I've read a fair amount of literature connected to World War II -- I'm a male over fifty, after all; it's obligatory. I have generally stayed away from fiction related to the war, figuring there's enough non-fiction out there that tells the stories of individuals involved, whether it's Art Spiegelman's "Maus" or "The Good War" by Studs Terkel.
But reading "The Road to Freedom" helped me hark back to the time I did read fiction set during wartime, particularly Anne Holm's "North to Freedom" and "Snow Treasure" by Marie McSwigan. Shawn Pollock's "The Road to Freedom" isn't necessarily written with children in mind (as are the two other books mentioned in this paragraph) but the tale told has the versimilitude, tone, and narrative style I'd associate with the best World War II ficton I've read, right up to Markus Zusak's "The Book Thief," which I read last year.
That one of the main character is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints adds a personal connection that makes the book that much more enjoyable to me.
Don't be scared off by that -- the book isn't preachy in any way. A character in the book happens to be a "Mormon" and that plays into the story, showing one character anchored in a religious-based morality that helps him keep his head together as other characters in the book swim about in events and lives without a defined moral compass, though some characters' compasses are stronger than others, or at least pointed in a more humane direction.
What the story stresses to me above all is that we need to set our values now, and not let them bend despite the circumstances we find ourselves in. That can be harder to do than we like to think -- I had a weak moment this past week and did not live up to my values. I have repented of my fault. Reading this book and the battles the characters fight hors de combat made my own experience more meaningful to me as I look to right my own compass.
No comments:
Post a Comment