Children of a Good War by Jack Woodville London ~ a Review #MondayBlogs

by Susan Roberts

This is the third book of a trilogy called FRENCH LETTERS. I have not read the first two books and was able to read Book 3 as a standalone with minimal confusion. After reading book 3, I plan to go back and read the first 2 books in the trilogy to get more background information on some of the characters.

Amazon affiliate links are used on this site. A free book was provided for an honest review.

November 2018; Vire Press; 978-0990612186
ebook, print (442 pages); historical

Children of a Good War begins in 1986 when an old doctor falls to his death during his daily walk from the nursing home where he and his wife have recently moved to. At their father's funeral, two estranged brothers, Peter and Frank, have angry words with each other and part on bad terms. Peter has always been the golden boy - he is a Pan Am pilot and is remembered in the town they grew up in as a football hero and is still popular and rather cocky. Frank is remembered in town as a loser. He works at a small newspaper writing columns about things that he doesn't care much about and is writing a novel about his time in Vietnam. After Peter once again calls Frank a bastard whose father brought him back from France after WWII and some old letters are found, Frank decides to find out the truth and goes to France. As secrets are uncovered in both brother's lives, it changes their views not only of their parents but of themselves.

As I was reading this book, I felt like there were too many characters and sub-plots.  There were stories about WWII, about the brothers in high school, about Vietnam plus lots of background about their wives and parents and friends.  However, once the author wrapped up all of the loose ends at the end of the novel, all of the sub-plots made sense as they fed into the ending.  AND - the ending was absolutely perfect.

Buy Children of a Good War at Amazon

Also, pick up the first two books in the French Letters series at Amazon:
Virginia's War
Engaged in War

Question for the author:

Is there a message or theme in your novel that you want readers to grasp?
I hope that the notion comes through that finding out who we are is something each of us must find out for himself or herself;  while we may not know who are parents are We almost never know who they were.

Awards:

Best Novel of the Year — Military Writers Society of America
Best Novel of the South — Willie Morris, Finalist
Best Novel with a Romantic Element — Dear Author, Finalist

Susan Roberts lives in North Carolina when she isn't traveling. She and her husband enjoy traveling, gardening and spending time with their family and friends. She reads almost anything (and the piles of books in her house prove that) but her favorite genres are Southern fiction, women's fiction, and thrillers. Susan is a top 1% Goodreads Reviewer. You can connect with Susan on Facebook, Goodreads, or Twitter. 

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