A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende

A Long Petal of the Sea: A Novel by Isabel Allende. Random House Publishing Group. January 2020. pb, 336 pp.; ISBN #: 9781984820150.

Roser and Victor Dalmau agree to marry in Spain after General Franco wins control of the government over the Republicans in the late 1930’s.  Roser’s husband died during that conflict and his brother Victor, who learned to be a doctor during the Civil War, is determined to get them out of Spain as Franco’s government is tyrannical and devastating to millions.  This novel is their story.  What starts as a brother-sister relationship will develop into a phenomenal, glorious love.

Their journey will take them to France, Chile and Venezuela.  Governments in those countries were also in flux.  Before they get there, Victor has a brief fling with a spoiled, aristocratic Spanish woman.  She has a child who is given up for adoption, a fact Victor never learns until he is much older. Victor becomes a good friend of Pablo Neruda the poet, who writes a poem about Chile, written on the ship called “Winnipeg” that gives this novel its title.  Pablo is a Socialist and becomes persecuted and hunted because of his political beliefs; but it turns out he is mainly concerned with the love of people and freedom.  He is responsible for two thousand refuges being allowed to emigrate from Spain to Chile.  These refugees soon develop a fine reputation for being responsible families who improve conditions in Chile.

This is a family saga about those who face constant trials but do their best to work hard and avoid controversy.  Their debacle in each of these countries is heartbreaking.  Victor becomes a tough man as he experiences the horrors of war which he experienced as a medic and later as a doctor in Chile.  Allende’s earlier novels are more about the Pinochet government in Chile but here we also get a glimmer of the military horrors creating suffering and death for far too many. 

Victor earns a reputation as an intelligent, capable and kind cardiologist. Rosa is pragmatic, hard-working and loyally protective of Victor.  His vanity is shattered when his love Rosa becomes terminally ill.

What is unique about this family saga is how positive these characters are even in the face of the most daunting challenges.  It’s a beautiful tribute to the power of love and loyalty, faith and hope in mankind no matter what the prevailing political challenges and, like the title poem, a tribute to beautiful people and lands prevailing in victory even when caught in the prevailing tides and currents testing the mettle of those riding the formidable journey into a more hopeful existence.

Gary Gatlin Reluctant Hero: World War II Trilogy Book 1 by Carl F. Haupt

Gary Gatlin Reluctant Hero: World War II Trilogy Book 1. Carl F Haupt. Dudley Court Press. November 2019. pb, 318 pp.; ISBN: 9781940013572.

Those Gary Catlin begins his life as the son of a Utah farmer, in a family that grows and sells product fruit.  Upon reaching his teen years, he accompanies his father to learn more about how to grow better apples.  During this time he learns more about agriculture, learns to fluently speak and write Japanese and meets a young Japanese-American woman for whom he has feelings but is unable to pursue because of other business agenda he wants to master before making a family commitment.

This is the story of his wild sea journey to Formosa where he hopes to learn more about modern apple pruning techniques.  During this time he is kidnapped by Formosan brigands, saves one of them from death, becomes their friend and then he is rescued from the Japanese soldiers who believe he is a spy.  On that escape he escapes death several times and actually is responsible for bombing a Japanese ship, a formidable task given the onset of WWII between America and Japan as well as Germany.  He meets several British spies during this time, all quietly carrying out their service. 

The essence of this book is about dedication and commitment no matter how difficult the civilian or military task to which one is assigned.  Gary Catlin is an honest man of integrity who gives his all to whatever he does and moves beyond that mode to help those who are unjustly persecuted and are suffering.  The author depicts a man whose heroism is in living true to decent human values.  In the course of these scenes, Gary makes dear friends for life and dramatically changes the world both in America and overseas.  This reviewer found this novel to be adventurous, mysterious, dangerous and real; I think readers will join me in looking forward to further books in this planned trilogy.

Finely crafted, Carl F. Haupt.  Highly recommended reading!

Assassins by Mike Bond

Assassins.  Mike Bond. Mandevilla Press. December 2016. 502 pp. ASIN #: B01MTW71F6.   

Our main character opens the action by parachuting into Afghanistan with his peers, but the landing is a difficult one indeed.  At the beginning of thirty years of fighting, the soldier falls victim to multiple shreds of shrapnel lodged in his skull and one of his peers is wounded in the leg.  Their job was to serve as aides to defeat the Russians, to get them out of Afghanistan.  But little by little the reader learns about the real issues behind the constant war occurring in Afghanistan, Pakistan and other Middle Eastern countries.  For Afghani lords don’t trust each other and even go to war against each other in their endless power plays.  There’s no trust between American soldiers or mercenaries and the Afghanis being helped.  Weapons are exchanged for the trafficking of opium.  It’s a brutal existence and death looms large in every stage of any operation.

As the story progresses, the plot thickens and we realize that the American government is being played.  For Arabs take American money and military support while at the same time hedging their bets with supporting terrorist lords.  For anyone sharp about global news, this isn’t news but reading out it plays out in action is starkly shocking. Americans fighting over there take orders and don’t spend much time analyzing the political sides.  One wonders what their motivation is to make friends with those who are both friends and enemies, who put up with insults of Muslims who see any American friend or foe as an infidel or enemy.

This novel covers thirty years (no spoilers here) from the early years to 911 to the evolution of terrorism into ISIS.  The action is rivetingly present on every page.  It’s an education in Middle East strife and at the same time a thrilling read in which tension never relaxes.  It’s so real it’s almost overwhelming!  It is what is really happening.  Assassins is Mike Bond’s best novel!  Well-researched, complicated, surreal yet real, this is a story (it is fiction, after all) that will sear the reader’s memory long after the last page is turned! Highly recommended, well-crafted fiction that tells the vivid story of an endless war!

The Echo of Twilight: A Novel by Judith Kinghorn

The Echo of Twilight: A Novel.  Judith Kinghorn. Penguin Publishing Group. January 2017. 400 pp. ISBN #: 9780451472106.

Pearl Gibson loves to travel, to move up, to make up names for herself and tales she tells strangers, lying to embellish and enchant mundane reality!  She’s good at it or perhaps one should say she was good at it until she was caught in one of her brilliant fabrications.  On the way to interview for a job as a lady’s maid, she gives her name as Ottoline, the name of her soon to be employer, to a fine looking man she meets at a railroad station.  Just a stranger, right? Ha!

In fact, the real Ottoline Campbell who hires Pearl is a unique woman who does exactly as she pleases during an era when women’s roles were quite circumscribed.  Ottoline’s attitude to Pearl from the very beginning is more of a friend than employer, although when displeased she lets Pearl know her place.  Very quickly, Pearl learns about the family secrets but it isn’t her place to comment.  Pearl then meets a family relative and they immediately bond.  Now Ottoline has a secret that binds her to Pearl even deeper, a truth that is unfortunately or fortunately, depending on one’s point of view, shunted to the side with the beginning of World War I in 1914.  Ottoline’s sons and so many other sons in the area join the military fight out of patriotic duty. Some will die; some will return as scarred, traumatized wrecks! Pearl soon has a secret that she entrusts to Ottoline, who now evolves into Pearl’s protector and more than friend.

Pearl’s tension from the war and its shocking effects builds up until one day she breaks and spews out what she perceives as the truth, an act that mandates she leave the Campbell home to become the independent woman she needs to be.  Years later, she will return under totally unexpected circumstances.

This story has been told many times before this novel was written.  The essence of this story, however, is quite unique.  What rules our lives – fate, destiny, choices, rebellion, conformity – what?  Judith Kinghorn is a very skilled author who crafts a mesmerizing account of how the vicissitudes of life dramatically shift during wartime.  Every character is dramatically changed forever and the reader is honored to have shared the dramatic lives within these pages.

The Echo of Twilight is an amazing work of historical fiction that this reviewer highly recommends!

The Embroiderer by Kathryn Gauci

The Embroiderer. Kathryn Gauci. Silverwood Books Ltd. November 2014. 372 pp. ISBN#: 9781781322963.  

For those who love a grand family saga, The Embroiderer will more than satisfy your love of the genre.  To begin with, we meet Dimitra, a strong, old-fashioned woman who raises strong daughters.  Dimitra’s past remains a secret until the very end of this novel but what is depicted before that astonishing finale is more than worth the wait!

Dimitra is the talented embroiderer, weaving together Turkish and Greek textile materials into designs that elicit awe in the beholder, all marked with a small, beautifully colored and crafted trademark flower.  While she encourages her daughters to be educated in languages and other subjects, she also allows them space to develop their own incredible talents.  One particular prophecy troubles her on and off until it become reality years later.

Dimitra’s daughter, Sophia, becomes a talented designer of high couture women’s clothing that is popular with both Greeks and Turks, a surprise given the deep animosity between those two peoples.  Indeed, this novel spans the historical time period of the Greek War for Independence against the Turks in in 1822 to the Balkan Wars and eventually World War II in Asia Minor, Europe, and elsewhere.

The men and women of this family and their supportive, loyal friends become friends forever, through the celebratory moments of joy as each woman succeeds all the way through the brutal scenes of each war.  In times of starvation and illness, the family saves so many in the Greek community who would otherwise have died but for the charity they received, given humbly but deliberately. To whom much is given, much is required, and this family never loses sight of that necessity.  It makes the victories seem that much sweeter!

Sophia’s daughter, Marie becomes first a famous opera and then cabaret singer and Nina becomes a scholarly quiet woman dedicated to her own love of art and history.  It is Nina’s daughter, Eleni, who is the narrator of this historical saga which sweeps the reader into its tapestry and holds it to the very last page.

Each woman will have true, passionate lovers and others unworthy of any loyalty and attention.  The reader through these scenes reads about such poignant scenes of suffering, endurance, unbelievable strength, and quiet but deadly resistance.  Even the servants are so totally engaged with this family that they literally are considered family.

There are betrayals as well, one in particular too horrendous to conceive but which will remain etched forever in readers’ minds and hearts.  But so too will be the sensational descriptions of luscious food, gorgeous jewelry and exciting clothing that are simply delightful to follow, both the familiar and the exotically strange.

All in all, The Embroiderer is a stunningly wonderful work of historical fiction and as the first novel of this new author a tribute to her immense skills of description and expression.  Highly recommended indeed!  Wonderful story and writing, Kathryn Gauci!

Belonging by Umi Sinha

Belonging. Umi Sinha. Myriad Editions. December 2015. 320 pp. ISBN#: 9781908434746.  

Belonging is a multi-generation saga narrated by Grandmother Cecil, her son Henry and his daughter Lila.  It’s the story whose Indian history parallels the love, cruelty and madness in its all too human characters.  For this family are all British outsiders, accepted as masters of their Indian subjects while in reality constantly waiting for the shoe to drop with revolution and rebellion.  Despite their position, the English narrators come to love this country with its lush vegetation, spicy and colorful food and dress, and the wisdom and care manifested through those who are soldiers, servants and nannies. 

It takes a while to distinguish the different voices but we discover careful details of Cicely and Henry’s life in India while Lila is sent home to Sussex, England to live with her stern Aunt Mina.  All of these people have lost spouses or relatives to the occasionally erupting violence in India and the reader is intrigued by the fact that with so much surrounding hostility, the main characters deny the heightened volatility of the region and choose to believe they are well-loved.

The famous siege of Cawnpore took place in 1857 when the British subjects were promised safe passage and sanctuary but instead were all brutally raped, stabbed and murdered.  Cecily will intensely suffer during this horrendous event, but she leaves behind a series of letters describing their hopes and gradual realization of how they were maliciously betrayed.  All those years of politeness and acting like family and loyal soldiers in reality erupted into the fight for rebels and others who wanted freedom and independence, ironic to say the least since that wish would not be fulfilled for another fifty or so years.

The above sounds like a very simple plot, but this reviewer must emphasize the beautiful and skilled manner in which this story is crafted is beyond words.  Even the confusion over who is who and what events are being depicted may be seen to reflect the always confusing relationship between Indian soldiers and servants and their English masters and mistresses.  The descriptions are so artfully presented that one feels one is right there in the middle of it all and the same may be said for the thoughts and feelings swirling through each event and each character’s mind and heart.  For a first novel, Umi Simha has definitely displayed gifted skills in writing historical fiction.  Highly recommended, great reading!

Princes of War: A Novel of America in Iraq by Claude Schmid

Princes of War: A Novel of America in Iraq.  Claude Schmid. Warriors Publishing Group. June 2016. 340 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9781504038805.

Christian Wynn and Cole “Moose” Murphy are two servicemen serving in Iraq.  Their job is called engaging in counterinsurgency activities.  One might see that as making friends with Iraqi citizens or one might see it as a “mole” activity in which one attempts to get important information from those same citizens.  At the same time they are on high alert 24/7 for there are IEDs planted on the roads they travel, snipers awaiting their appearance, and constant attacks on their peers.  The effect of all of these dangers is described so realistically that the reader can feel the constant tension and winds up questioning how anyone can endure under this unrelenting barrage, even when they are supposedly safe in their quarters where they eat, sleep and relax.

They and their peers are the “Wolfhounds,” a group in constant watch for insurgents who develop plans of attack that always seem one or two steps ahead of the Americans.  They bitterly accept that their leaders know no more or less than they do.  The lack of significant results from the Iraqis they attempt to befriend combined with the frequent devastating attacks is a source of despair that they battle as well, attempting with humor and strict rule adherence to boost morale in constantly, highly volatile situations.

We learn that within Iraq itself, though this account deals with Northern Iraq, there are numerous groups with different ideologies and goals but they all share one common objective – kill Americans.  One wonders about the counterinsurgency methods as we learn that anyone who cooperates with Americans also becomes the enemy and may just as easily be shot for such complicity.  One has to realize that such strategies are doomed but this calls into honor the noble and superhuman efforts being made by soldiers, officers or enlisted men and women, to accomplish the goal of peace through whatever means are possible to use. 

This is one of the most realistic accounts, which reads more like a memoir than a novel, this reviewer has read.  The reader is left with more questions than answers but a vivid realization of just what our military endure and why it is so devastatingly life-changing for them whether they serve one or multiple tours of duty.  Kudos to Claude Schmid for writing a fictional account based on day-to-day reality for Americans serving in Iraq!  A must read!

The Forgotten Room by Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig

The Forgotten Room. Karen White, Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig. Penguin Publishing Group (USA). Copyright 2016. 384 pp.; ISBN: 9780451474629.

Dr. Kate Schuyler is treating very wounded soldiers in a New York Hospital in 1945.  She has to deal with a huge amount of resentment and anger from her male colleagues.  One of the wounded soldiers, Captain Ravenel, insists she looks familiar to the woman in the miniature portrait he wears around his neck.  Add to that she’s wearing a ruby pendant that was passed down to her from her mother but one that Ravenel recognizes immediately later on in the story.

Then there’s Olive Van Allen, a maid in the home of the man who once refused to pay the architect bill and therefore ruined Olive’s father together.  Olive’s persistent desire for revenge is palpable; but instead she’s serving as a drudge maid who is exhausted from the pace of cleaning, etc. that this job entails.  Then she meets one of the Pratt sons, and her life begins to dramatically change.  She wonders if her motives will eventually be exposed at the same time she is becoming romantically attached to Harry’s romantic and artistic skills.

Finally, there is Lucy Young, who has come to work in New York but really is seeking out the identity and presence of her father.  She is actually coerced into serving as a companion to someone who just might know about the secret solution Lucy is seeking. 

The three women in this novel live in different times but their stories begin to coalesce.  The discoveries gradually and sensitively revealed are shocking to each of the three women.  Their quests will and will not be fulfilled, but the roller coaster ride is sure to satisfy every lover of adventure and mystery fiction.

These three notable authors have managed to create a smoothly plotted but solvable mystery with a life-threatening, hostile ending sure to send shivers down every reader’s spine.

Very nicely done!

The Italian Wife: A Novel by Kate Furnivall

The Italian Wife: A Novel.  Kate Furnivall. Penguin Group (USA). October 2015. 432 pp.  ISBN#: 9780425281383.

Isabella Berotti is enjoying a coffee in a shop in Bellina, Italy in 1932.  The massive building across the street is one that she actually helped design.  She’s proud of her work and her marriage.  That work came after a terrible time when her husband Luigi was killed by a sniper and she was devastatingly shot in the back.  Ten years of surgeries and pain, as well as attempting to build a new life for herself as an architect, have culminated in her job planning the construction of buildings in Mussolini’s latest project.  Mussolini is determined to make this city of Bellina the greatest city in Italy, indeed in the world! But disaster begins to wreak its designs, which Isabella realizes will only get worse if the tyrant has his way! Now immediately after a young woman asks Isabella to watch her daughter and quickly states she knows who killed Isabella’s husband, the woman crosses the street, climbs to the top of the tower, and jumps off the building.  Isabella, like all observers around the building, is stunned beyond words and then realizes she has a little girl who no longer has a mother!

The remainder of the novel is a journey to find out who this woman was, how she knew about Isabella’s husband and what is happening in this city in which nosing around brings brutal repercussions!  Isabella meets a young photographer, Roberto Falco, who is an uncommonly caring individual.  He introduces her to a world of migrant workers who are brought into the city to farm and work on its new buildings but who also face interrogations and brutality from Mussolini’s police and guards.  It turns out that Isabella’s husband, who was a “Blackshirt” was much more than the person she thought she knew and loved.  The child Rosa has already lived a life with more drama, cruelty, and fear than any adult over an entire lifetime.  She’s a beautiful but scarred individual who responds to Isabella’s kindness, even after she is taken away from Isabella, her only hope for a different future.

The Italian Wife… is a novel filled with tension-ridden scenes and some lovely descriptions of architecture and country life.  The story is based on facts about Mussolini’s rule and desire to impress the world with his revolutionary attitudes about how a city should be constructed and ruled! This is historical fiction at its best and Kate Furnivall is a talented writer who has captured the essence of Italy and its citizens in the midst of changing, turbulent times!

Stones in the Road by E. B. Moore

Stones in the Road.  E. B. Moore. Penguin Group (USA). October 2015. 384 pp.  ISBN#: 9780451469991.

A young Amish man, Joshua, lives with his family in 1867 Pennsylvania.  His father is a well-respected Deacon in the Amish community, but his father’s hatred comes out clearly when he has been drinking, a frequent evening activity that proves to be life-threatening for Joshua.  On one similar night, his father drags Joshua to a barn and sets about to kill him, not just beat him; but accidental movements occur and a fire is set that all but destroys the barn and leaves the father, Abraham, a physically and mentally scarred man. He’s a broken man who cannot utter what he was really trying to do that night.

Joshua runs away a second time.  He had been away once and had enough of life with “the English” that he wanted no more.  Now, however, he has no choice.  He has suffered burns himself in the fire and receives merciful treatment from unexpected characters.  His mother, Miriam, refuses to believe he died in the fire and searches the lands around their farm for days and days.  She’s a complex character who loves Abraham for the past moments of tenderness they have shared but who also knows his uglier side.  The stance she now takes with this wounded man and now being forced to manage their farm is evidence of the formidably strong and enduring woman she is. 

This then is the tale of these three main characters and those with whom they interact in their journey until mother and son might be reunited. It’s also a marvelous look into post-Civil War life from Pennsylvania all the way to Colorado and beyond.  The characters are gritty survivors of those who journey and live in western lands, those who prefer to be friendly and supportive because they believe in the love that binds American lives and those who would hurt and kill in a moment because of fear and anger at the sacrifices mandatory for those who would tame the difficult land and work for prosperity.

Stones in the Road is fine historical fiction about western life as well as a novel that gently depicts the life of Plains Amish people as well as their beliefs.  Very nicely done, E. B. Moore!  A notable, worthy follow-up to Moore’s facinating previous novel, An Unseemly Wife. 

The Gates of Rutherford Park: A Novel by Elizabeth Cooke

The Gates of Rutherford Park: A Novel.  Elizabeth Cooke. Random House Publishing Group. September 2015. 384 pp. pbk. ISBN #: 9780425277195.

Today is the day Charlotte Cavendish will marry!  Charlotte has always been the feisty one who takes on any challenge with zest, but today she’s teary and not at all sure she’s made the “right” choice.  It’s a family habit, it seems and this third Rutherford novel has a more reflective tone than the previous two stories in this engaging series that has frequently compared to the TV series Downton Abbey.  It certainly has enough life and death scenes, dramatic and conflicting dialogue and overwhelming consequences to deep the reader flipping the pages and abandoning all other work or chores.

So to begin with we experience Charlotte marrying a man who was blinded in the War; it is 1917 and England has certainly seen its share of wounded warriors the brutal and unrelenting war has produced.  There’s irony here in that everyone believes Charlotte has the normal wedding jitters while others like Charlotte’s mother, Olivia, have abandoned their own spouses for a happier relationship.  But Charlotte’s tears are really about something she doesn’t realize yet, a horrendous secret (at that historical time anyway) not to be uttered.

Olivia is living with her lover, American John Gould, and her husband, William, is recovering from a heart attack and seems a shattered man, albeit still stuck in his cold, aristocratic ways that are such a turnoff to his wife and children.  For now, though, his daughter Louise is providing him the comfort he needs right now.

There are several juxtaposed characters who give unique perspectives on the course of post-traumatic stress syndrome, a consequence pitied yet scorned by many at home as just lazy dallying.  The descriptions are heart-rending but also beautiful in the revelations each suffering character shares, more powerful and searing than any anti-war demonstration or speech.  A former groom at Rutherford, tends healthy and wounded horses, mules, etc. in the war until his mind and body have had enough.  A German prisoner of war cannot hold any objects without dropping them and is scorned by his captors for shirking his work.  On and on it goes with no available medical treatment or understanding for these victims.

David Cavendish is not ready to relinquish flying in spite of his wounded leg.  Another character is powerless to stop David from proceeding in a very famous WWI battle.

There is so much more than what is described above that makes this novel a comprehensive, horrific and beautiful rendition of all aspects of global and familial conflict. Interestingly, its scenes are far from stereotypical because the author takes us to the more intimate and honest aspects of love, pain, death, joy and peace.  It’s a story you will never forget, and its author, Elizabeth Cooke is one very talented craftsperson who has provided a very special historical account that this reviewer oh so highly recommends.

Gooseberry Island: A Novel by Steven Manchester

Gooseberry Island: A Novel. Steven Manchester. The Story Plant. January 2015. 300 pp.  ISBN#: 9781611881806.

In the perfect story, a man and women fall in love and live happily ever after! But life, in reality, throws its curve ball into every mix and couples need to surmount one or more challenges, to say the least.  David McClain and Lindsey meet on the night before David returns to his Ranger duties in the terribly threatening land of Afghanistan.  Previously, David has survived warfare as he’s very, very good at what he does.  David’s psyche, however, has changed since he fell in love.  In some ways, his relationship with Lindsey is the only hope he experiences in the nightmarish daily activities where fellow soldiers are kill or are killed or wounded.  Somehow now his sensitivity is enhanced and this tour is grossly different!

One of David’s buddies was constantly talking about how he needed to get back to his little daughter and wife who meant the world to him, proven by how often he pulled out their picture before and after a successful mission. But one day the work is interrupted and the buddy loses both his legs from an IED (improvised explosive device) and has a shattered body and psyche.  David’s job is to support his men and so he does on this occasion, only the mind and heart are the last to catch up with the easy platitudes offered to the wounded warrior. 

Eventually David will suffer his own physical trauma, but that is the least of his problems as once he returns to the United States worse follows!  This then is the story Steven Manchester, who actually served in the War in Afghanistan, has always wanted to tell.  For although American citizens have heard the term PTSD frequently, most really don’t have a clue about the horror it is to live with the memories, physical and mental reactions that accompany years of battle. The constant state of alertness required to avoid being killed by a sniper or awaiting IED is not left when one is homeward bound to the good ol’ USA.  Steven would have you read this novel to truly understand what the bang of a muffler or screeching brakes, etc. does to a wounded warrior. It’s a brutal recovery and one in which soldiers like David need constant support and retraining. It’s the test of love to see whether Lindsey will stay away as David commands or find a way to be there for her love in the ongoing nightmare of his life. Gooseberry Island is the perfect idyllic setting for healing to begin!

Steven Manchester tells David’s story realistically but without any extra drama as his story has enough horror in it for a lifetime.  This is the world being experienced by thousands of American soldiers, as well as the story of those Afghans trying to bring freedom and lack of fear to their daily lives.  Stunning read that needs to be read by Americans, no matter what political beliefs are held regarding whether or not we should have been or are serving in this non-stop war raging since 911. A MUST read!

Light and Darkness by Wendy Lawrance

Light and Darkness.  Wendy Lawrance. GWL Publishing. June 2013. 380 pp.  ISBN#: 9781905378470.

Harry is a lawyer but early on in this story decides to forsake his legal career and become a full-time painter/artist.  This is made clear in the awful days of grief after he loses his beloved wife, Bella.  Devastated with sorrow, he finds he cannot draw his love and finds his only comfort in their daughter, Rose.  Because he has inherited a large amount of money, he is able to leave city life and reside in his beloved seaside home.  His family worry about him as time passes and Harry’s grief seems as severe as the day he lost Bella and his meetings with them for holidays are fraught with a constant nervous tension.  Some distraction occurs with the looming possibility of WWI and Harry realizes he needs a change of scenery and purpose, although his only hesitation lies in the face he would have to leave Rose with his family.  However, war breaks out and Harry enlists.  Who knows how the future will evolve?  All Harry knows is he’s not afraid to do his patriotic duty and fight for England. 

Before Harry and his peers go off to the actual war, they are forced to spend what seems an interminable time training and being moved from camp to camp.  During that time he makes a good friend with Edward, a young man anxious to be off to war, if only to avert his thoughts from his beloved fiancé, whose family doesn’t see him as a favorable future husband.  Harry, on the other hand, finds the separations from Rose awful with each brief leave he gets before the final one week leave when he knows this will be his last time with Rose for a very long time.

War indeed is hell and the reader learns of the brutal battles, wounds, and death constantly barraging British troops from German soldiers and weapons.  Harry turns out to be a well-balanced, responsible and yet compassionate officer who unfortunately seems powerless to divert the pompous and dangerous orders of a commanding officer who drinks to hide his fear.

At one particular point, Harry and his fellow soldiers are forced to rest at a French farm where a woman Elise is a gracious host even though supplies and meals are sparse.  Over time Harry quickly falls in love with Elise but their relationship is riddled with insecurity because of the future. 

The novel’s end is so deeply tragic that it shocks the reader to the core and leaves all reeling!  Wendy Lawrance clearly knows her history about WWI and depicts it exceedingly well.  Her rendering of different types of love, sorrow, fear and joy are superb, providing just enough twists and turns to make this story an exquisite account of how war affects and changes all involved! Very good read! 

Penny: Women and War by Ellie Keaton

Penny: Women and War.  Ellie Keaton. Amazon Digital. E-Book. August 2014. 276 pp.  ASIN#: B00N47L8ZC.

Penelope (or Penny as she is called herein) is a French woman who has lost both of her parents due to the cruelty of Alain, the man who controls most of the small French town where Penny lived for most of her life.  It is a neighborly and elderly woman whose kindness to Penny builds up her strength to travel to England and meet the relatives she’s never known in the past.  As Penny has been raised as a farmer’s daughter and is totally unused to the world of aristocracy, she is hard-put to conform to the expectations of her rich Aunt and cousin. However, her grandmother, Meme, is determined to build up Penny with love in the present, disregarding the past in which so much harm was done to so many people in this family. None of this warm and hostile treatment deters Penny from her decision to do what she can for the war effort and to exact revenge on the man responsible for the death of her parents!

This is the story of Penny’s training and activities as a member of the French Resistance during WWII.  She is hired by England because she passes all of the tests, speaks fluent French and passes with great skill the training for her work as a British spy.  During her training she’s attracted to someone she thinks is enlisted as a Royal Air Force member.  Is this real love or just an initial infatuation?  That picture will change during her time in France when she is even more attracted to a fellow spy, Victor.  While in that service, she observes the brutal attacks of German soldiers, the arresting and torture of innocent French men, women and children by Germans and the fact that she can and does kill when the need arises. Penny is challenged further when she is arrested and tortured as a spy.

However, the war story needs to be told.  Penny is a survivor but the obstacles she faces test every mental, physical and emotional ability she possesses.  Even more distressing is the fact that many of her people are traitors in order to survive.  That makes it no less evil to Penny who does what she has to do.  She also learns that she may have to make a choice about her dream for revenge, one that may hurt her more than the one who she hates more than anyone in the entire world.

Penny: Women and War is a great read and shows a maturity in Ellie Keaton’s writing skills as she has crafted a more complex plot than in her previous novel in this series.  Finely written, Ms. Keaton and highly recommended!

Fives and Twenty-Fives by Michael Pitre

Fives and Twenty-Fives: A Novel.  Michael Pitre. Bloomsbury USA.  August 2014. 400 pp.  ISBN#: 9781620407547.

Lieutenant Peter Donovan and his buddies, Lester “Doc” Pleasant and Kateb “Dodge” el Hariti, are the main characters in this war novel about fighting in Anbar Province, Iraq.  These are fictional characters who serve as representative military personnel fighting in Iraq for one, two and even more tours.  Their story is told in flashbacks between their past service to their present lives now they are no longer in the Marines.  Their job is to clear out former battle areas or roads where explosives and grenades have been left behind for the traveling American military personnel. It’s a life and/or death mission!

The rule of the title is to scan carefully and quickly, looking for explosives or enemy attackers. It is repeated often and never taken for granted as the story shows how random and shocking every death or severe injury is.  It’s obvious that it’s almost impossible to spot every looming danger but these Marine fighters are superbly trained in tire tracks, spotting color, and other phenomena that save many more lives than are taken!  But these men are human and it’s obvious that the horrors of this war take their toll; on the job, a type of black humor and constant teasing and joking help them survive, but upon their return to civilian life, booze, sex, and violence clearly show the PTSD effects of living with this hell on a day-to-day basis.

Other issues abound such as issuing a command that might cause the Marines to miss an ensuing attack, thereby causing questions of blame.  As these fighters are so united, any diminishment of trust is as deadly as an exploding device psychologically and therefore a danger.  Another is about those men who agreed to work for American troops as translators, as “Dodge” does.  Never totally trusted, befriended but not too close, and their “native” issues are superbly depicted.  Dodge works for the Marines while his family are trying to kill them. We see the debacle of Tunisia through his eyes, the brutality that fostered that rebellion, and Dutch’s slow but solid involvement in the horrific aftermath of those protests.  We also observe how hard it is for these men to return to so-called “normal” life with jobs; very often the same fight or flight behavior of the war becomes the norm in civilian life. It’s a debacle as those who confront these destructive behaviors don’t seem to know its source and therefore have no inducement to help foster a slow but positive recovery.

War is hell; most of us have no doubt about that fact.  However, the tales must be told so that America and other nations understand the successes and failures, the patriotic service and the devastating aftermath from living around constant violence and death.  Whether one approves or disapproves of political policies made surrounding the issue of war, readers will perceive how this war is different from all others and how these Marines served so honorably in the middle of such insane thinking and behavior. 

This author served two tours in Iraq and his accuracy and heightened perception about all individuals involved are more than obvious!  This is a well-written war novel that should be required reading for all political, military and civilian readers. Highly recommended but not for the faint of heart!

The Major's Daughter: A Novel by J. P. Francis

The Major’s Daughter: A Novel.  J. P. Francis. Penguin Group (USA). July 2014. 400 pp.  ISBN#: 9780452298699.

Collie Brennan and her father, Major John Brennan, are now living in Camp Stark in New Hampshire.  They’re getting ready to house German prisoners of war, a new role neither has experienced previously.  Major Brennan is not in the best of health as he suffers left-over illness from being gassed in WWI.  Now it’s WWII they are dealing with and this is the story of life in the prison camp.  At first the anticipation is worse than the reality.  Then Collie, who helps her father by translating German into English, very slowly grows fond and fonder of a German POW, Private August Wahrlich. 

Her best friend, Estelle, at the same time has fallen in love with an Indian gardener in Ashtabula, Ohio.  She must decide whether to yield to that growing feeling between them or marry someone safe and stable!

This is a novel about the way war heightens prejudice, the feeling that the enemy induces in those who are already apt to believe every outlandish rumor floating in small communities and in those who have radically suffered from service on the battlefields of Europe.  Today it’s called post-traumatic stress syndrome.  It may be further fueled by alcohol or by jealousy, but it pervades every town across America.

The hatred that is often couched in patriotic beliefs and words is also present in the German POW camp.  There are die-hard Nazis who punish those who aren’t of like mind and those who are weaker.  It’s a parallel universe, a microcosm of the larger world’s classification and persecution of Germans and anyone sympathetic or averse to them.

In the midst of so much ugliness is the beauty of poetry and the enthralling specter of beautifully grown plants and flowers, spiked by the pine forests and immense mountains surrounding the Brennan’s military camp.

No spoilers here, just a beautiful story that is just as often filled with ugliness and beauty beyond what nature and humans can produce.

For those who are open to a different way of thinking, it will leave questions that demand squarely facing all the issues inherent in WWII mentality.  The readers’ points of view will affect whether one loves or hates this complex memorable work of historical and/or romantic fiction.

Collie knows who she is and what she must sacrifice by making a choice to play it safe with another love-sick wooer or risk it all for the love of her life.  The Major’s Daughter has crafted a powerful, memorable work of historical fiction, one that parallels the world in which our young men and women are being held prisoner and returning from unspeakable horrors that our contemporary global conflicts generate.  J. P. Francis has told a simple yet endearing story that will linger in the memory for a long time after the end of reading this particularly moving story!

Combat and Other Shenanigans: Tales of the Absurd From a Deployment in Iraq by Piers Platt

Combat and Other Shenanigans: Tales of the Absurd From a Deployment to Iraq. Piers Platt. Create Space Publishing. February 2014. 180 pp.  ISBN#: 9781496128676.

Few war stories are both comical and serious, but this one year memoir is unique in both respects.  Lieutenant Piers Platt as a cavalry platoon officer attends enough schooling to sink a ship while in Kentucky and then Germany, but he has to receive even more training after he is deployed to Iraq.  It’s a soldiers world with gutsy language, pranks for all newcomers, a place where rules are made to be broken, where punishments are handed out and then rescinded hours later, and where one lives fluctuating between constant boredom or ever-looming life-death situations.

Platt’s writing includes a lot of acronyms for military weapons and procedures that are incomprehensible to the average reader and could have had more explanation for non-military readers, but those who have served in Iraq will definitely relate to all of it.  The reader isn’t quite sure whether one should be amused or horrified by the deplorable state of the equipment these soldiers rely on for travel, defense and attack while out on missions.  Add to that the realistic scenes of killing and coming close to being killed, and the reader realizes how stressed out these men are and their almost desperate need to have plenty of humor to cope with the realities of everyday war. 

This story actually takes place at the end of the Iraq war when American soldiers were cleaning up after the major battles and dealing with leftover insurgents who must have missed the memo about the end of the war and were still dropping IEDs and shooting at soldiers, all designed to perpetuate the war that was over but really wasn’t over quite yet.

Platt writes in a uniquely light tone about the idiotic decisions made by “higher-ups” in sending soldiers into deadly areas such as Samarra.  Yet he also describes the Iraqi people’s joy and determination when they finally got the opportunity to vote.  All in all, what is conveyed most is the unity and powerful friendships that developed between these men who truly “cared” for each other in such an admirable way.  That alone is worth the great read provided by Lieutenant Piers Platt!  Thank you and all who served with you!