Book Review #16 and #17

Book Review #16

I am finally getting around to writing about the books I’ve been reading.  One of the most recent books I read is called My Hitch In Hell: The Bataan Death March by Lester Tenney.  If you know anything about World War II history, you will know that this is going to be a harrowing and difficult book to read.  It was, but it was also very triumphant.

 

The author was a participant in The Bataan Death March and eventually a prisoner of war for 3 and a half years in the Philippine Islands during World War II.  Never did he imagine upon enlisting in the Army that this would be the hand dealt to him.

This story was very interesting to me for the history, but also for the personal story.  I had one grandfather that served in the Pacific Theater of war during World War II, and another who served in Europe.  Sammy also had the same, but he also had a great-uncle who was a death-march participant and also lived as a POW for some time.  He is no longer living, but reading this account gives you a window into what he might have suffered during the war.  I have actually managed to find Sammy's uncle's name in some internet listings of the various POW camps and known march participants.

I really enjoyed this novel.  The author had a drive to stay alive and return home, and he constantly stated that if he just set short-term goals for himself, he could make it.  For instance, on the march, he would tell himself that his goal was to make it to that tree up there with the gnarled stump, and then he could worry about making it to the next point.  He witnessed atrocities that even the most imaginative could not dream up.  While reading, I would think that there wasn't possibly something worse that the Japanese soldiers could do.  It just couldn't be possible that they could commit a more barbaric and atrocious act, but then they did.  It was truly unbelievable, and lets us realize what heroes these prisoners of war truly were.

I highly recommend anyone read this book.  It gives a great insight to a place and time that many don't read much about or know much about.  It is wonderful that the author decided to write this novel because so many of the survivors did not and will not ever tell their stories.  I give it 4 stars out of 5 on my book rating scale.

Book Review #17

My next book, and the most recent that I completed was The Golden Willow by Harry Bernstein.  It is the third novel after The Invisible Wall and The Dream.

The Golden Willow is a continuation of his life, past and present, with the love of his life, Ruby.  The reason for the title you will have to discover if you so choose to read the series of books.

There is not a vast amount to say about this book except that it was a good read and a good continuation of the previous novels.  After The Dream, I definitely wanted more!  The Golden Willow is a portrait of his endearing love for his wife and the good times they shared together.  The novel also tells the story of how he finally began to write his first novel, The Invisible Wall, and how it finally became a reality in print.

It was not quite as striking and wonderful as the previous two, but it was endearing and delightful.  I give it 3 out of 5 stars on my book rating scale.