the long walk west

Skeletons at the Feast by Chris Bohjalian
Rating: 4 stars (out of 5)
Genre: historical fiction
Challenge: A-Z (title)
Review: This book is something of a departure for Bohjalian, since it doesn't take place in the northeast United States of today. Instead, it takes place during the end of WWII in Europe. As in his other books, though, Bohjalian is not afraid to ask difficult questions in subtle but inescapable manner.

Through the eyes of the daughter of a Prussian aristocratic family fleeing the Russian advance, a Scottish POW, and a German Jew who is masquerading as a German soldier, Bohjalian explores the nature of revenge and collective guilt. Interspersed with the story of their trek west through Germany, is the story of a group of women being marched in the same direction from a Nazi labor camp, through which Bohjalian explores hope and survival.

This book is not a romance, no matter what the publisher may claim. But it is a compelling and well-told story about the relationships that can develop between people who initially think they're on opposite sides of a war.

philosophy lite

In the Land of Second Chances by George Shaffner
Rating: 3 stars (out of 5)
Genre: fiction
Summary/Review: I just did not know what to make of this book. The voices of the characters are very well-written, I could hear the Midwestern small-town twang in so much of the dialogue and narration. And if the book had been a story of small-town life, I probably would have loved it. But this is the story of how Vernon Moore comes to this small town and allegedly changes the lives of so many of its residents. Moore's origins are a mystery, as is what he's actually doing in the town. But while he's there, he manages to convince several residents to have hope in the existence of God and an afterlife, all through using rational thought and mathematical probability. Knowing that Shaffner has also written a non-fiction book on the same subject made me feel as though I'd been tricked into reading a lecture. Nonetheless, the book is well-written and, for the most part, a pleasant way to read about the author's philosophical ideas. Still, I would have liked to see more about the characters, not to say some character development that could be explained by something in addition to the revelations from the entire town's new best friend, Vernon Moore.