the front line.

I think that Helms is at his best when writing about the battle scenes, and his account of Chickamauga were quite compelling. I really liked the way that he talked about the soldiers’ fears and emotions. I wasn’t quite as impressed with the story of Calvin Hogue, which is used as a framework for the Civil War storyline. Some of this is a little on the thin side – for example, it was never obvious to me why the two old brothers would suddenly open up to Hogue and tell him things they had never told anyone else.

However, I would recommend this to anyone interested in historical fiction generally or the American the Civil War specifically. A couple of words of caution – firstly, this is the first part of a two-book story so do not expect major story elements to come to a conclusion in this read; secondly, the tales of the two old Southern men are written the way that they speak, so that you have to cope with many odd phrases and colloquialisms. I’m sure that many people will find the speaking/writing style a bonus. For me it did occasionally get in the way just a bit.

Overall I’d rate this book 3.5 stars.

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282 pages | Koehler Books | September 1, 2013

http://www.emichaelhelms.com/

Review: The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship by Patrick Bishop

Review by John for The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship by Patrick Bishop

John’s quick take:  A fascinating book for anyone interested in World War II or military history; but also a terrific read for anyone who likes a good adventure story. This history book is full of both intriguing historical details and breathtakingly dangerous human exploits.

John’s description:   As Hitler’s Germany prepared for war, it was determined to match the might of the British Navy. One result of this was the building of a huge battleship that was bigger, faster, better armed and more advanced than anything the world had seen. The Tirpitz, named after Grand Admiral Alfred von Tirpitz who was the architect of the German Imperial Navy, was supposedly unsinkable.

As the war developed, the main role of the ship was to cause havoc with the Atlantic convoys that were both the lifeline of besieged Britain and an important source of allied arms being supplied to Russia. The Germans based Tirpitz on the Norwegian coast, so it could also serve as a deterrent to a possible allied invasion of that country. Hitler had something close to paranoia about the threat of the allies rescuing Norway from its German occupiers.

As it turned out, by far the biggest impact that the Tirpitz had on the war was the threat of what it might do, rather than anything it actually did do. The allied forces were terrified of the ship’s capabilities and went to enormous lengths to protect their convoys and to avoid a direct confrontation, thereby tying up enormous amounts of military assets; meanwhile the Germans, and Hitler in particular, were terrified of losing the ship and were amazingly cautious about using it in anger, despite its reputed invincibility. But Hitler was not the only wartime leader who played a major personal role in the Tirpitz story; Churchill was almost obsessed with the Tirpitz, and relentlessly pushed his forces to attack the ship, even after it should have become obvious that its threat was overstated.

The result was that over a three-year period the British launched no less than 36 operations designed specifically to sink the ship. As Tirpitz was moored in well-protected Norwegian fjords, beyond the range of traditional British-based bombers, many of the British operations were innovative or desperately risky, bordering on suicidal. Among other things the British tried to use human torpedoes, midget submarines, aircraft carrier-based dive bombers, and specially designed mines. Some of the operations used special services groups, supported by undercover agents in Norway, and much of the intelligence about the ship’s movements and plans was the result of the British decrypting top-secret German Enigma communications.

The operation involving newly designed midget submarines was particularly unusual and daring. After perilous training and a fraught journey across the North Sea, just three of the ten craft made it beyond the ship’s defenses, one of which was then sunk by gunfire and depth charges. But two of the tiny submarines did manage to lay mines which did quite a bit of damage to Tirpitz, and put it out of action for almost six months. However, the ship was repaired and once again became a thorn in the sides of the British.

Eventually the job of sinking Tirpitz was handed over to the Royal Air Force, which now had access to Lancaster bombers which had just about enough range to reach the Tirpitz. The attacks by the bombers stretched the limits of both human endurance and available technology, and the losses were high. But using highly innovative and terrifying new “earthquake bombs”, the RAF finally scored two direct hits on the ship causing it to capsize within minutes; of the 1,700 sailors on board at the time of the bombing, it is estimated that almost 1,000 died as a result of the attack.

John’s thoughts:  I found this a tremendously interesting read. It could have been just a dry, historical account of events, but throughout the book, Bishop uses personal diaries, memoirs and interviews with families of survivors to bring the history to life. In large parts the story is told through the eyes of people who were involved.

And what a story this is. If a Hollywood movie had used a plot like this, many would accuse it of being far-fetched and unbelievable. In here we have arms races, technology being pushed to the absolute limits, powerful nations battling for survival, spies, decrypted secret messages, audacious plans and quite stunning acts of bravery in the face of overwhelming odds. It is the latter which I found most amazing. Throughout the book there are seemingly normal people that are willing to volunteer for missions or to do things which are absurdly dangerous. Heroes indeed.

Apart from all of that, I also found it an educational book. I’m old enough that World War II was very real to my parents and grandparents, and I’ve always been fascinated by the period. I learnt a lot from this read and it wasn’t just about the facts and the stories immediately surrounding the Tirpitz. It was also an education to find out more about the people – from how the personalities of Hitler and Churchill had a direct impact on events, to the stories of the daring pilots and sailors who undertook the raids, to the impact of German occupation on Norwegians, to the lives of the sailors on board the Tirpitz. Something else gave me great pause for thought. The Tirpitz never did attack allied ships and essentially the only time it caused any damage was when it was defending itself against attack; yet it had a major influence on events during the war. The threat of a weapon turned out to be much more damaging than the weapon itself. Intriguing, and you can’t help but draw some parallels with the cold war that followed World War II.

I’d rate this book four stars and thoroughly recommend it to anyone interested in World War II or military history; but also to anyone who enjoys reading about real-life adventure.

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Hardcover| 416 pages |Regnery History | Reprint edition (April 8, 2013)

About the author:  Patrick Bishop was born in London and went to Wimbledon College and Corpus Christi College, Oxford. Before joining the Telegraph he worked on the Evening Standard, the Observer and the Sunday Times and in television as a reporter on Channel Four News. He is the author with John Witherow of a history of the Falkands War based on their own experiences and with Eamon Mallie of The Provisional IRA which was praised as the first authoritative account of the modern IRA. He also wrote a memoir the first Gulf War, Famous Victory and a history of the Irish diaspora The Irish Empire, based on the TV series which he devised.

He lives in London with his partner Henrietta Miers and their baby daughter Honor.

http://www.patrickbishop.net/index.html

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This book review is part of a tour hosted by TLC Book Tours. For more reviews please visit our host’s site by linking to the page for The Hunt for Hitler’s Warship via the badge to the right.

Review by John: AN UNMARKED GRAVE ~ by Charles Todd

A review written by John for (An Unmarked Grave: A Bess Crawford Mystery ~ by Charles Todd)

John’s quick take:

A murder mystery whodunit featuring a plucky nurse-cum-detective, set in England and the battlefields of France during the First World War.

John’s description:  Bess Crawford is a frontline nurse, serving in aid stations just behind the trenches during the grim battles of the First World War. She is also the daughter of a highly respected and well-connected Army Colonel – hers is a family that is steeped in military history and traditions.

It is early in 1918 and to add to the horror of war, the Spanish influenza epidemic is sweeping through the region, leaving behind a trail of destruction and death. Bess and her colleagues, already exhausted and close to breaking point, now have to deal with a huge influx of sick and dying soldiers that have been struck down by the disease.

Then in the midst of the madness, the body of an officer is discovered among the piles of dead waiting to be buried in mass graves; but he has been neither shot nor infected by the contagion – he appears to have been murdered. But before Bess can report the murder, she too falls sick and for a long time her life hangs by a thread. When she finally recovers, she discovers that the only other witness to the murdered officer’s body has reportedly committed suicide and the officer’s wife has received official notification that he died in battle. Bess is determined to seek justice, but with no body, no other witnesses and no-one but her aware that a crime has been committed, how can she identify and find the murderer among the killing fields of the Western Front? As she sets out to solve the mystery, she soon becomes a target for the unknown killer.

John’s thoughts:  This is definitely a book for whodunit fans, which is a category I don’t normally fall into, but the unusual setting drew me to the book. My grandfathers both served in the First World War, and like many whose close relatives experienced it I am fascinated (and absolutely horrified) by the madness of this terrible war. Needless to say anything set during that period has a good chance of grabbing my attention. And it did, because Todd does a good job of capturing some of the circumstances and atmosphere and conveying what it was like for people who were caught up in the war. So far so good.

Where I struggled a bit was with the storyline and the main character – it just didn’t feel realistic or authentic. The notion of an upper-class woman serving as a nurse on the frontline, able to frequently travel to England and back, fighting off attackers and roving the Western Front trying to solve mysterious murders just didn’t ring true for me. But perhaps that is the point and that An Unmarked Grave is intended as a piece of escapism. If that is your preference and you enjoy stories about amateur sleuths trying to solve heinous crimes, then this one is for you. The setting is unusual and certainly makes for a dramatic backdrop. So personally I’d rate this book three stars; it was an entertaining book and an enjoyable read that I’m sure many fans of the murder mystery genre will rate more highly.

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1/2/2013; Trade PB; Harper Collins.

This book review is included in and part of a book tour please link to our tour host - TLC’s site via the badge.

For more information about the two authors who combine to make Charles Todd link to the authors' website and their Facebook page. You can also take a look at the book trailer if you are so inclined.

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Review: The Spy Lover ~ by Kiana Davenport

Review by John for  The Spy Lover ~ by Kiana Davenport

A fascinating, gritty and brutal story about relationships and human resilience set mainly during the American Civil War. Learn about some of the awful history behind Chinese immigration in America. And don’t be deceived by the cover – this is not a cutesy love story.

About:  Johnny Tom is a Chinese immigrant in the US during the mid-1800s, and like most Chinese is subject to the most brutal and horrendous racial discrimination. He eventually escapes slavery and runs away with a native Indian woman, living a hard but relatively peaceful life in a hideaway settlement out in the wilds. When the Civil War breaks out, the Confederate army sweeps through and forces Johnny and other men to join up.

Detested and ill-treated by the Confederates, he manages to escape and offers his services to the Union army, fervently believing in their anti-slavery cause. Unfortunately he finds his treatment at the hands of the Federals isn’t much better than he received from the Confederates, but he is tough and determined and manages to start making a name for himself thanks to his wisdom, kindness and fierce fighting abilities. Twice he is captured by the Confederate army and manages to survive stints in their abysmal prisoner-of-war camps; he also survives several battles before finding himself lined up with the Union army at Gettysburg.

Meanwhile Era, the daughter that he had with his Indian wife, had to survive her own horrors. But she eventually goes in search of her beloved father which leads to her becoming a battlefield nurse for the Confederate army, while secretly spying on behalf of the Union. She experiences the worst butchery, both as a result of the fighting and at the hands of an ill-equipped medical system that hacks away at survivors in crude attempts to save their lives. Exhausted, horrified and depressed, she forms a bond with an amputee whom she helps recuperate, eventually falling in love with the Confederate soldier. She is now tremendously conflicted – her father and her lover fight for different sides in the war, and she is forced to secretly undermine the efforts of her lover’s army in exchange for the Federals supposedly helping her to track down her father.

As the murderous war heads towards a bloody climax, so too does her increasingly fraught relationship with her lover.

John’s thoughts: This is a powerful novel. I was somewhat misled by the book’s cover which might lead you to expect romance and chivalry; but what you get is one of the most brutal accounts of war and discrimination that I have ever read. Certainly at the book’s heart are powerful, complex and loving relationships, but the backdrop and the circumstances are truly horrific – which I have to say made for a riveting read.

The three main characters in the book are all fascinating and Davenport does a great job of fleshing out their complex personalities. Johnny Tom in particular is a wonderful person who endures his awful experiences with a wisdom and purity that shines from the pages. Era and her lover are much darker and grittier characters that are nonetheless quite believable. It’s interesting and intriguing to learn that two of the three are based on actual ancestors of Davenport. Clearly she had to create and embellish the story around them, but some of the factual foundations are true.

As I got through the book I had no idea how things were going to end up - which is a good thing. I don’t want to spoil the read for anyone so I can’t say much about the ending. Personally I wasn’t quite sure that I liked the ending, as the tale went from gritty realism to something that wasn’t quite so believable. But a few days after finishing the book I’ve come to appreciate it more.

The book was educational for me on a few fronts. For example, I hadn’t realized the depths of discrimination that Chinese immigrants faced in America; and, while I was already well aware of the brutality and mass destruction of the Civil War, I hadn’t realized quite how barbaric was the medical treatment of soldiers that survived the battles.

All in all this is a very good and highly recommended read. I’d rate it 4.5 stars. Seek it out if you like historical fiction, Civil War literature, realistic war novels or really gritty love stories. In particular, if you want to learn more about some of the sad history of Chinese immigration in America, this is a good place to start.

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Thomas & Mercer; August 2012; 303 pages.

For more about the author: http://kianadavenport.com/

I persuaded John to read this mentioning that I thought the cover was overly romantic and might not reflect the actual content. Also as I often do, I read the first several chapters and found them very well done. He enjoyed it immensely, so this book is a great read for men too.

BTW – Thank you to Carol on Goodreads for the five star recommendation!

Review: The Cove ~ by Ron Rash

Review by Shellie for: The Cove ~ by Ron Rash

A dark and tragic World War I historical fable that examines the role of superstition and patriotism gone awry within the rural Appalachian mountains.

About:  Pretty and smart Laurel lives in a gloomy cove that her parents purchased many years before within the iconic Appalachian mountains. The superstitious locals believe the area is haunted, think Laurel is a witch, and believe that she and the cove are the cause of any bad luck or misfortune falling upon the town. So she is avoided and shunned. Left alone in the cove - her parents dead, her brother just returning injured from the war efforts in Europe - she feels like it’s a gift when she hears lovely and mysterious music. Following its sound she finds a man playing a flute. He has a secret that Laurel will soon discover.

Although the war is believed to be ending, in the town there remains the remnants of patriotic fever. In particular there is one local, a recruiter, who is obsessed. Sadly his beliefs and actions will have consequences for the characters as their lives inevitably become horrifically and intimately intertwined – leading to an ending that will blow most readers away.

Thoughts:  Several years ago I fell in love with Ron Rash’s writing while reading his fabulous book Serena. I would say that this recent book, The Cove, is a bit simpler in style than this previous book, which I think may make it more accessible to a larger variety of readers. Nevertheless, it is just as thought provoking.

With a style that is reminiscent of some of my favorite classic American authors such as Willa Cather and John Steinbeck, the author gives the reader a feel for a rural setting within the US where one can experience the daily life of the people detailed within the story. He uses the language of the natives in these mountains, with their special dialect and its slow simplicity; very effective for helping the reader to feel like they are there. The best part is that imbedded in the story is a moral around the foibles of human behavior that is akin to a dark fable. I like books which exemplify my country’s heritage, are surprising, and provide a reason to think. This book does all three.

I would recommend this book to readers who like historical horror as there are some very dark aspects to this story. Ron Rash has included some shocking scenes with one section where I was out of breath, expecting a huge calamity. Although not something all readers enjoy, I did since I love horror.

This was a romantic, tragic page-turning novel for me. It was easy to read, lyrical, and heartrending. With Serena and now The Cove, I have Ron Rash on my list as a favorite contemporary author. I give The Cove 4.5 stars and highly recommend it to readers who like a “take your breath away” twist in their reads.

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Hardcover: 272 pages; Ecco (April 10, 2012.)

This book review is part of a tour from TLC Book Tours. For more information link to their website via the badge, where you can find other reviews for this book and more.

For your convenience, and to help support our host and the author, below are links to the last several reviews for The Cove:

• Thursday, May 3rd: Bookfoolery and Babble
• Monday, May 7th: Tina’s Book Reviews
• Tuesday, May 15th: Life Fire

This book will also be included in the War through the Generations - WWI challenge

Thanks for reading.

Review: Other Kingdoms ~ by Richard Matheson

Review by Shellie for: Other Kingdoms (audio) ~ by Richard Matheson

A fantastical and historical story that’s dark, funny and erotic – it includes fairies and a witch. Set in the trenches of WWI and the forests of Northern England, it’s told from the perspective of the narrator at 82 years old, reminiscing this adventure from his younger years.

About:  In 1918 Alex White is 18 and enlists in the army to escape his sadistic militaristic father. Shipped off to the trenches of WWI in Europe, he meets what appears to be a young Englishman named Harold. Becoming friends quickly, within weeks Harold dies in Alex’s arms from a horrific wound. In his last moments Harold mentions a few jumbled sentences leaving Alex confused and distraught. Later when Alex finds a lump of gold, the size of his fist in the bottom of his soldier’s pack, he becomes even more curious. So he heads off to an idyllic community in the North of England called Gatford - Harold’s home. Here he hopes to find the answers to his questions about his friend’s last mumblings and the gold, and to heal from the wounds he too has incurred from battle.

There in Gatford Alex’s amazing adventures begin. It becomes apparent that fairies reside in the woods near his new home, where the locals keep eluding to the “little people’s” dangerous nature. Alex remains unbelieving, until he is inadvertently sucked into their conflict and drama. As he muddles over the boggling occurrences that keep happening, he becomes involved with a beautiful witch and an angelic fairy, creating room for some lustful interludes as well as a hard to put down story.

Thoughts:  A fantastical romance of sorts told from an unusual male perspective, it balances the darkness of its horrific bits with lustful fluff and dry humor. At time it’s realistic and historical, including interesting factual details involving trench warfare - graphic details about the horrors of WWI with descriptions of what it must have been like down below ground level within dirt walls, including the various horrible odors, day to day waiting in the mud and filth, the inevitable rats, rotting corpses, mass graves, poor sanitary conditions and tasteless cold food. Contrasting this with some idealistic dreams of several youthful and inexperienced soldiers, the older and wiser narrator does a fine job of disparaging any kind of grand visions of what war is.

Listened to in audio, I think it was quite well done. The reader uses a moderated voice for Alex’s 82 year old self looking back and reliving his story, with his New York accent. He also uses a separate voice for each different English character in the novel, even varying accents for his female characters. Alex’s character is a bit cantankerous and slightly annoying at 82, however he is insightful into the foibles and mistakes of his youth. I imagine that male readers will enjoy this tale due to its perspective, and Alex’s lusty involvements. But I will say that it went into more detail than I liked in the erotic areas.

Beyond that I think that if you enjoy a realistic, historical fantasy containing some sexy content then this will be a great read for you. A note that it does contain violence, strong language and definitely is a book for adult readers. I give this book a 4 stars, since Matheson tells one heck of a story.

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The paperback edition is published by Tor Books; February 2012; audio version by Blackstone Audio.

Author Bio: Richard Matheson was born in New Jersey, raised in Brooklyn, and fought in the infantry in World War II. He is the author of I Am Legend, Hell House, Somewhere in Time, What Dreams May Come, and more. He has won various prestigious awards over the years including the Edgar, the Spur, and the Writer's Guild awards. He lives in Calabasas, California.

This audio book was borrowed from our local digital library for no charge; that in no way influenced my review.

It will be included in the War Through the Generations Reading Challenge – featuring WWI for 2011.

Happy Friday folks.

Review: The Forever War ~ by Joe Haldeman

Review by John for: The Forever War ~ by Joe Haldeman (1974)

A groundbreaking and multiple award-winning science fiction war novel – it’s written by a Vietnam veteran and has clear parallels with the war in Vietnam; described by some as one of the best war novels ever written.

About:   Humans have discovered how to travel many light years in a split second, by travelling through wormhole-like phenomena called collapsars. However, some space ships travelling through the collapsars are never heard from again, and some people in power assume that the ships are being attacked by an alien race, known as Taurans. The United Nations Exploratory Force (UNEF), which is sending out colonizing ships, becomes increasingly militarized, and eventually it decides that foot soldiers should be sent out to man portal planets near the exits from the collapsars – their mission is essentially reconnaissance and revenge. The conscripted soldiers chosen for the initial task force are elite – they must have IQs above 150 and be extremely fit. One of the conscripts is William Mandella.

The training process itself is grueling and deadly, especially when it shifts to a frigid planet far beyond Pluto. Many of the elite recruits do not live to see their first mission – victims of the harsh climate and the fact that even the tiniest of mistakes are often deadly. Mandella and his colleagues then find out that the campaigns are a combination of total boredom and vicious action. As they know so little about the Taurans and are having to try and live and fight in the most inhospitable locations imaginable, the survival rates are outrageously low.

Unfortunately, when the survivors do get to return to Earth, they find themselves alienated in a place that is barely recognizable to them. The problem is that ships have to enter and exit the collapsars at near light speed, and this has massive relativistic effects on them. While subjectively their missions may take a few months, due to time dilation, decades have passed back on Earth. Earth and its people have gone through enormous social, political and economic upheavals, and the returned soldiers do not fit in. Most of them gravitate back to recruiting stations and rejoin the UNEF.

Mandella finds some comfort in lover, companion and co-soldier Marygay, but the war separates them and Mandella has to struggle on in a thousand-year conflict.

John’s Thoughts:   This is a very clever and thought-provoking book, and it’s also an enjoyable read. Haldeman made no secret of the fact that it was .based on his experiences in the Vietnam war and his views as a war veteran. The novel pulls few punches in pointing out the stupidity behind how some wars are started, the crass way in which they are sometimes fought, and the almost total lack of consideration for the lowly soldier. Above all, the story is about the experiences of soldiers as they do their best to follow orders, to make sense of things and to simply survive through to the next day.

As you follow Mandella through training, journeys to strange places, boredom, battles, missions with little obvious purpose, injuries, loss of colleagues, attempted rehabilitation into “normal” life, and even gradual alienation from raw recruits, you feel an authenticity borne of personal experience. It’s also notable that this is not a crash-bang-wallop all-action story with an indestructible hero – Mandella is all too human with all the frailties and weaknesses that entails. While there certainly are action sequences in the book they don’t consume a huge number of pages.

There is humor in the book too, though often dark in nature. Haldeman does a good job of lampooning military thinking – whereby apparently logical thoughts and processes can end in totally illogical actions. Indeed some of it is almost “Catch 22-like” – which to my mind is high praise indeed.

I just realized that I’m three paragraphs into the “my thoughts” section and haven’t once mentioned “science fiction”. That says a lot about the book – it really is a war story that just happens to take place in a science fiction setting. Having said that, Haldeman writes a very fine science fiction novel. He has a great imagination and his visionary views on space, space travel, technology and the impact of technology on humans are first rate. It really is tough to believe that this was written almost 40 years ago.

Overall I’d rate this 4 stars. It would have been 4.5 but I found the ending a bit too abrupt and there is also something about the ending which I didn’t like – though I won’t say what for fear of giving away too much. But I’d unreservedly recommend this to anyone who likes novels about war (and particularly about the experiences of the common soldier) and to any science fiction buffs.

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St. Martin's Griffin; Reprint edition originally published in 1974. Covers above are the version read by John, at the top, and the original hard cover image below.

The Forever War won the Nebula Award in 1975, and the Hugo and Locus awards in 1976.

John has a review and giveaway going live on Thursday for a new science fiction book. Stay tuned for his thoughts around this book and if you live in the US a chance to win a copy of Arctic Rising by Tobias S. Buckell.

We are hitting you all hard with science fiction related posts right now. But never fear we will have some other genres included in our posts coming up very soon.

Reviews: “Lament for Lost Atlanta” and “Journal of a Civil War Nurse”

Two short story reviews by Shellie. First up: “Lament for Lost Atlanta” ~ by Arlan Andrews

Told from the perspective of a young man who resides in what is left of an almost unrecognizable “dystopian US”, where the south is very different than it is today.

In an alternative future (a post Civil War America of sorts) this short story examines a South where the Union did not embrace the Confederates after the war.  As is often the custom by the winners of a war, there is a changed “mythology” around the war’s history - where the heroes from the loosing side are portrayed as villains by the usurpers. In this sad story all are designated as “terrorists”, including the beloved Robert E. Lee.

What is terrific about this readable short are its realistic consequences; looking at what is considered a terrorist, then thinking about how this kind of “mentality” is created in a person or group. Better yet (for me at least) is that this story occurs on Western soil, so I have a relatable and recognizable face for the quintessential “bad guy”.

Highly recommended, this story is a 4.5 star in my opinion. One of my favorite type of reads: a story with social relevance, a glimpse inside the complexity of human nature revealing how character can be created or destroyed, and answering a question that I personally have been struggling with.

About the author:  Arlan Andrews has been writing for more than 30 years, with his work published in various magazines and intellectual journals. He is a member of the SFWA and resides in Texas. For an interesting 2007 article from USA Today where Andrews and 4 other science fiction authors of “deviant thinking” are consulted on warding off terrorist attacks: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-05-29-deviant-thinkers-security_N.htm

Alt Hist is a relatively new and promising magazine featuring historical fiction and alternative history stories. This first issue contains 5 more shorts on various subjects and is where this great story was found. For more info: http://althistfiction.com/

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Second up: “Journal of a Civil War Nurse” ~ by Georgiann Baldino

A too short, short story about the conditions that existed during the US Civil War from the perspective of a nurse.

Based upon actual letters by Cornelia Hancock, a US Civil War nurse, this is a well written historical fiction that I recommend if you are interested in the day-to-day horrors of war as opposed to the battles. Which is what intrigues me the most, reading about the actual human losses which puts a realistic face on the tragedy of war. Too bad it was just not long enough. Regardless I give it a 3.5 stars.

Available as an ebook (free) at Barnes & Noble.

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Although a bit behind with this post - these two short stories were read for several 2011 challenges: The War Through the Generations – US Civil War 2011; Dystopian Challenge; and the Basics Challenge where I explore speculative fiction. Link to our - 2011 Challenge List.

Personal update: We are a bit behind with our posts since we still have a house full of relatives. But it sure is fun catching up with family.  Thanks for reading.

Review: The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine ~ by Alina Bronsky

 

Review by Shellie for The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine ~ by Alina Bronsky  (translator Tim Mohr)  

A dark modern fable translated from German. It is a literary novel that is tragic and blackly humorous, told by a narrator who is definitely misguided and “unreliable”.

About:  Set in Russia in the 1970s, The Hottest Dishes is told in the first person by the self-centered Rosa. It starts with Rosa’s daughter Sulfia becoming pregnant in her early teens and not willing to disclose who the father is. Understandably Rosa is not delighted with the situation, but claims her “troublesome” granddaughter Animat as her own and attempts to mold her into an image of what she believes a child and a Tartar should be (Tartars are descendants of Genghis Khan or “mountain people”).

As the reader is lead though the changes, deaths, and difficulties during the deterioration and dissolution of the Soviet Union (most historical details are easy to miss due to the extensive family drama), the tale culminates in a family visa finagled through some twisted means by Rosa from a German native who is researching Tartar Cuisine.

My Thoughts:   Rosa is an intriguing character who is definitively an unreliable narrator, possessing a vision of herself that is unreasonably high. She navigates her life with a positive flair that ignores the perspectives and feelings of her family, creating situations which are painful and heartbreakingly sad. All the while she downplays the difficult reality in her world and country, which is more than a bit askew. Although her ability to get by in a harsh world is at times mildly admirable, in the end I was left asking myself the questions: How far would you go to get by or survive? What would you be willing to sacrifice for a chance at a better life for yourself and your family?

This is a short novel but one which I would consider a “chewy” read; it took me some time to finish due to its denseness. The text was not difficult, and the translation is excellent, but due to Rosa’s complexities and the unusual family dynamic she inadvertently creates it took a bit longer than normal. I had to stop to digest what it was about Rosa that I empathized with and what it was that I had a hard time understanding, and why her horrific opinions were in fact humorous. In the end I decided that at her best she is an extremely misguided “mother hen”. But as the adage goes “when does the means justify the end result”?

In conclusion I think that the story can be seen as dark fable for those who “do way too much”, providing lessons on what not to do even though one may think they know what is the best for everyone. Rated at 3.5 stars I enjoyed this translated story, and recommend it for readers who like literary fiction, unusual and complex characters, black humor, or those who would like a lot to think about. This is another book which would be perfect for a discussion group, as there could be so much to talk about.

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Paperback: 304 pages; Europa Editions (April 26, 2011)  US|UK|Canada. 

• For more information see our incoming books section which includes The Hottest Dishes of the Tartar Cuisine.
• Link for praise from Publisher’s Weekly.

Its good to be home.

Review: The Oracle of Stamboul (a novel) ~ by Michael David Lukas

 

The Oracle of Stamboul ~ by Michael David Lukas (reviewed by Shellie)

A poetic page turning historical début with an unusual and precocious young girl as the main character. All set in an exotic, magical, yet politically volatile country and time.

About:  When Eleanor Cohen is born there are auspicious signs that she is not your normal child. She is to be a prodigy with gifts of memory, languages, extreme intelligence and something which is just a tad mystical. Set in the late 1800s in what is now Turkey, 8 year old Eleanor finds herself in Stamboul within the struggling Ottoman empire, after a decision to follow her father. As the fates conspire she is linked to the king - Sultan Abdulhamid II - and becomes his advisor for a short time during the ill fated years of his declining empire.

Thoughts:  This was such a lovely read with my very favorite type of female character, one who is strong, brave and kind. Yet Eleanor is also beyond brilliant. Endearingly she makes a few girlish decisions creating a wonderfully realistic and exceedingly likeable character.

As a historical fiction novel, it is light enough to appeal to those who are not so historically inclined (like myself). I would even recommend the book to young adult readers due to its wonderful character and easy to read lyrical writing style. For those that enjoy history, also mentioned are classic texts which are significant to the political choices made within the novel, making it of particular interest.

As Lukas’s first novel, The Oracle of Stamboul is complex yet easy to read. His descriptions are sensual but there is no sex in this story, and many volatile elements are just alluded to. This combination gives the novel a very strong appeal -it’s a rare combination in my experience and leads me to think that Lucas is an extraordinary writer. He took six years to complete this story and it shows.

In my opinion this book is rated 4.5 stars since it doesn’t get much better - a lyrical historical novel with mystical yet realistic threads. I am wondering when we will see his next book? Hopefully it won’t be another six years.

Hardcover: 304 pages; Harper (February 8, 2011) US|UK|Canada. For more about the author and his writing link to David Michael Lucas’s blog.

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This book review is part of a tour hosted by TLC. TLC is a book tour blog which hosts reviews and more by bloggers for author’s and their books. The badge to your right links to the host’s dedicated page for this book. There you will find links for additional reviews; below are some examples:

• Monday, March 14th: Like Fire
• Wednesday, March 16th: The Whimsical Cottage
• Monday, March 21st: Diary of a Stay at Home Mom
• Thursday, March 24th: Janet Boyer Blog

Thank you to Trish for including Layers of Thought in this tour, and to Harper Books for the copy for review.

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Some relevant historical data for the novel compiled from various Wikipedia posts:

Set in what is now Turkey, Stamboul is considered the the old city of Istanbul. Until 1928 the town was called "Constantinople" and "Stamboul" - meaning the Old Town (the historical peninsula). It was named Byzantium during antiquity, and became known as Constantinople when it was the second capital of the Roman Empire under Constantine I (330).

It is located on the Strait of Bosphorus, which separates Asia from Europe, and connects the Black Sea to the Marmara Sea, making it an area of great cultural and religious diversity and a valuable trade port. Today the modern city is much larger and covers both European and Asian sides of the Bosphorus. (You can see from the red bit in the map above its location and hence its importance).

A key character in the novel is Sultan Abdülhamid II. He was born September 21 or 22, 1842 and died February 10, 1918. He was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire and became the sultan on August 31, 1876. Being of Islamic beliefs he had 14 wives and a large number of children.

Of interest for the setting of The Oracle of Stamboul is the beginning of the dissolution of Abdulhamid's rule. This was in part due to the Russian’s declaration of war on April 24, 1877 that culminated in a Russian victory in February 1878.  During the ensuing difficulties Abdulhamid did not receive any help from the British or German/Austrians, as the Russian chancellor Prince Gorchakov had effectively purchased Austrian neutrality, and the British were sensitive to reports of Ottoman brutality in a Bulgarian uprising.

Sultan Abdülhamid II oversaw a period of decline in the power and extent of the Empire, ruling until he was deposed on April 27 1909. He was the last Ottoman Sultan to rule with absolute power, and was eventually succeeded by his brother.

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I’m hoping you enjoyed my journey into 19th century foreign history. Considering that I am inept at any sort of history, I learned quite a bit creating this informational snippet. Thanks for reading.

Review: The March ~ by E.L. Doctorow

 

The March ~ by E. L. Doctorow (reviewed by John/JD)

A roiling account of the final months of the U.S. Civil War, as General Sherman’s Union army cuts a swathe through Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina.

About:  Sherman famously led his army on a march through the Confederate heartlands, employing a scorched earth strategy - living off the land and the Southern families and leaving behind them a trail of destruction. His “total war” policy was intended to undermine the ability of the Confederacy to continue waging war, and he succeeded. Doctorow’s book is a historic fiction, following “the March” and telling the stories of several (mainly) fictional people who became embroiled in the events.

John’s Thoughts:   While Sherman is one of the characters featured, mostly the book looks through the eyes of a range of very different characters – black and white, rich and poor, soldier and civilian, Union and Confederate. Lives and whole social systems are being turned on their heads, and Doctorow recounts the impact of the chaos on individuals; and chaotic it most certainly is.

Rich white people suddenly find themselves dispossessed; black slaves are freed but have no idea what it really means and where they should go; two lowly soldiers defect to the other side almost by accident as they try to avoid a court-martial, and continue to take on new guises; doctors and medical units attached to the army are overwhelmed by a constant stream of the wounded and the sick, dramatically impacting the lives and attitudes of the healers; the armies themselves seem to have a life of their own, often barely controlled by their leaders; and Sherman himself is strategically brilliant but is psychologically unstable.

Through it all Doctorow is very effectively communicating the madness, unpredictability, violence and life-changing impact of war. While there is at least some cautious optimism at the end of the book, this isn’t a story where all loose ends are nicely tied up and everyone lives happily ever after.

While in some places it did feel like a fiction, mostly it had a true-to-life feel about it, and you couldn’t help feeling that you’d experienced something of what the war must have been like. The writing style is a little dense at times (the opening sentence is fifteen lines long), but the more I got into the book the easier it became. Overall, I certainly enjoyed the read. I’d rate the book 3.5 stars.

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Hardcover: 363 pages; Random House; 1st edition (September 20, 2005) US|UK|Canada.

The copy that John read was found at a junk store in Napa, CA. It was one dollar and it is a first edition (very cool). The cover shown above is from the UK – we tend to like them the best. Besides it matches the blog a bit better!

This book will be part of several challenges – The War Through the Generations, and one or two historical other fiction challenges.

As always John/JD will be responding to any comments around his review. Please don’t forget to check the follow up box to get his reply.

Thanks for reading!

Review: The Killer Angels ~ by Michael Shaara

 

The first review for the year 2011!

The Killer Angels ~ by Michael Shaara (Reviewed by John/JD)

An excellent historical fiction novel about the greatest battle of the American Civil War, told from the perspective of several of the main protagonists.

About:  This novel covers four fateful days in the summer of 1863 – the three days of the battle of Gettysburg and the day leading up to it. A highly successful Confederate army led by the beloved Robert E. Lee has invaded the Northern States and threatens to turn the course of the war, while a Union army that has been plagued by poor leaders is scrambling to intercept and stop them. They convene on the small Pennsylvanian town of Gettysburg. While this was just one battle in a long war, it involved no less than 160,000 soldiers and was destined to have a major influence on the outcome of the war and, consequently, the very nature of the United States.

John’s Thought’s: Unusually for a work of historic fiction, this book closely follows real-life events but you experience them via several of the leading people who were actually involved, rather than via fictional characters. This gives it the feeling of several intertwining autobiographies, a device which Shaara uses very successfully. Of course, it is still a work of fiction as Shaara has to imagine and create the motivations and feelings of the characters, and has to fill in many details which are either unknown or debated by historians. While some have taken issue with these details, it is very clear that Shaara has done an awful lot of homework to support his novel. Whether correct or not, this feels like an important historical document and is also a very entertaining read.

You get to experience the events gradually unfolding, the actions or inactions that would influence the outcome, the impact that individuals’ personalities and mental states would have on events, the fog of war, and the total horror of a major battle where many thousands of soldiers were slaughtered (after three days almost 50,000 men were either killed, wounded or missing). Shaara also takes you deep inside the personalities of the main characters, and while some have debated his interpretations of them, this makes for a fascinating read.

As a Brit who is not particularly in tune with American history, I learned a lot from the book and it also caused me to do some extra Googling and reading to find out more – about the Civil War, its causes, Gettysburg and some of the main characters. So was this the decisive battle of the war and who won the day? Those questions too are debated by historians. The Confederates most certainly did not win the battle, and they might have; the Union army most certainly did not lose the battle, yet they so very nearly did. While the outcome may not be clear cut, it does seem that Gettysburg forever damaged the psyche of the Confederate army, led to a more conservative strategy, and ultimately played a substantial part in its defeat.

An excellent book – educational, enlightening, thought-provoking and entertaining. I’d rate it 4.5 stars. I’d highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys historical fiction or who wants to find out more about the Civil War. I also found out that a movie was made that was based on the book, which I’ll now be seeking out (it’s simply called “Gettysburg”).

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The Killer Angels, by Michael Shaara 1974 ~ US|UK|Canada. (Top cover copy is US and Canada the lower is for UK).

This book was given to John as a Christmas gift to read for The War Through the Generations – US Civil War Challenge and a few other challenges yet to be determined (Historical Fiction and World Lit). Funny thing is that I had to pry it out of his hands and hide it till after the first of the year since he dove right in. He was a bit discombobulated until after I gave it back to him, then he devoured it in short order.

Thanks for reading and hope you’re all achieving your 2011 resolutions. Darn it’s good to be home!

Review: In the Wake of the Boatman ~ by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

 

A review by Shellie for: In the Wake of the Boatman ~ by Jonathon Scott Fuqua

Set around the Vietnam war, this is a dark and heart wrenching story of identity with an atypical hero as the main character.

About: This is a story about a boy who awkwardly grows into a damaged man, in part due to his experiences of emotional abuse at the hands of his father. Putnam, the main character, endures extreme swings in his father’s attentions; in his attempts to please his difficult father, “Put” does a number of things which cause a descent into self doubt and confusion, furthering his personal misunderstandings about himself.

As he becomes a young man and in an attempt to bury his feelings, he takes steps into a lifestyle where he believes his proclivities will be repressed or changed. Choosing the military and officer training, he throws  himself into his studies and intense physical training. Yet that does not stop the temptations he is trying to mask. He takes this attempt at repression one step further, and in his depressive state volunteers for a tour to Vietnam – a mission of apparent suicide. The story has been set and this is the beginning of a number of heroic actions.

Thoughts:  In this heartbreaking yet redemptive literary novel, there is an underlying question as to whether a person who is “confused” or who has a sexual identity which is not entirely accepted  socially is less capable of defending his or her country. As a reader I could feel deeply for what was going on internally and externally for Putnam, as he tries to reconcile who he is and what social expectations are for him as a soldier and a man. Even more, the book asks - what is it that actually defines a person as a hero?  This novel is GLBTQ, and serves to show that even individuals who do not fit into our “ideal” of what a hero is, can be committed to their country and can be just as heroic as those who do. I give this powerful and emotional novel 4 stars.

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Purchasing links for Amazon are US/UK/Canada, The Book Depository Euro/AUD.

For further information on this book please see Layers of Thoughts preview for the book.

This book will be included in a variety of challenges – GLBT 2010, Feel My Sorrow, War Through the Generations – Vietnam, New Authors Challenge.

Thanks for reading!

Review by Shellie: The Healer’s War ~ by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough

 

The Healer's War is a 1988 novel by Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, which won the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1989.

A realistic fantasy novel set in Vietnam during the ill fated war against communism. With a touch of the magical/paranormal it shows a realistic, difficult, and heartbreaking picture of Vietnam from the perspective of a female veteran of the war.

About:   Kitty, the main character, is a twenty-something nurse from the Mid West who decides to go to Vietnam to help in the war efforts, since her life at home in the US is not working out as she had hoped. Within the relative safety of the American base she experiences Vietnam in a privileged bubble.

As she works in the hospital caring for the wounded and civilians, she ultimately ends up relating to the natives on a more intimate basis than the soldiers. This is due to the nature of her job and her heart, where US soldiers are moved in and out of the hospitals at a quick rate yet those who are local stay. This gives Kitty time to get attached to many of the Vietnamese injured.

This is where the speculative comes into play; on his death a local holy man and healer gifts Kitty with an object which will allow her to accelerate the healing process of the sick and injured. Of course it will be needed in some very harrowing and gut-wrenching situations as the story progresses.

Thoughts:   Kitty tells her story in the first person, speaking as a nurse in the Army would, with a voice that is down to earth and casual. Through her voice we see that humanness is not granted to just an individual country or race, and we look beyond the horrific loss of human life to the cultural and ecological losses as well. Below is one quote where the author describes Vietnam and its incredible beauty. Here Kitty is taking a helicopter ride over the countryside:

….. We flew over fishnet-strung seas, lush green mountains fading to purple in the distance, golden rice paddies, and aquamarine waters. Gauzy mists puffed up beneath us, veiling the valleys. It was still extraordinarily beautiful. But even from the air the beauty was marred by the bomb craters pitting its surface, like Never-Never Land with smallpox scars. I was used to thinking of Vietnam as ugly, hot, smelly, dirty. It had never dawned on me that the Rice Bowl of the East, as they called it in social studies, would have to be lush, that a country that was once a resort area for the French would of course be lovely. What a crying shame to hold a war here.

From the quote above we see another casualty of war.

The Healer’s War is an incredible novel which shows the horrors and senselessness of war within the exotic beauty of Vietnam; its natives are very much like ourselves, and we realize that within the context of war atrocities inevitably occur on both sides. In my opinion Elizabeth Ann Scarborough definitely deserved to win the Nebula for this book in 1989. It is a realistic picture of the war with a bit of light fantasy, and is recommended for those who do not generally read fantasy and very highly recommended for those who do. It is rated as at 4.5 stars.

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Link to find out more about the author,  her books, and an article from New Scientist which talks about auras and if they actually exist - which are a key element of this novel.

Amazon purchasing links for US|UK|Canada.

This book will be include in a number of challenges ~  War Across the Generations, Mind Voyages, The Basics, New Author, Speculative Fiction, and Feel My Sorrow.

Thanks for reading!

Review by JD: Palestine by Joe Sacco ~ a graphic novel

 

This is a dark, thought-provoking and deeply disturbing graphic “novel” detailing the time that he spent in the Palestinian Territories – the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

About:   Sacco has become well known for his journalism in the comic book medium. He has based this book on several months of research and two months that he spent in the Palestinian Territories in late 1991 and early 1992 – during the time of the First Intifada (or uprising). He conducted over a 100 face-to-face interviews, and lived among the Palestinians in their towns and refugee camps. He specifically set out to focus primarily on the experiences and views of the Palestinians, feeling that in the West the Jewish side of the story was already well known.

The book follows him as he moves from town to town, house to house, interview to interview. He lives with and befriends some of the locals as they show him around, introduce him to people and make him welcome. And they make tea for him; lots and lots of tea. The book recounts their stories and histories, and the grim reality of their day-to-day existence. Meanwhile the graphics capture the people and the abysmal conditions quite brilliantly.

John’s Thoughts:  This is not an easy read. Sacco leaves you in no doubt that he feels strongly that Palestinians have been treated appallingly – ejected from their home lands, deprived, brutalized and dehumanized (and a word of caution – he pulls no punches in depicting those horrors graphically). But he does provide some balance and he is also clear that there is no simple solution. While the Israelis and the Palestinians remain locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle, there are also deeply divided factions within each side. And the intervention of other countries is usually unhelpful and driven by their own local politics, with all commentators in the book deriding the supposed “Peace Process”.

This whole situation is both horrible and horribly complex. I’ve been fortunate to visit Israel a handful of times so do have some first-hand experience, though for sure that doesn’t make me any more knowledgeable or enlightened than most other observers. Sacco does sum up the experience (and human nature) rather well towards the end of the book:

“That’s the thing about coming to the Holy Land or Palestine or Israel or whatever you want to call it … no one who knows what he’s coming here looking for leaves without having found it…”

I also liked one of his final questions on the nature of power and humanity, made after he observes a soldier mistreating a boy:

“… what can happen to someone who thinks he has all of the power – and what becomes of someone when he believes himself to have none?”

While the book does include some humor (most of it directed at Sacco himself), this is a difficult and provocative read and not one that I could describe as enjoyable. But I’d thoroughly recommend it to anyone looking to broaden their understanding of the Middle East and some of its complex dynamics. And if you have any doubts about the use of the graphic novel/comic book format, you shouldn’t – it works remarkably well in the hands of this gifted artist. I’d rate this book 4.5 stars.

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Palestine ~ by Joe Sacco

2001  (this is a collection of individual comics that were originally published separately 1993-1995)

Paperback: 288 pages

Publisher: Fantagraphics Books; First Edition. states edition (January 2002)

Amazon purchasing links for US/UK/Canada.

This book will be included in the Graphics Novel Challenge.

As always John/JD will be addressing the comments for this book. Please don’t forget to check the follow up box for his response.

Thanks for reading.

Review by JD: Then Came the Evening ~ by Brian Hart

 

A powerful first novel and a bleak tale of a fractured and dysfunctional family trying to build a life together.

About: Bandy Dorner returns from Vietnam and proceeds to wreck both his marriage and his life. A lost soul who doesn’t seem to care that he’s lost, his drunken and violent behavior lands him in prison just as his wife is leaving him.

After spending almost 20 years in prison, Bandy finds out from his ex-wife (Iona) that she was pregnant when she left him and he has a teenage son, who now wants to meet up with is dad. After a brief and tense prison visit, his son returns to the harsh Idaho countryside where Bandy and his family used to live, and starts to rebuild Bandy’s parent’s derelict ranch house. Iona’s life has turned into a bleak existence and she decides to follow her son. Bandy is eventually released from prison, a broken man who is a shadow of his former self; he too returns to his old Idaho home, and the unlikely threesome start to live together and to grope towards rebuilding a family life that they never had. Can they get beyond the personal baggage and difficult histories and create a new life together?

John’s Thoughts:  This is a difficult book for me to review. It’s well structured and well written and is a fine accomplishment for a debut novel, but the trouble is that the book just doesn’t resonate with me. I can’t empathize with the main characters who are pretty much screwed up, awkward, making bad decisions and doing bad things. Iona and her son are at least trying to do some things right, but the Bandy character seems unable to stop himself from messing things up. One of the comments on the book jacket compares the novel to Greek tragedy; I see where the author of that comment is coming from, but the trouble is that I’ve never been able to get through reading a Greek tragedy.

The book will appeal to people who like to read about difficult family dynamics and broken people trying to start over again. While the book wasn’t really my cup of tea, I’d still rate it 3 stars. 

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Hardcover: 272 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA (December 22, 2009)

If you would like more information about the books please link to the preview post of Then Came the Evening.

Amazon purchasing links for US/UK/Canada and The Book Depository in AUD/Euro.

This book will be included in the War Through the Generations Challenge and New Author Challenge.

As always John/JD will be addressing any comments around this book so don’t forget to click the follow up box to get his response.

Thanks for reading!