Release Date: September 24, 2013
Goodreads Page
This review describes an uncorrected proof. The published version may differ.
My dad read this book. Here are his ideological comments:
Walter Dean Myers wrote this book because of his family's experiences in Vietnam and Iraq. He wanted readers to understand that war is hell, and that we need better ways to solve our problems.
It's fine to write a book about how war is hell, because war IS hell, but then you've got to get the other side to read the book, too. How do you write an antiwar book about WWII? How do you square that with the facts that we were attacked at Pearl Harbor, and that Germany declared war on us? It seems like Myers is trying to write a Vietnam book set in WWII, and it just doesn't make sense. Vietnam was a different war, and it was fought for different reasons. WWII was not a war of choice, and the comparison is inappropriate.
In this book, all attempts to encourage the soldiers are portrayed as superficial or manipulative, which is a very shallow, one-sided presentation of the motives behind the war. It's true that the soldier in the trenches probably wasn't thinking about freedom or justice while he was fighting- he was thinking about his comrades. Even here, though, Myers fails to present the friendship of comrades in arms. When you talk to people who actually fought in WWII, they'll tell you that the friendships they made there are one of the greatest points of their lives. Myers does not get that across in this book; he only shows the cynical side of the soldiers' motivations.
I understand that Myers has a commitment to show the African-American side of history, but he strains it to a contrived level in this book. It is believable that the protagonist would run into his Black friend once during the invasion- the chaos of battle always defeats segregation- but it is painfully unrealistic that they would have three chance encounters. The way that these accidental meetings keep happening in the midst of the hundreds of thousands of disorganized soldiers at D-Day undermines the realism of the book.
In its defense, this book credibly depicts the horrors of war. Myers did his research, and he accurately portrays D-Day and the campaign across Normandy to St. Lo. The only historical error is that the grunts somehow know that Patton is coming. That was a top-secret maneuver, and there is no way they would have known about it. Even if they had known about it, they would have no cause to believe that Patton could cancel out the dominance of the German tank technology.
This book is unbalanced. It does not show respect to the historical causes of WWII or the motives of the people who fought in it. I do not recommend it.
Looking for a more positive review? Check:
Maci and Zoe Read Books
Interested in reading this book? Want to argue with my dad? (Good luck on that!) Buy this book from The Blue Manatee or your nearest independent bookseller!
No comments:
Post a Comment