Memoirs of an Infantry Officer

Siegfried Sassoon. Memoirs of an Infantry Officer: The Memoirs of George Sherston. New York: Coward, McCann. 1930. Print.

First Sentences:

I have said that Spring arrived late in 1916, and that up in the trenches opposite Mametz it seemed as though Winter would last for ever. I also stated that as for me, I had more or less made up my mind to die because in the circumstances there didn't seem anything else to be done.


Description:

Siegfried Sassoon's Memoirs of an Infantry Officer, has been considered the greatest book about World War I ever written. Sassoon, was a writer of dreamy poetic verse until the War came. Then, at age 28, he became an second lieutenant in the British cavalry and sent to the front lines in France where he soon became noted for his compassion for the men serving under him. 

 

Details abound as readers experience every aspect of war through the eyes of British Officer Georege Sherston, Sassoon's fictionalized version of himself. Sherston/Sassoon watch and enter into battles both with his men or alone, with bullets and bombs all around him. The barb wire he confronts is real in Sherston's depictions, as are the smell of chemicals, gun powder, sickness and death. Truly, readers are taken into the trenches to join Sherston and his men live hour by hour in the trenches.

Well, here I was, and my incomplete life might end any minute; for although the evening air was as quiet as a cathedral, a canister soon came over quite enough to shake my meditations with is unholy crash and cloud of black smoke. A rat scampered across the tin cans and burst sandbags, and trench atmosphere reasserted itself in a smell of chloride of lime.

After the death of a friend, however, Sherston turned into "Mad Jack," looking for vengeance against the Germans through carrying out reckless forays behind lines. He was eventually wounded and sent back to England. There, he contemplated the futility and fraud of war and wrote completely different anti-war poetry.

 

In real life, while recovering from his wounds, Sassoon refused to return to the War, publishing his statement in "A Soldier's Declaration." Here he protested the sanitized version of the war promoted by the government, and stating his personal reasons for "refusing to serve further in the army." That powerful anti-war letter is published in full here in Memoirs of an Infantry Officer. Its opening lines are below:

I am making this statement as an act of wilful defiance of military authority, because I believe that the war is being deliberately prolonged by those who have the power to end it. ...I believe that this war, upon which I entered as a war of defense and liberation, has now become a war of aggression and conquest....

This is the second of three books in Sassoon's fictionalized autobiography series, centering on Sherston, a shy British country gentleman who only knows of horses, cricket, and golf, but finds himself in the trenches of Somme and other battles in the heart of World War I.

 

Powerful, yet beautifully written very penetrating eye witness account of what Sassoon experienced on the front lines, the confidence, the bravery, the horrid conditions, the disillusionment, and the eventual bitterness that led to Sassoon's future anti-war writings. 

 

For any history buff, you cannot go wrong with this realistic depiction of the men, battles, and conditions of World War I. Highest recommendation.

Next evening, just before stand-to, I was watching a smouldering sunset and thinking that the sky was one of the redeeming features of the war. 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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If this book interests you, be sure to check out:

Crane, Stephen. The Red Badge of Courage.   

The classic narrative novel of the dreams, fears, and disillusionment of a common soldier fighting in the United States Civil War.

 

Rogue Male

Household, Geoffrey. Rogue Male. New York: New York Review of Books 1939. Print.

First Sentences:

 

I cannot blame them. After all, one doesn't need a telescopic sight to shoot boar and bear; so that when they came on me watching the terrace at a range of five hundred and fifty yards, it was natural enough that they should jump to conclusions. And they behaved, I think, with discretion.

Description:

Geoffrey Household's Rogue Male came to my attention because it was repeatedly mentioned in another great book, The Ministry of Time. One of the men, slated to be killed in World War I, was snatched by this experimental Ministry to prove people could be relocated to the present from the past, and also study how these people would adapt to the modern age. And during his time in his new, unfamiliar world of the present, this time traveler was continually reading Rogue Male so many times that the cover fell off. 

 

Now that is a book I just had to explore.

 

Written in 1939, Rogue Male opens with an unnamed British gentleman sportsman lining up his high-powered rifle sights on an unnamed, vicious European foreign leader. As he narrates in this novel, he is unexpectedly apprehended and "questioned," all the while claiming he was just performing an intellectual challenge  just testing whether a skilled hunter could break through this leader's security. This internationally-known hunter escapes his enemies, only to begin months of pursuit and survival.

 

He is doggedly pursued by two men whom, as fellow huntsmen, he cannot shake. He faces confrontations and close escapes, sometimes even confronting them face to face, as he uses his ample wits to flee from one hiding place to another. He must use all his hunting skills avoid capture and, if caught, to insure there is no tie-in to the British government as responsible for his "assassination attempt," even though it was only a mental challenge for him.

And dawn, I think, is the hour when the pariah goes out....It is the hour of the outlawed, the persecuted, the damned, for no man was ever born who could not feel some shade of hope if he were in open country with the sun about to rise.

There is a strong sense of honor, of British dignity, loyalty to country, and general life in rural parts of Europe that provide the backbone of the novel. The narration by the sportsman is formal, clipped, and gripping, although always seeming in control. Heis words and thoughts reminded me a bit of a James Bond figure but without any weapons, gadgets, or exotic locations. Just clear, organized thoughts about his next steps and potential consequences.

 

It is a fairly short book, only 182 pages, but written with such beautiful language that it was a pleasure to spend time enveloped in the mind and words on a pre-WW II British gentleman on the run. Highly recommended for lovers of intrigue, thrillers, survival, and wondrous language.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Howarth, David. We Die Alone.   

Twelve men try to sabotage a German military post in northern Norway, but only one survives the mission. He swims through freezing water and is forced to elude enemy pursuers through icy Norway, without boots, gloves, shelter, or friends. Riveting true survival story (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 450 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Memory

Westlake, Donald. Memory. New York: Dorchester 2010. Print.

First Sentences:

 

After the show, they went back to the hotel room, and to bed, for the seventeenth time in three weeks. He had chosen her because, being on the road with him, she was handy; and additionally because she was married, had already clipped the winds of one male, and could therefore demand nothing more from hm than he was willing to give. Why she had chosen him he neither knew nor cared. 

Description:

It's always sad to realize that you have read the last new publication from a beloved author due to that person's death. Fortunately, in the case of one of my all-time favorite writers, Donald Westlake was a hugely prolific writer, producing detective novels, thrillers, humorous crime tales, and short stories in abundance under multiple pseudonyms. 

One of his final novels, Memory, originally written in 1963 and published posthumously in 2010, was recently reissued in coordination with the newly-released film The Actor. I had never heard of this book and eagerly swooped in to read it. And boy, what a ride. No crime, not much humor, just a character study of a man lost in the world of the 1950s, trying to regain his memory and former life.

Of course, it starts off with a bang. In the first two paragraphs, Paul Cole is discovered in bed with a woman by the woman's husband who raises a chair as if to hit Paul. Paragraph three has Paul awakening in a hospital, not knowing who he is or how he wound up in a hospital with only his clothes and wallet to give him any hints of his former life. He is diagnosed with temporary amnesia which he is assured will soon go away, and released into the world. Armed with a New York driver's license showing his presumed home address, Paul decides to try to travel there to see whether that city and possible people he once knew can jog his memory and help him resume his life.

But he only has enough money to get part way to New York. He decides to take a bus as far as he can, landing in Jeffords, Ohio, with no job, no money, no acquaintances, and no place to live. He frustratingly finds it difficult to explain to people his amnesia, remember appointments and people's names. Reminder notes soon plaster his rented room to help him manage his daily life.

All the while, he is trying, with mixed success and setbacks, to gather enough money to head to New York where he hopes to find answers.

While this description may sound mundane, it is the very ordinariness of Paul Cole and his fragmented memory coping with minor and major everyday challenges that gently, firmly pull readers into Paul's life and mind. You cannot help but turn pages to see whether he will succeed or fail in each situation, with each person, and whether his hopes of regaining his memory in Jeffords or New York will be realized.

Westlake is an incredibly gifted story-teller, and Memory is no exception. It is highly recommended by me for its unique plot, character development, challenging situations faced, and the repercussions Cole faces based on his decisions made. Westlake is at his best in this novel.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Elizabeth Moon. The Speed of Dark

Autistic tech workers with high skills in determining computer patters in programming are offered the chance to correct their autism symptoms and lead the lives without the challenges they face daily. But in this process, they might lose their pattern-recognition skills, and more importantly their former memories, personality, and possibly even friends. Thought-provoking and totally involving, this fascinating story follows one central character as he struggles with this decision. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 450 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

 

Beautiful Ugly

Feeney, Alice. Beautiful Ugly. New York: Flatiron. 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

 

If all we need is love, why do we always want more? I dial her number. Again. Finally she answers.

Description:

I think Alice Feeney is one of my favorite "soft" thriller writers. Author of the twisty, gripping books Sometimes I Lie and Rock, Paper, Scissors among others, she takes ordinary people, often couples, and explores their personalities, relationships, dreams, and foibles that lead them into very tense, maybe threatening situations. No ax murders here, just edge-of-your-seat, something-funny-is-going-on-here, don't-know-what's-behind-that-door-that-I'm-about-to-foolishly-open kind of situation found on every page.  

 

Feeney's newest thriller, Beautiful Ugly is another fantastic read, full of sudden surprises, quirky characters, unexpected plot twists, and slightly unnerving settings. It opens with an author, Grady Green, talking on the phone with his wife while she is driving home to see him. She suddenly says she sees a body in the road and will stop to help. Grady warns her not to get out of the car, to stay safe, but she gets out anyways. That is the last she is heard from.

One year later, Grady is struggling. He desperately misses his best friend wife. He cannot afford mortgage payments on their house, so moves to a cheap hotel while trying to write the second novel he is contracted to produce (and has spent the advance for).

Fortunately, his publishing agent has inherited a small "writing cabin" from a former writer/client on a remote island in Scotland. She feels Grady needs a quiet environment to produce his required novel, and the cabin might be just what he needs. She will sponsor him with her own money for a few months in hopes he can free himself from his block and produce a new book.

But once settled into the luxurious cabin Grady makes a discovery that might change his fortune, despite the far-ranging risks involved. While considering which path to follow, he begins to notice strange things about the island and its people. With no phone coverage, no internet, and not way of communicating with the non-island world, Grady soon feels an unease that makes him question his sanity.

All this happens in the first few pages, so I am not giving away the real plot that unfolds from this point. Alice Feeney is the master of her characters glimpsing things out of the corner of their eye, reading questions into seemingly ordinary situations, and misinterpreting everyday conversations. 

All this leads to a very tense, unputdownable story. It only reveals its secrets in the final pages, and even then there are several completely unpredictable revelations.

I really enjoyed letting this plot, characters, and environment engulf me completely. Pick it up if you like to follow a lead character experience confidence, questions, suspicion, anger, and uncertainty in his life among an unusual village full of quirky townspeople that he cannot quite figure out if they or he is crazy. 

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie.   

A woman wakes from a coma without any memory of how she got there or anything about her past few months. She cannot talk or move, so people visiting her do now know she can hear them. Slowly from their conversations and foggy memories, she begins to piece together incidents that led to her hospitalization and current situation, and not everything she learns is positive. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 450 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Cross My Heart

Collins, Megan. Cross My Heart. New York: Atria 2025. Print.

First Sentences:

 

Hi,

I've decided there's no way to begin this message that isn't either [1] creepy or [2] awkward, so I'm just going to dive right into the Creepy/Awkward Pool and hope I don't drown.

One year ago today, your wife saved my life. And it breaks my heart that, in order for me to live, she first had to die. 

Description:

OK, I'm only going to tell you the premise of Megan Collins' Cross My Heart and what happens on the opening few pages. That's all you're going to get because this is a genuine thriller with more red herrings and twisty-turns than Perseus and the Minotaur together couldn't put together. Any more details from me would only spoil your own adventure into this riveting story, one that I highly recommend.

Here's some nutshell details to get your interest peaked. Rosie Lachlan, the writer of the opening text message above, had received a heart transplant over a year ago. Somehow, she learned the identity of the anonymous donor: the wife of a local celebrity author who happens to live in Rosie's own suburban town.

With her opening letter to Morgan Thorne, the author, and the clever, bantering return message from him, Rosie dreams this man definitely could be the answer to the depression she endures after her fiancé broke up with her before her heart transplant.

I didn't think of surviving as something I'd do -- actively, with intention. I thought of it as something that may or may not happen to me, a think like the weather, completely beyond my control.

This all is in just the first few pages.

What author Collins so skillfully presents then is how this relationship between the heart recipient and the donor's widowed husband plays out. Despite warnings from her best friend, Nina, the email exchanges continue. Rosie obsesses over Morgan in her mind, walks her parents' dog past his house to possibly catch a glimpse of him, and even sees him while in a local coffee shop, debating in her mind a scenario where she could "accidently" bump into him to actually meet and talk with him. She researches everything about him from his writings to interviews to podcasts in order to learn everything about him.

But Rosie dismisses the few rumors about Morgan's relationship with his wife and how her accidental death might not have been what it seemed. Other characters enter Rosie's life, each one contributing a bit more information (good and questionable) about the man, but she keeps her dreams about a potential relationship with him secret.

Or does she? Is she really just dreaming about him or is she actually meeting him on the sly, away from her co-workers', friend's and parent's knowledge? And is Morgan the perfect man she learns about or someone else?

The risk seemed worth the reward.

You may think you can guess where this story is going, a kind of Play Misty for Me stalker tale that ends badly for the relationship. But I am here to tell you that Collins has a lot of surprises to spring on you throughout Cross My Heart at the most unexpected moments. Enough quirky plotlines that made me want to read this book straight through, trying to figure out what the next page would reveal.

That's it. Enough said on my part. I really loved this book and highly recommend it for its seemingly straightforward, if obsessive plot that halfway through turns everything on its head and doesn't let up until the very last page. 

Go get it and be entertained/duped/delighted in the most unexpected ways. Highest recommendation.

You have his wife's heart.....You can't have her life, too.

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Feeney, Alice. Sometimes I Lie.   

A woman awakens from a coma with no memory of how she got there. She can hear everything that is going on around her, but cannot move or otherwise respond. Visitors talk to each other about her situation and slowly she begins to piece together her history and remember ... but what she remembers may not really be what happened, nor the people around her who they say they are. Riveting. (Previously reviewed here)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 450 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).

 

Hotel Lucky Seven

Isaka, Kotaro. Hotel Lucky Seven. New York: Overlook 2024. Print.

First Sentences:

 

It's Room 415 right? 

Description:

Ever since I read Kotaro Isaka's Bullet Train, I have been addicted to his four-book series about quirky Japanese Assassins. His newest thriller, Hotel Lucky Seven, continues the dark humor mis-adventures of Nanao, code-named "Ladybug." He is tasked by his superior to perform a simple task: deliver a birthday painting from his daughter to a man in Room 2016 located in the elegant Winton Palace Hotel. What could be easier for the self-described unluckiest assassin in the world? Well, everything.

 

First, the man in the room seems suspicious as to why he is receiving a portrait that is not of him. Nanao also is wary in general due to his profession as a hit man, and thinks this delivery may possibly be some sort of trap to harm him. Sure enough, when Nanao is leaving the room, the hotel man rushes at him with arms outstretched as if to strangle him from behind. But the hotel man trips, falls, and hits his head on a table, killing him. 

 

Was this man another "professional" tasked to kill Nanao or merely surprised by Nanao, and decided to end any possible threat to himself? Ladybug realizes he mis-read the room number as "2010" when it was actually "2016" where the true recipient of the portrait probably awaits. Nanao/Ladybug sees it as just another of his simple tasks unluckily complicated by circumstances, just like on the Bullet Train.

 

And so it starts. Ladybug's mistake and resulting accident occur in the first few pages, but set in motion circumstances that just keep building. While beating a hasty retreat to the elevator and escape, Ladybug rescues a young woman, Kamino, from nefarious pursuers. He learns from her that their mission is to kidnap her and then tap into secrets held in her perfect memory that forgets nothing. Especially passwords which someone would rather not have unleashed into the world.

 

Soon the hotel is crawling with assassins on different missions. Many have rather silly nickname, such as the teams of Blanket and Pillow who clean up criminal scenes, Soda and Cola, the explosive experts. Others are more straightforward in their identities: the blowgun-wielding Six and the elderly woman, Koko, who can erase your past and set a person up with a completely untraceable new life. 

 

All these deadly strangers chase after or try to escape each other, like an old film where corridor doors open and shut as occupants look for friends or enemies. While there is certainly some killing and always the threat of death, Hotel Lucky Seven  has a rather dry sense of humor about it, much like a Keystone Kops film as characters miss each other by seconds or are captured, only to reverse fortunes on their antogonist.

 

I admit, this kind of scenario is not for everyone. But for anyone who enjoy a thriller with oddball characters with uniquely deadly skills who are trapped in unusual situations, Isaka and his Assassins series of books are definitely for you. Well-written, gripping, unexpected, and overall satisfying, Hotel Lucky Seven is the right kind of read for the adventurous reader.

 

[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:] 

  

Isaka, Kotaro. Bullet Train.   

Unlucky Nanao/Ladybug is tasked with another simple job where absolutely nothing could go wrong. Just board a specific Bullet Train, pick up a suitcase from the rack, and get off at the next station. But unbeknownst to him, that particular suitcase has great value to many people, including a trainload of other assassins who encounter and try to deal with each other and the suitcase without other passengers being alerted. Fascinating. (Previously reviewed here.)

Happy reading.

Fred

 

Click here to browse over 435 more book recommendations by subject or title

(and read the introduction to The First Sentence Reader).