“This book is highly underrated...in that it hasn't really received any press at all! It happened to be in the new releases section of the library and, judging a book by its cover as I often do, I picked it up. I read it every evening three days in a row, and wondered about it during the day while I wasn't with it. Now THAT is a great novel!
Main themes: loss of idealism, WWII, relationships, remorse, perspectives. How people can be so polar opposite of each other yet so predictable. The writing style reminded me of what I can recall of Raymond Carver - the characters weave in and out of each others stories (and one central story, really, 2 friends who joined the FBI) and shed light on the "facts" as the story goes on. Chapters go back and forth between the present and the past, careening toward their joining point on the horizon.
This would be a fabulous book club read because several key events at the end of the novel are left open for interpretation- again, depending on your perspective. The third-person narration that focuses on different characters as they grow old leads you to realize that it is not what actual tragedy occurs, but rather how it affects people, that ultimately matters.
My one complaint is that I was disappointed in the lack of depth in the women characters, particularly coming from a female author. Perhaps she was better able to flesh out the male characters (the leads) because of that distance - they were complicated enough as it was, without adding further emotion to the facts.
I'm going to be encouraging all my friends to read this one!”
Vanessa S wrote this review Wednesday, August 6 2008.
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