Men With Broken Faces is the story of an
American soldier, Morgan Feeney, and his
comrades during WWI. The story covers from enlistment to his return after the
war.
In the early part of
the story I thought Ostby had ignored many of the horrors that the soldiers
experienced in WWI but he skilfully builds his story to dramatically describe
life for the soldiers in the trenches of France.
The story, and the
post war traumas continues after Feeney returns home to take up farming in
Montana. Once back Feeney experiences post war stress and anxiety similar those
who return from Vietnam.
Men With Broken Faces is an excellent,
well researched story. The author’s skill of vividly describing action scenes
gives an all too true clarity. It is not just a story of war but its impact on the
survivors’ post war. Ostby even manages to include a good dose of romance.
Unlike many WWI
stories this is not heavy going and would be an excellent read for a generation
of students not familiar with the history of WWI.
My rating 4*
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