I'm not a big one for war stories, but this was an enjoyable book. It's about soliders from the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" division who get trapped in a remote village in Italy during World War II when one of the soldiers tries to save a little Italian boy. They're dealing with German soliders on one side ... and racist and disorganized American officers on the other. [sidenote - one of the black soliders talks about when they were back in the U.S., and the German POWs were allowed to eat a restaurant ... and the black soldiers were forced to eat outside. Wow.]
The soliders are taken in by a group of Italians who are resisting the Nazis; they (the soliders) eventually make contact with their superior officers and are ordered to capture a Nazi solider so they can interrogate him on an upcoming attack. The plot was complicated for me to follow, but it was a good story. Maybe watching the movie will help me sort it out?
One beautiful scene:
"He felt the little hands pulling at his head, the innocent young eyes searching his face, and shame washed over him like water. A white person had never touched his face before. Never reached out and stroked him with love, and the force of it, the force of the child's innocence, trust, and purity drew tears to his eyes. He expected to feel nothing when the boy touched him, but instead he felt mercy, he felt humanity, he felt love, harmony, longing, thirst for kindness, yearnings for peace - qualities he'd never known existed in the white man. The boy ran his hand over Train's face and held the big man's nose. His innocent eyes searched Train's, and as their eyes locked, Train could see inside him and saw not derision, or fear, or loathing, but hurt and searching and pain from a thousand indignities."
The soliders are taken in by a group of Italians who are resisting the Nazis; they (the soliders) eventually make contact with their superior officers and are ordered to capture a Nazi solider so they can interrogate him on an upcoming attack. The plot was complicated for me to follow, but it was a good story. Maybe watching the movie will help me sort it out?
One beautiful scene:
"He felt the little hands pulling at his head, the innocent young eyes searching his face, and shame washed over him like water. A white person had never touched his face before. Never reached out and stroked him with love, and the force of it, the force of the child's innocence, trust, and purity drew tears to his eyes. He expected to feel nothing when the boy touched him, but instead he felt mercy, he felt humanity, he felt love, harmony, longing, thirst for kindness, yearnings for peace - qualities he'd never known existed in the white man. The boy ran his hand over Train's face and held the big man's nose. His innocent eyes searched Train's, and as their eyes locked, Train could see inside him and saw not derision, or fear, or loathing, but hurt and searching and pain from a thousand indignities."
Dear Library of Alexandria:
ReplyDeleteIs this book a true story from WW II? I really like your blogging. I'm wondering if you know the non-fiction book, Mothering Across Cultures by A. D. Reyes? Related to you? Have a great day and keep up the interesting blog.
Yes, it's a great book. I've read it twice.
ReplyDeleteDizzy