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justemreads's review against another edition
4.0
I read this book for my book club after it was recommended by a member who is an acquaintance of the author. This is not a book I would normally pick up on my own, but it is a book worth reading. I admit, I wasn't drawn to it like I am other books. There weren't moments that I couldn't put it down, and there were a few times when I wasn't really looking forward to picking it up, especially the combat sections where I felt so incredibly uninformed and ignorant. However, the second half of the book - the AFTER - were so heartbreaking and eye-opening. It made me look at active service members and veterans in a whole new light, especially those who are my family and friends. I enjoyed that this book took place in small town Wisconsin and the section about 9/11 was completely relatable able to me, as I was in an almost identical situation as the characters in the book. At times I felt like the writing was a little pretentious and the writer (vs. perhaps the actual author - which will make no sense unless you've read it) was trying to use as many big vocabulary words as possible, but the story as a whole was a good one. Nice job, Mr. Hefty. Yay for WI authors. ;)
connie_rea's review against another edition
3.0
This is a story about those left behind by war. It just so happens to be that instead of the family left behind it is about the man that was at war who one days finds himself left behind. How he attempts to pick up the pieces after his combat days are over. A story where the young man finds out that although he might have left the war, he now finds himself in a different type of combat...now with enemy soldiers, but with his own personal demons and his feelings about himself. Novels like this do much to show how the image some see of people are never the images that they see of themselves.
Was this the best book I've read this year? No, sorry to say it's not even close. However, it is an important book and I'm glad I invested the time to read it. Does it change my views on war and the destruction it causes? Not on the enemy, lands, or even countries. or on the men and women themselves. But it does reinforce my belief that not everyone can be judged by the outside image they display. Nor can they be defined by the labels that have been placed upon them. We should all give just a moments more time to really try to see and to help the people before us. Lest the masks they wear for us truly hide them until they are suddenly gone as is the person that wore them...
ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review
Was this the best book I've read this year? No, sorry to say it's not even close. However, it is an important book and I'm glad I invested the time to read it. Does it change my views on war and the destruction it causes? Not on the enemy, lands, or even countries. or on the men and women themselves. But it does reinforce my belief that not everyone can be judged by the outside image they display. Nor can they be defined by the labels that have been placed upon them. We should all give just a moments more time to really try to see and to help the people before us. Lest the masks they wear for us truly hide them until they are suddenly gone as is the person that wore them...
ARC provided by Edelweiss for an honest review
ixnsindhu's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this book but unfortunately did not. The somewhat strange narrative device of having the narrator tell the story, which is supposed to be a letter, in the 3rd person and then interject comments in the first person was confusing until I got used to it. The biggest problem I had was that the characters are not well-drawn. I didn't know them any better at the end of the book than I did at the beginning and I had no reason to care about them based on the little information that was provided. The plot was so transparent that I knew exactly what was going to happen right from the start, and unfortunately for my interest level, that is exactly what happened.
andthenweread's review against another edition
5.0
wow. wow. what a phenomenal novel. i usually hate war stories, but i loved this one. it really packed a punch, and the emotion got to me. i couldn't put it down. would highly recommend.
lizardwater's review against another edition
1.0
I am sure that this book had a good moral message, however, I feel like I am reading the same sentence over and over again. He did this. He did that. He thought this, then he thought that. I can't stand it. In addition to the poor writing, there is almost no distinction between each of the characters. At any given moment the author could be talking about either Levi or Nick and I would be none the wiser. They act and talk like the exact same person. Even the authors own interjections in the text are indistinguishable from the rest of the novel. Based on other reviews I've read the content must be at least something but I just can't get over the narration. Maybe one day in the future I will attempt to read it again.
sjfurger's review against another edition
4.0
This book was both hard and heavy - accurately titled. As I read this, I was aware that it was both for me and not for me. I was an intended audience in that this book described the experiences of a war that I can never understand, and yet it was not written for me for the same reason. I've been uncomfortable with novelizations of war, the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan especially for obvious reasons, but when I saw this book I thought I'd give it a go. It's beautifully written. The plot is well paced, the switching between persons is easy to follow, and the development of the characters is well done, almost painfully so. A beautiful novel and one I can comfortably recommend.
lifeisbooks_21's review
5.0
When you start reading this book, you have a thought on how it it going to end. Then you read the middle of it and the descriptive detail of the war is so real, it has you waiting for that moment to happen, but it doesn't, it happens differently but in a way that doesn't diminish the story but enhances it, making it seem even more real to the world. Makes you understand the world a lot of more.
sjfurger's review
4.0
This book was both hard and heavy - accurately titled. As I read this, I was aware that it was both for me and not for me. I was an intended audience in that this book described the experiences of a war that I can never understand, and yet it was not written for me for the same reason. I've been uncomfortable with novelizations of war, the wars in Iraq/Afghanistan especially for obvious reasons, but when I saw this book I thought I'd give it a go. It's beautifully written. The plot is well paced, the switching between persons is easy to follow, and the development of the characters is well done, almost painfully so. A beautiful novel and one I can comfortably recommend.