Rating: 
Summary: A book both dark and full of hope
Review: This is not a "summer reading" book, or an easy one, but it is a book worth reading - and for all of us who did not grow up in the Ozzie and Harriet world in the 60s, this is our book. You first meet the "Turtle Warrior", Bill, as a very young boy - his big brother, his hero, is missing in action in Viet Nam, his father's version of life is seen through a sadistic, alcoholic haze and his mother lives in a world others do not see at all. The haven occasionally offered by the childless couple on the neighboring farm slowly erodes as they live with their own life disappointments. And so Bill grows up - trying to believe his brother will return. He becomes the parent to his mother and the target of his father rages. The Turtle Warrior - fighting so hard to find a way to right all the wrongs, he loses himself in the battle. These are people you care about, are disappointed with and hope for. It is a a real and a spiritual jouney and in the end you will find that hope is justifed.
Rating:
Summary: The Turtle Warrior
Review: To those of us near or beyond a certain age, i.e., 50, the interplay between WW II and the Vietnam conflict (remember, it was never a declared war) certainly plays on our emotions. This book is not an easy read; it is one you need to put down and ponder before reading further. War is fought on many fronts, with each character in this book having lost something in his/her war. I found the narrative format mesmerizing, not like a voiceover where you envision a movie in the making. To those of us who grew up in the rural midwest during this time period, it invokes memories of the simplicity, conflictions, and emotions that we faced, and gives us insight to what our parents were facing at the same time. Please savor this book, especially the last line.
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