Review: So powerful it will leave you reeling.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 07 30, 2012
I keep thinking that I wish author Mingo Kane had not added the subtitle to his novel and mentioned the word `romance'.  I know it gave me the wrong first impression and I'm just hoping it won't be responsible for making other readers pass it by.  The `romance' mentioned here did not strike me as the romantic fiction type of romance even though there is some of that in the story, but was more along the lines of this definition I found in my Oxford American Dictionary:  romance, noun, 1. an atmosphere or tendency characterized by a sense of remoteness from or idealization of everyday life.In dealing with the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the life of Marine Lance Corporal Tom Judah this author has perfectly captured that sense of remoteness from everyday life suffered by anyone with this debilitating disorder.  It seems to me that Tom Judah must have been living through the worst possible combination of symptoms.  This was a very difficult and fatiguing novel to read because it constantly focuses on aspects of war and military service which we civilians have never and will never experience.  I'm sure that military or ex-military personnel who are fighting to overcome this medical diagnosis will react in a positive way because Kane is articulating their own symptoms of PTSD.  Perhaps even giving descriptions to feelings they have, but can't explain.  For those reasons alone this would be a worthwhile novel.  However, there is a story here which involves a deeply scarred individual just trying the best way he can to make it to someplace safe.  Safe from the nightmares and the flashbacks which haunt his sleep and now, often, his waking hours as well.  Tom meets a woman on his bus trip from Los Angeles to Virginia and there is hope that some degree of normalcy may be found for him.I've said that the novel was difficult for me to read and that is because the first portions of the book are completely filled with combat flashbacks and explanations of the wide variety of symptoms someone suffering from PTSD might exhibit.  If you are like me and don't know anyone who personally has this disorder, please persevere and keep reading through this learning time.  It will all serve you well for when the novel begins to take a turn toward having Tom Judah interact with other characters.  The author did have a tendency to over-write passages when it seemed to me that more direct, common wordage might have been more in character with the overall tone of the book.Make no mistake, this novel is about the consequences of war on the mental health of one man who seems to have lost his humanity in order to remain alive.  Veterans who have been there will see themselves and the consequences in their own lives quite clearly.  I congratulate Mingo Kane for being willing to write this novel with the power to send the reader reeling and to educate those of us who honestly did not understand.