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My War With Hemingway James Charles 9781624201158 Books

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Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. He enrolls in college where he falls in love with Jessica, a young woman from a wealthy family. Her love stabilizes him, and Hemingway’s appearances become less frequent, until she doesn’t return to school after break. He confronts her father who tells him he is not to see her again. Alone, haunted by the wars, and with his friend Hemingway pestering him, he descends into alcoholism. Teaming up with one of Zach’s army buddies, and in defiance of her parents, Jessica searches for him. But will they find him in time to save his life? And is her love enough to help him find redemption?

My War With Hemingway James Charles 9781624201158 Books

This book was, I must admit, very uncomfortable for me to read.
That's probably because, in many ways, I identified strongly with its central character.
Like its protagonist, Zach Powell, I am a veteran; though I did my two tours as a rifleman and later as an infantry adviser in Vietnam and not in Iraq or Afghanistan. Like him, I came home from the war determined to get on with my life; to be "normal."
Like him, I was a journalist.
And, like him, I long denied that the war had affected me in any substantive way.
The similarities don't end there.
Like Zach, I could not stay away from conflict.
He goes to Egypt during the dangerous days of the Arab Spring, for example.
I lived undercover with white supremacists when I worked for a paper in Buffalo; I covered civil unrest in and - later - the invasion of Panama; I covered Operation Desert Storm from the desert by posing as a National Guardsman from Florida; I went to Haiti and was once yanked off a bus in the middle of the night by soldiers who threatened to shoot me if I did not pay them off (I didn't.) A photographer and I rode out Hurricane Andrew in a pick-up truck; another photographer and I rode out Hurricane Rita in an SUV. There were many other assignments like that over my nearly 50 years as a journalist because if it was dangerous I not only volunteered for the assignment I did everything but throw a fit if I was not given permission to go.
Zach and I differ, however, in some key respects.
He is an alcoholic.
I seldom drink; have, in fact, only been drunk twice in my life and both times were while I was in the Army.
He has to be dragged into rehab and counseling.
After many years of denying I needed help, I went voluntarily. Three failed marriages, a dozen failed relationships and the certain knowledge that there was never going to be a time and place where I could get enough action to satisfy my need to be back in combat convinced me that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not something that I could deal with on my own.
I note all this because, while this book was uncomfortable for me to read it was also - I think - important that I did.
And I think it is important that other veterans, regardless of where or when they served, do as well.
Why?
Well, for one, author James Charles, himself a veteran, has chosen an interesting way to tell Zach's story by having his hero periodically converse with the spirit (?) of Ernest Hemingway. This ghost or spirit or hallucination of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author appears to Zach in seedy motel rooms, in his bedroom, at the houses of friends, in bars and on the road. Zach doesn't consciously summon the writer and there are times when he wishes Hemingway would appear but he does not.
It's an intriguing literary device and, I believe, an effective one because it allows Charles to insert some of Hemingway's best observations on love, life and war into the story without disrupting the narrative.
That narrative occasionally stretches the bounds of my belief beyond the point at which I am prepared to suspend it, however.
There is an incident in Georgia involving a friend of his from the Army, for example: A hostage situation that has brought local police and the FBI into the act. Zach, in New York at the time, makes hurried flight plans and arrives at the scene in time to be involved in it. I dealt with local cops and FBI agents for many years and I never saw them allow a civilian to get involved in hostage negotiations unless they were family members and, even then, only by telephone. An Army buddy arriving at such a scene would have been quietly shuffled off to a rear area, perhaps pumped for some information but never allowed to be intimately involved.
Overriding those concerns of mine, however, were the author's very descriptive scenes of men in combat and men in the throes of substance abuse. I volunteered for many years at Attica and at veterans centers - both public and private - and saw firsthand the way substance abuse turned men into hollow versions of themselves. I can say that Charles has very accurately described what it's like to be in combat in a war zone and in combat with your inner self once you come home.
This is an important book, not only for veterans but for everyone because, the truth is, as Hemingway once said: “For what are we born if not to aid one another?”
Charles is, I think, trying to do just that.

Product details Paperback 346 pages Publisher Rogue Phoenix Press (October 15, 2015) Language English ISBN-10 1624201156

Tags : My War With Hemingway [James Charles] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Zach, a young veteran, contemplates suicide after a horrific tour in Afghanistan when Ernest Hemingway appears and stops him. He enrolls in college where he falls in love with Jessica,James Charles,My War With Hemingway,Rogue Phoenix Press,1624201156,Fiction - General,Fiction Literary,Literary
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My War With Hemingway James Charles 9781624201158 Books Reviews

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this novel. It was hard to put down at night as it was a very relevant and interesting story. The author has described events and things so beautifully, that I felt like I was there. The battle scenes are not overdone, but told honestly. I never felt squeamish at all. The romance was not fake or unrealistic, but tastefully written. Most of us have no idea what a person with PTSD goes through and the author takes us on a journey that most of us can't comprehend. It was a very descriptive journey of a soldier trying to cope with what has happened in his life. It tells of the camaraderie of a bunch of young men assigned to the same unit. It tells of how they become brothers in life after leaving the service. You need to buy this book and read for yourself!
A friend recommended this book to me. I wasn't sure it was my kind of read -PTSD and war. But I was almost immediately sucked into the story of a damaged young man who converses with Hemingway at the most critical moments of his life. That could sound odd, but the dialogue of the conversations rang so true to everything I have read about this author that they became my favorite part of the book. James Charles writes in a style not unlike Hemingway - straightforward and devoid of flowery descriptions. Whether it is his norm or a style adopted for this book only, it was very successful here. I literally had trouble setting this novel aside to do ordinary things like eat and sleep! Of course, the flashbacks to Afghanistan are vivid and difficult to bear, but the deep friendships among the marines gave the reader an element of humanity to cling to. And in the end, this is a sweet love story. The conclusion was fairly simple, but by then I was so involved in these fictional lives, I was ready for a "happily ever after".
War, soldiers, PTSD, and … Hemingway… the battles within and without each of the characters in James Charles’ novel takes the reader on an unexpected ride from the first page. His writing style perpetuates a co-witness account of the events of his main character’s life. This intimate ride-along with Zachary Powell as a young soldier and veteran spiraling into alcoholism is honest and brutal. He fights to rebuild his life and those of his army buddies. The only one who really knows his internal battle is a companion only he can see, but whom the reader will recognize- Ernest Hemingway. I don’t want to give away anymore of the story because its unexpected twists from page to page need to be experienced as the story unfolds. Even with the grittiness, violence, language, and graphic scenes, the candid and unvarnished look at Zachary, his war buddies, and those who love them is a must read for all Americans. It doesn’t matter if you agree or disagree with his disillusionment or conclusions. We still have the right to agree or disagree because of our military preserving those rights. I like Zach beyond his service as a soldier. He is a good friend, a writer, a reader of literature, likes old movies, and has a heart that loves one woman to heart-wrenching depths. The story reminds us to see the person behind the uniform. We owe them unspeakable gratitude and support once they get home. They preserve our way of life.
The American dream— the democracy, the freedom, the lifestyle, and the rights— aren’t possible without those who pay the cost. It goes deeper than the politics and the monetary; it is the sacrifice of humanity that saves humanity. Our country’s early soldiers (my own relatives among them) fought on American soil. Since that time, our military has secured our country within and far from our shores. Unfortunately, the shared sacrifice citizens made on the home front for the success of our troops has dwindled since World War II, along with the support of and for the returning veterans. The military families make the sacrifices during deployment and continue once their battle-changed men and women come home. The modern way of “if it’s broken, just get a new one” does not, and should not apply to people, especially not our military.
I give MY WAR WITH HEMINGWAY by James Charles five stars.
This book was, I must admit, very uncomfortable for me to read.
That's probably because, in many ways, I identified strongly with its central character.
Like its protagonist, Zach Powell, I am a veteran; though I did my two tours as a rifleman and later as an infantry adviser in Vietnam and not in Iraq or Afghanistan. Like him, I came home from the war determined to get on with my life; to be "normal."
Like him, I was a journalist.
And, like him, I long denied that the war had affected me in any substantive way.
The similarities don't end there.
Like Zach, I could not stay away from conflict.
He goes to Egypt during the dangerous days of the Arab Spring, for example.
I lived undercover with white supremacists when I worked for a paper in Buffalo; I covered civil unrest in and - later - the invasion of Panama; I covered Operation Desert Storm from the desert by posing as a National Guardsman from Florida; I went to Haiti and was once yanked off a bus in the middle of the night by soldiers who threatened to shoot me if I did not pay them off (I didn't.) A photographer and I rode out Hurricane Andrew in a pick-up truck; another photographer and I rode out Hurricane Rita in an SUV. There were many other assignments like that over my nearly 50 years as a journalist because if it was dangerous I not only volunteered for the assignment I did everything but throw a fit if I was not given permission to go.
Zach and I differ, however, in some key respects.
He is an alcoholic.
I seldom drink; have, in fact, only been drunk twice in my life and both times were while I was in the Army.
He has to be dragged into rehab and counseling.
After many years of denying I needed help, I went voluntarily. Three failed marriages, a dozen failed relationships and the certain knowledge that there was never going to be a time and place where I could get enough action to satisfy my need to be back in combat convinced me that Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was not something that I could deal with on my own.
I note all this because, while this book was uncomfortable for me to read it was also - I think - important that I did.
And I think it is important that other veterans, regardless of where or when they served, do as well.
Why?
Well, for one, author James Charles, himself a veteran, has chosen an interesting way to tell Zach's story by having his hero periodically converse with the spirit (?) of Ernest Hemingway. This ghost or spirit or hallucination of the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize-winning author appears to Zach in seedy motel rooms, in his bedroom, at the houses of friends, in bars and on the road. Zach doesn't consciously summon the writer and there are times when he wishes Hemingway would appear but he does not.
It's an intriguing literary device and, I believe, an effective one because it allows Charles to insert some of Hemingway's best observations on love, life and war into the story without disrupting the narrative.
That narrative occasionally stretches the bounds of my belief beyond the point at which I am prepared to suspend it, however.
There is an incident in Georgia involving a friend of his from the Army, for example A hostage situation that has brought local police and the FBI into the act. Zach, in New York at the time, makes hurried flight plans and arrives at the scene in time to be involved in it. I dealt with local cops and FBI agents for many years and I never saw them allow a civilian to get involved in hostage negotiations unless they were family members and, even then, only by telephone. An Army buddy arriving at such a scene would have been quietly shuffled off to a rear area, perhaps pumped for some information but never allowed to be intimately involved.
Overriding those concerns of mine, however, were the author's very descriptive scenes of men in combat and men in the throes of substance abuse. I volunteered for many years at Attica and at veterans centers - both public and private - and saw firsthand the way substance abuse turned men into hollow versions of themselves. I can say that Charles has very accurately described what it's like to be in combat in a war zone and in combat with your inner self once you come home.
This is an important book, not only for veterans but for everyone because, the truth is, as Hemingway once said “For what are we born if not to aid one another?”
Charles is, I think, trying to do just that.