Patches of Fire: A Story of War and Redemption
Albert French's two previous novelsBillyandHollyhave both received widespread critical acclaim, and French has been hailed as "one of America's most important new novelists."  But French's first literary opus was not originally received with such praise, it was rejected by publishers and never before in print.  This first book was a memoir of his experience as a soldier in Vietnam, and while it did not result in literary success, it led up to it.  Writing his story proved to be a transformative experience for French, unleashing his creative abilities and resulting in a successful pair of novels that he wrote in short order and to great acclaim.  InPatches of Fire, French has rewritten his original personal narrative, including the interesting story of how he began to write and the redemptive role writing played in overcoming the despair that threatened to overwhelm his life after Vietnam.  The book falls into two parts: the first, the unsentimental story of an infantryman in the jungles of Vietnam; the second, a moving description of how this Vietnam veteran pulled his life together and found his voice and creative impulse.  The writing is expert and the book, excellent.