firegraderas

Decisionmaking. Tiny moment to moment things that can have big consequences. What do we say or do in the heat of passion, anger, fear, remorse? In our dying minutes will we be doomed to reliving these decisions again and again, torturing ourselves over their outcomes? These were the thoughts I had while reading this book. Perhaps not completely the author's intention, but the consequence nonetheless. This is a solid novel of historical fiction. The 1950s. The Korean War. A young, bright and yes, indignant, man at the crossroads of adulthood in a provincial midwestern college. There is a burning brightness under the surface of this story, emanating from the soul of the main character. I liked this kid. A lot. I was pulling for him the whole time, empathetic of his situation, his point of view, his angst. But. While I appreciated the clarity of detail Roth crafted in terms of setting and situation, I couldn't quite swallow the ending. It agitated me, bothers me still. I felt...indignant? "Are you kidding me?" I wanted to scream. "THIS is how it all ends?" Ha. Perhaps Roth's intention all along, making it nothing less than masterful.

2022-10-21 05:23