Customer Reviews

Auslander

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
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"The riveting novel Auslander by Lewis Kelley is an action packed read that will have you hanging on every word. This new author has created a story that actually delves into the politics of soldiers in wartime during 1944."

"Army Lieutenant Vince LaSalle is thrust into a war that takes him across the Atlantic, battling with the enemy as well as being subjected to rejection from his country, due to the color of his skin. After proving how unmatched his skills are Vince LaSalle is recruited for a special mission. Which requires him to rescue the captured members of his team. Who are being held at an enemy camp located in Berlin. He is given explicit orders to rescue these captured agents or to insure that the secrets they hold are kept confidential by all means."

"It is discovered that there is someone or perhaps a group of people divulging confidential information that could jeopardize the success of this rescue mission."

"Vierna is the fiance of Vince, who decides to become a major part in ensuring the safe return of the love of her life, along with the help of Vince's brother and estranged girlfriend. Together united with a host of allies they set out to help complete this potentially deadly mission."

"The author portrays a very descriptive tale in such a manner that the reader will be able to envision the heroic acts by Army Lieutenant Vince LaSalle and others and also the grotesque brutality that is administered by the hands of the enemy."

"This is an exciting novel that will stir up various emotions. From the appreciation of the great love that is shared between Vince and Vierna, to the realization of how brutal war is and highlights the torture that soldiers encounter and endure for the safety of our country."

AUSLANDER is the story of the struggles and triumphs of a black man during World War II. The main character is Army First Lietenant Vince LaSalle who is an over-achieving and honorable soldier. Although the story is fiction, the social situations make for an excellent historical analysis of the struggles and triumphs of black soldiers participating in a war on a Jim Crow basis. The author excellently explores the complexities of race relations among soldiers in the armed forces during the war. The struggles of black soldiers trying to maintain sanity, while having to deal with racism among other soldiers, superiors and civilians is cleverly interwoven in the fabric of the story.

AUSLANDER begins with LaSalle and his fiancée Vierna Lillis spending their final day together in Harlem before he is to go to Europe to join his troops in fighting the war. Almost immediately on the ship traveling toward Europe, LaSalle encounters white soldiers who underestimate his intelligence and integrity. This sets the scene for the same theme to be played throughout the book. Once in Europe, LaSalle briefly joins his troop, only to be quickly recruited by a top-secret military group.

After proving himself more than capable of being part of the special operations team, he was not allowed to join because he is black. After his departure from the group, they are taken captive by the enemy and sent to Germany to be questioned and possibly executed. The trainer of the special agent group realizes the only soldier potentially capable of rescuing the group was LaSalle and he recruits him for a special mission to rescue the agents. While on his mission, he uses all his talents and military expertise to try and rescue the agents, but encounters, racism, betrayal, deceit and deception.

Author Lewis Kelly adds depth to the story by following the Vierna's life. While LaSalle is away at war, she faces her own set of obstacles. From almost being raped by a ghetto drunk, to struggling to focus on her classes at college and dealing with her man being away at war, her story is another within AUSLANDER. In the end, her love for LaSalle will take her across seas to try and save his life.

One of the most important features of AUSLANDER is Kelley's ability to get you to like LaSalle. This is extremely beneficial for the author and reader, because the book is nearly 400 pages long. While reading the book, you want LaSalle to succeed at his mission. This helps you to overlook some of the almost impossible achievements LaSalle makes. I recommend this book for all readers. It is more than just the story of a black soldier's heroism; it is a love story filled with action and adventure.

Reviewed by Granderson Glenn II
for RAWSISTAZ(BMR)

Lewis Kelley has written a book that is historical fiction at its best and that deserves better editing by his publisher. You feel like the story could be happening today, but you gain insight into the times that both reveal and shape the righteous character of Black people in this book, even though the characters are living in a time of war. Vince LaSalle is heroic in his intellectual and physical strength and I like that the author brings authentic historical knowledge to Vince's exploits. Too many times the stories of Black soldiers who played significant roles in winning battles and wars have been written out of our mainstream history books. It's refreshing to read an author who knows that history but who can weave such an engrossing fictional tale. I'm also grateful that Vince and Vierna represent more of the type of Black person that I know on an everyday basis rather than the "Black types" that are much more commonly presented in stereotypical media images and stories today and historically.

Vince and Vierna are such a "power couple" (and what restraint they have!). Thank goodness we have a book that isn't ashamed to demonstrate how deeply Black people love and rely on one another. At the same time, Kelley does a great job of presenting how much European people do accept people "on the content of their character" and are befuddled by U.S. racism toward their own.

I like the play on words of "Auslander" meaning "foreigner" and Vince being a literal foreigner when he's overseas and that he's CONSIDERED a foreigner in his own country.

The last page is such a cliffhanger. A second book has GOT to come out soon. Plus, I want to know more of the story about Vince's brother. He and his platoon (?) have accomplished some amazing things. What's it going to be like for him after the war and back in the States?

This book is a great accomplishment because it successfully merges so many complex themes: social commentary that reveals rather than preaches, romance, characters who grow and evolve, riveting action (it "sizzles" and is also a thriller), and an unstoppable hero who will get "down and dirty" so that the team will survive. What Vince does, in what I hope will be the first in several books with him in them, is a great metaphor for what Black people have meant to this country and the world: he rises above ugly circumstance and takes everyone he touches with him. More power to Lewis Kelley for writing this book.

You should read it for the enjoyment of it, and because it will give you hope and understanding of the best in human beings, and particularly Black people. Don't get me wrong though this is an "everybody wins" book : whether you're Black, White, Asian, Indian or Latino in origin you're going to learn something good about Black people when you read this book and every little bit we can learn about ANY people will help us all move forward as a society and world community.

I think it's the kind of literature we need in the world today. We either move forward in understanding or we're going to tear each other apart. Good books help build understanding and then people have a better sense of how to work together. That's the kind of book Lewis Kelley wrote, and I'm glad to recommend it highly. I tell everyone I know that they should read it.

I actually met Lewis Kelly in Jamaica several months ago. Our wives each own a travel franchise and Lewis and I were along as "trim" on a Familiarization Trip. He is a delightful, sincere, strong, Godly man, much like his main character, the Auslander, Vince LaSalle. The story has an almost unbelievable quality about it until one considers the filth that we now accept as part of living in the 21st century. This is a refreshingly good read.

I love to read...just don't have a lot of time. So when I pick up a book I want it to be "worth my time". "Auslander" was well-worth my time and so much more! It has so many different appeals because it speaks to so many different audiences. I am waiting for the next book from this author as I am sure it will be a winner!

During the heart of World War II, as with most soldiers, a dedicated U.S. Army lieutenant felt compelled to join the service to fight for America's freedom. In reality, the soldier found himself fighting two wars: A war against the Nazis and a war against racism and prejudice abroad. In Auslander, Lt. Vince LaSalle becomes an unlikely hero who is given a mission with impossible odds of success. Failure of the mission meant the Allies possibly losing the war.

When his European allies are captured in the heart of Nazi territory, he is tasked with not only rescuing his comrades and recovering top secret information crucial to the Allies' success, but also entering the territory undetected. Being an African-American soldier, how can he accomplish such a mission without standing out? What horrors await him if he's discovered? Is his faith in God and love for his beloved girlfriend enough to give him the courage to undergo the mission? Is it worth the sacrifice, knowing that betrayal can come even from those in his own camp, due to his race? This is a mission in which Lt. LaSalle may have to risk everything...to include his own life.

Auslander is the type of book that pulls you in from page one. It captures some very real aspects of war at its worst and heroes, regardless of race and ethnicity, at their best. It not only captures the bravery and heroism of Lt. LaSalle, but other heroes who, in overcoming their own prejudices, play a key role in enabling him to undergo his mission.

For his debut book, author Lewis Kelley provides exciting, thorough and descriptive storytelling. He brings it forth in the like manner of a veteran author. His novel is one of intrigue, suspense, action and has a compelling love story that is interwoven throughout the book. Most importantly, it has all the elements that all readers of novels will appreciate. You will care about the characters and feel the story jump out at you as it intensifies. Before you know it, you'll be at the stunning and explosive conclusion that will have you begging for more.

This is a book that you will find hard to put down and therefore it is not to be missed.

This was a well written book, kept me on the edge of my seat, didn't want to put the book down, now I can't wait to read the next book, the ending was a cliff hanger. I was angry at how Vice was treated, but I do understand that was the time. Describes how segregation was a problem in the wartime, and how people had to trust one another no matter how young or old. Great book. I highly recommend it.

Although Aulander takes you to the time period during World War 2, one can see the correlation of struggles through the eyes of the many diverse characters that exist no matter what time period we live in.

Lewis Kelly's development of global characters is amazing. You can see, feel and even identify with the various people and the multitude of nationalities all involved in ridding humanity of a scourge placed on society.

November Hanson, Host of Voice of the People Radio
The author provides a multitude of settings and is able to easily jet you from one location to another through out the story. You might be heavily involved in the activities taking place in London , England and suddenly find your self transported back to the Harlem neighborhoods in New York. Then, suddenly you appear in the South Pacific.

Aulander is an easy read, yet rich in language and character development. The book is entertaining. It can move your emotions, make you laugh, sit on the edge of your seat trying to get to the next page to see what happens next. This story is also educational, using words from other languages when appropriate, information that is historically accurate and learning about the struggles of the African American during World War 2 that High School history books seem to omit.

I am waiting for the next book, I have to know what happens to some of these people. I would also like to see this story on the Big Screen, I could easily visualize the movie as I moved through the book.

Having the opportunity to interview the author, I find him to be as interesting and diverse as the story he has written.

November Hanson, Host of Voice of the People Radio

Reading Auslander was like being on a learning vacation. It is one of those books that you don't want to put down. I felt lost in a world of intrique and action with real characters living real lives. Mr Kelley not only knows his history but digs into parts of it that few know about and fewer seem to talk about. This novel was not only educational it thrills the reader with international deception, nail biting rescues and people you learn to love and cheer for. Mr Kelley has a gift for writing that captures the reader with a wonderful story based on historical events. He injects important facts (the pockets of resistance groups all over Europe and the role and lives of African Americans during this era often overlooked in history books yet vital to our understanding of the whole. He brings to light the untold story of African Americans who fought for America and yet were forced to live as second class citizens for that same country. He reports on the many people in Europe who hated and fought against facism. He tells these truths through people you feel you know..their struggles are human struggles but their convictions and choices make them people who inspire you to be a better human being. Vince is honest and lives by conviction. His intelligence and talents often made me wonder if he was the WWII African American James Bond we never knew about?!) This really is good American History and should be a part of our US History reading list in high schools all over the country. Thank you Mr Kelley. I am waiting with white knuckles for the sequel!!

I have to admit that I am a friend of the author, but being as objective as possible this book was a page-turner!! I lost a lot of sleep for about 4 nights enjoying this book. This is Louis Kelley's freshman novel and is a fantastic foundation for many more to come. Try it and you won't regret it!