I was going through my Kindle, clearing out old stuff and sorting the remainder into collections, when I saw "Another Day in Paradise" listed all by its lonesome. I figured it to be some impulse purchase (it was), and after skimming the first page or so I'd know where to shunt it off to. By page two, I was hooked, and I haven't been able to put it down for more than an hour.
Justin Burgess has written an exceptional, realistic, emotionally-affecting novel. As I am a former combat arms platoon leader, staff officer and company commander (Cold War era), Burgess's descriptions of his narrator's life rang true to me 100% of the time. While I only served in Iraq, not Afghanistan, and not as a combat arms officer, I still saw complete, stark truth in his depictions of the warriors and the "Fobbits". Finally, having been connected to Fort Lewis, Washington almost continuously since 1980, I have to say that Jason Burgess nailed the scenes on and off post. Many of the people living in our area who are not connected to the military have absolutely no idea that there's a simmering volcano of anger, pain, relief, and confusion on the part of those deploying and redeploying to the war, or preparing for the next deployment, while trying to maintain a veneer of civility for the sake of the civilian populace.
This novel reads like a memoir, which is one of its strengths. Justin Burgess didn't pull any of his punches, nor does his (presumably) alter-ego, CPT Chris Braddock. For this reason, "Another Day in Paradise" may very well put-off readers who are unfamiliar with the military culture, and assume that Army officers are merely clean-cut drones from cookie-cutter suburban backgrounds, remaining wholly unaffected by what they've seen and done over the past decade of war. If you happen to fit in that demographic, this will probably be a very uncomfortable read. But if you are sincerely interested in gaining a bit of perception about this other world, you will be richly rewarded by this novel's honesty and terrible beauty.
As for me, if I happen to run into Justin Burgess on post sometime, I will be honored to shake his hand and buy him a drink...he's more than earned it with this novel.
Scarica l'app Kindle gratuita e inizia a leggere immediatamente i libri Kindle sul tuo smartphone, tablet o computer, senza bisogno di un dispositivo Kindle.
Leggi immediatamente sul browser con Kindle per il Web.
Con la fotocamera del cellulare scansiona il codice di seguito e scarica l'app Kindle.
Segui l'autore
Si è verificato un errore. Riprova a effettuare la richiesta più tardi.
Le novità di Amabile Giusti
Scopri ora tutti i romanzi della regina del rosa contemporaneo Clicca qui
Informazioni sull'autore
Segui gli autori per ottenere aggiornamenti sulle nuove uscite, oltre a consigli avanzati.
Le recensioni migliori da altri paesi
David Hall
A Realistic Gut-Punch of a Novel!
Recensito negli Stati Uniti il 22 gennaio 2013
