Originally posted to my Tumblr
This was Jessi Doke’s selection for book club. I came into this book with some assumptions...
1) This is going to be a hard read.
2) This thing is long.
3) Laura Hillenbrand...Seabiscuit...maybe...not my thing? Which was very unfair to Ms. Hillenbrand, because I hadn’t even read any of her books.
I actually listened to this book on audio book, which I checked out at the Norfolk Public Library. I CANNOT say enough about the awesomeness of the narrator, Edward Herrmann. You might recognize his voice. He played the Dad Vampire in The Lost Boys. He was also the Grandpa on Gilmore Girls. Seriously. Fantastic narration.
This book basically took me out of life for a week, consuming every moment (other than work), until the book was done. It was that good.
The biggest surprise was this book was actually quite hilarious. Second, there’s so much more to this story than what I expected. I thought it was a story about being a POW in WWII. It’s so much more. My friend, Paula Priebe, brilliantly described this as a story of resilience, and the enormity of what a human soul can endure and survive.
Personally, I loved Louie Zamperini’s impertinence. I loved the stories of the men in the prison camps fighting back in the ways they could: stealing rice and plotting to kill “The Bird.” I am impertinent at heart. If I see everyone around me doing X, I will do Y on a matter of principle.
MOVIE v. BOOK: Book. Hands down. The movie is only a small snapshot of the book. It does not capture all that’s going on here.
OVERVIEW: Rebellious child finds purpose in running. Becomes Olympian. Is drafted into WWII Army Air Force. Survives plane crash over Pacific and many days adrift at sea. Survives internment as Japanese prisoner of war. Returns home to face PTSD and alcoholism. Recovery. Forgiveness.
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