Rating: 
Summary: A Serious Piece of Work
Review: ~John Walter~{!/~}s father died in World War II when he was two-year old. He was too little to understand it, yet old enough to feel the pain. His father~{!/~}s death is like a hole that every member in the family feels. His mother lived in memories ever since and rarely smiled. She died at age 36. His cousin Sam who was injured in the D-day invasion returned home forever changed. He ended up killing himself sticking a rifle in his mouth years after. In a sense, everyone in the family was~~ traumatized because of the War.This is a wonderful piece of work written by Ray Elliott who not only has a strong compassion for human sufferings but also has the excellent literary and journalistic skills to express himself well. The novel also depicts the beautiful rural life in southern Illinois in the 40s and 50s last century. You can almost smell the pristine air. A serene life that was about to disappear, as young Sedwick was longing to going to somewhere beyond Bellaire. I~~ had a chance to spend a weekend in the southern Illinois~{!/~} town where the novel was set, yet I didn~{!/~}t go for some reason. After reading the novel, I regretted a great deal missing the opportunity to visit the place. Should I have been there, I probably would be better able to picture the boy growing up in melancholy and pain with yearning for his father and longing for exploring the outside world.~
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