Customer Reviews

Echoes from the Infantry: A Novel

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read the simple, humbling story of ECHOES FROM THE INFANTRY with a creepy feeling of, this could have been my whole life. I'm from long Island too, the oldest son of a veteran of World War II, the Greatest Generation. In present day Long Island, three brothers gather together in their parents' house to decide what to do with the old man in the wake of their beloved mother's death. The oldest, John, suffered the most from his dad's coldness and cruelty, though now he's a harmless wreck who just sits around, emotionally unavailable as ever. John volunteers to help clear up the attic and stumbles across the letters that his dad, James McCreary, had written to his mother during the long years he spent overseas, in France, in Germany, and in a POW camp. What he finds shocks him, a man who was once quivering with nerve endings, alive to joy and sorrow alike, not the undead hulk who became the father of three children he didn't know how to love.

Nappi establishes the frame story well, but you can tell he'd rather be back in the past--perhaps it's less painful than the present for a survivor.

You've seen McCreary's squadron a million times before, the squad clown, the Italian American loudmouth from Brooklyn, the twitchy weirdo with a secret, the softhearted sergeant with the foul mouth. They mix it up, they progress through the coldest European winter ever recorded, they meet the French peasants and their opposite numbers in the German army. And somewhere along the way James loses his ability to smile. He becomes obsessed with socks. I'm not giving anything away, you know by page 20 he has a thing for common GI socks. But never in a million years will you guess why, till the very last pages!

The book is simply written, perhaps for high school students or a younger bunch of readers? Although it is cheerily and frankly obscene in places, in reproducing the language of the rank and file in the military, it also has some disturbing scenes of violence that will haunt you, and the next time you pull on a pair of socks you might find yourself repressing the urge to go for a bayonet and spear a Kraut. I have never seen this sock thing in a novel before, nor, needless to say, in real life. But props to Frank Nappi. a talented schoolteacher whose fiction debut this is, for making it seem, if not plausible, at least possible.

This is not just some simplistic WWII genre novel about war and battles; "Echoes From The Infantry" is a first class story of human relationships told by a writer who knows how to weave feelings, dialog and action successfully together! Author Frank Nappi takes the reader through the heart as well as the mind with his story. Father and son relationship issues surface as does the issue of PTSD (although not called that back in WWII).

This book is so much more than a war novel, although there is plenty of action. The book explores the deeper recess of the characters and gives them real substance. They feel like real people facing the horrors of war and the problems of readjusting to family life in peace time.

What makes this story even better, is the fact that the author crafted his storylines and even parts of some of his characters from real men that he knew. His experiences and eventual friendship with several WWII veterans gave birth to the idea of his book. He had invited these men over the years to his classroom to talk about their experiences to his students. The results of those class talks and visits inspired him to create a story loosely based on what they had gone through.

This book is destined to become a war classic. The issues that Frank Nappi talks about are things that are still fresh issues with today's troops. The way he reminiscences and unfolds the story is pure gold. Nappi is destined to find great success writing; as his talents become very clear when you have the honest pleasure of reading through the pages of his book. The author honestly conveys the emotions and feelings of his characters with little effort. The energy of his tale flows emotionally though his book. It feels like you are taken on a journey of the heart, as well as an adventure.

This book receives the Militray Writer's Soceity of America's TOP BOOK RATING - FIVE STARS! I believe that this book could even bring some healing and understanding for families as they discover insights which might make for better understanding of their veteran relatives!

A friend recommended this author's book and after reading the story I was thrilled that she did! "Echoes from the Infantry," by talented new writer, Frank Nappi, is a story that had me so emotionally involved, I had trouble putting it down once I began I began reading it. It is a thought-provoking tale of life, love and a war that lasted far longer than the actual war. I am more than happy to recommend this book to anyone who enjoys this genre. I know you will enjoy this story as much as I did!

I was lucky enough to hear this author speak at a conference recently. What a fortuitous encounter! His new novel is truly a gem, one that I will happily share with all of my students.

"Echoes From The Infantry" shatters the facade that so many American families present and exposes some of the heartaches that plague all REAL families. James McCleary just wants to forget the horrors of his experience during World War II. His son John only wants to know his father. Although James truly desires to embrace his wife and son, he's trapped inside his own mind and haunted by the images of his fallen comrades. The death of John's mother pushes him closer to his father, but the memories still keep him at a distance. As John sifts through artifacts in the attic, he is able to gain a deeper understanding of his father's psyche and has a heartbreaking glimpse of the love that sustained him across the wasted expanse of wartime Europe. "Echoes of the Infantry" is a powerful and haunting look at the challenges of the American family and a true psycholigical study. Great book.

Everyone knows at least one person who came back from the horror of war broken and bowed, and we see and hear about many more. Due to my empathetic nature, I can't read too many books or see too many movies about these walking wounded without getting depressed. With that in mind, I started to pass this one by.

But then I read Grady Harp's heart-felt tribute to this book and took a second look at the author and the book description. Harp is one of my all-time heroes. I read his own book, War Songs, and it moved me to tears. His masterpiece is poetry in words and sculpture ... simplicity at its most tender. Harp, a young surgeon sent to tend the wounded was devastated by the horror all around him, so he wrote poems at night to ease the pain.

Following the Vietnam War, he and his friend, Steven Freedman, "merged" the poems he had written with some expressive sculpture and during the creative process, they healed themselves ... and many veterans who read it.

Since Harp truly understands veterans' needs--and his book helped so many veterans back on the road to mental health--I knew he wouldn't praise Nappi's book if it was "just another war story." Harp, sensitive and attuned to the sensitivities of others, praised Nappi for his "depth of feeling ..." in this most impressive 'first novel' ..." And because I value Harp's opinion and keen observations, I decided that Nappi's book was a "must" read for me, as well.

The Bible advises that we should "love our neighbor as ourselves," and that's what I learned about Frank Nappi. He's a school teacher in Long Island who befriended World War II veterans and was deeply touched by their stories of heroism and suffering. From them, he learned that it was impossible to leave the battlefield behind--and even more impossible to explain it to their wives and children--so Nappi decided to explain it for them in this fictionalized version of one veteran ... who would be a representation of them all.

And he pulled it off to perfection! He made his characters come alive in the high drama of real life. For a first novel, this has got to be the best ... the very best.

Am I ever glad I didn't pass it by ... thinking it was just another war story that would break my heart. Instead, this book lifted me up because of the way Nappi managed to capture the real emotions of the vets towards their comrades-in-arms, and how hard they struggled to recapture their place in life following the war. Nappi chose one soldier through which to tell "everyone's" story and did a brilliant job of bringing him alive. He handled the task of acclimating the soldier and his family with finesse.

This story tugged at my heart-strings until the end. And even afterwards, Nappi's fine prose tugged at my heart, refusing to let loose until I had examined my own conscience, feelings, and attitude about how I interact with all the war "heroes" I run into in my busy, everyday life.

Nappi is a rising star in the literary world, and I look forward to great things from him. Congratulation, Mr. Nappi.

These words by poet Wilfred Owen from his body of work concerning World War I are an appropriate summation of the depth of feeling contained in pages of this most impressive 'first novel' by Frank Nappi. It is not often that first novels are rated with five stars: the higher ratings are usually reserved for the great works of literature by solid practitioners of the art of writing. But Nappi has created a finely wrought study/story of the effects of war not only on those who survive their time on the battlefields, but also on the families to whom they return. This is a simply told, wisely crafted, eloquently written novel that gives notice that there is a major new talent rising in the ranks of notable artists.

World War II. James McCleary departs Rockaway Beach, NY, as the eldest sons of innumerable families did, to fight in the European Theater of France and Germany. Beginning as a robust fellow he bonds with fellow soldiers, survives treacherous battles and encounters with the enemy, witnesses all the horrors of war's filthy greed, and ends up in a German POW camp, ultimately returning home with the liberation of the camps by the defeat of Hitler and with the end of the war. James returns to marry Madeline the sweetheart of his pre-war days and sires three sons. But James is a changed, distant man from the lad Madeline first met. He is unable to retain jobs, is emotionally abusive to both his wife and sons, and lives in a silent world of a mind critically damaged by war. There is one particular secret that serves as a festering wound, preventing him from returning to normalcy after the war's end and it is that secret ultimately revealed that helps alter his approach to the future.

Nappi very wisely weaves the present with the past in his manner of relating James' trauma: chapters alternate from the present to the past and back. The novel opens with his three adult sons returning home for the funeral of their mother and it is this time of vulnerability that acts as the stage for the confrontation of James' most damaged son John to finally uncover the mysteries of why his father gave him so little during youth. Cleaning the attic to sell the now defunct family home results in John's uncovering letters and messages long hidden that allow him to understand the irreversible emotional damage his father suffered: these letters reveal a tender John writing romantic missives to his beloved Madeline as well as a note from a German soldier that offers John forgiveness for the deadly burden that has encased John's life since the war. It is a time of reconciliation between father and son but more importantly it is a moment of revelation about how devastating war continues to be long after the truce is waved.

Nappi recreates both the WW II atmosphere and the hometown angst as well as many of our finest writers. He writes descriptions of the cruelest acts of war in such a straightforward manner that he avoids the grotesque and the maudlin that have marred 'war stories' in literature. Not that Nappi shies away from facts or from acute observation: quite the opposite. He writes with economy that makes the events of war and of post traumatic stress syndrome far more pungent than had he elected to indulge in excess. He has created characters fully three-dimensional, people who become indelible on our minds. It is difficult, but rewarding, to believe that this is a first novel. We can obviously expect more meaningful and powerful books from Frank Nappi. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, January 06

James McCleary had a lot to be thankful for. He had his fair share of action, survived a German POW camp, and was able to return home to the arms of his sweetheart Madeline, who had been waiting patiently to start their life together.

This pretty little picture is quickly shattered when it becomes evident that James is a changed man, unable to free himself from the clutches of his personal demons. After some prompting and the equivalent of a kick in the rear end, Madeline becomes his wife, and she stands by him with a stoicism that could only have been born out of love. Unfortunately, she is unable to shield their children from a life of paternal rejection, their eldest son John being affected the most.

When she passes away, her three offspring, now adults, have to make a difficult decision regarding their father's future. John starts cleaning out the attic and among the dusty piles of memories he comes across a pile of letters that open his eyes to the enigma that is his father.

These "echoes" from his father's past allow John to finally find the missing pieces that he has been unknowingly seeking for his entire life, as he tries to understand the man he never really knew.

A stirring tale of the lasting effects of war that will have you wiping away a tear by the final chapter.

Amanda Richards, February 12, 2006

This book touched me on so many levels. The writing is truly wonderful, and the construction of the plot nothing short of pure genius. It's the only way it could have worked, and worked so well. Because it is told in a series of multiple flashbacks, the reader gets to see, very gradually, all three stories that the author constructs simultaneously unfold with startling clarity.. This really pulls you in.

John McCleary, son of WWII vet James McCleary, is certainly an "Everyman" of sorts. I, myself, had issues surrounding my father, as we all do, that I just did not understand. Like John, it was only after most of his life had passed that I realized who this man really was -- and why he was that way. I empathized with his struggle. You cannot place enough value on reconciliation.

The war scenes in the book are both memorable and largely poignant. Frank Nappi creates characters who are endearing, believable and worth investing in. I found myself laughing one minute, only to be sobered shortly thereafter by yet another emotionally charged incident.

After reading the novel, I called my father -- just to talk. And to share my reading experience with him. Not many books have the power to do that for a reader. I am looking forward to Mr. Nappi's next creation.

Frank Nappi's new book, Echoes From the Infantry, might have been aptly named "Echoes From The Human Heart;" it delves into the meaning of life from inside the heart and mind of a sensitive young soldier caught in the midst of World War II. More than just another war story, this brilliantly constructed book illustrates how the human condition is universal, how life is precious, and how, in the end, we are all the same.

Inside the head of James McCleary, the reader is transported to war-torn Europe with vivid descriptions of a crying German child, compassionate and fearful young soldiers, calloused, seasoned troops, cramped quarters in makeshift foxholes, final moments of prayerful desperation, and heart-wrenching pictures of suffering and fallen soldiers on both sides of battle.

On another level the book is about an eldest son's struggle to understand his strange and emotionally-absent father at the time of his mother's death. The now elderly dad, a World War II veteran, has spent all of his post-war years detached from the rest of his family, lost in an unspeakable malaise of horrid memories.

Eldest son, John McCleary, comes home to his childhood house in Long Island to clean it out in preparation for sale after his mother's death. In the attic he finds his "old man's" war pack and a series of letters that he had written to his girlfriend, Maddie, John's mother, during the war. These letters form the crucial pieces of the elusive puzzle that had been his father; they enable John to "know" the man and finally forgive the strained relationship between them.

As the son continues to uncover clues about the mystery of his father, the remarkable book weaves a compassionate tale that jumps skillfully between present and past with compelling, vivid incite into one man's perspective in war, so that the reader becomes as thoroughly engaged as the curious son and must keep turning the pages to find out "who James McCleary really is."

The book is a meaningful tribute to the traits that we call human--love, fear, hurt, compassion, hope, anger, and despair--no matter what uniform we wear in battle. It is a tribute to the power of the printed word--Jame McCleary's letters written in combat were a link to his beloved Maddie and, years later, the key to a reconciliation between father and son; a young, captured German soldier's last written words were empathetic with his captors and become crucial to a final cleansing for the elderly James McCleary.

It is also a tribute to the many other things that human beings share in common--dead German and American soldiers both carried pictures of their loved ones, religious medals, letters from home, and silly keepsakes that reminded them of the life they once knew. Families universally can relate to a parent's dying or growing old, to the family's accumulating a lifetime of "stuff," and to the feeling of loss when there is finally a need to dispose of that "stuff" and sell the family homestead once and for all.

Echoes From the Infantry is a book that both men and women will find compelling and that baby boomers,who are beginning to lose parents, sell the family home, or finalize a relationship with an elderly parent, will intimately understand and appreciate.

This book was so well written and presented, it was a pleasure to read. I was not sure what to expect from Frank Nappi's first book; I was absolutely blown away by what I got. I must say, the ending is captivating; Not at all overdone or over emotional. Instead, it is realistic, heartfelt and flawless! The storyline was not even remotely extended, it was real, to the point and the pictures painted for us were clear and precise. Kudos to Frank Nappi and his first book. I'm now left anxiously awaiting book #2!!