Customer Reviews

In the Shadow of Suribachi

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

You have to believe that author Joyce Faulkner was an old warrior from some previous lifetime - if you believed in reincarnation at all. She gives you such an honest and intimate portrayal of men who are in combat - that one would think that she was actually there. Her WWII novel about the battle on Iwo Jima "In the Shadow of Suribachi" is compelling, intense, and realistic. She writes with a male energy unbeknownst to most female authors. She will draw you into her storyline and into the people she writes about.

Faulkner allows you to meet and get to know the main characters prior to the battle and this makes the story more emotional and gripping. She uses her words like precious ammo and delivers her story with emotionally deadly accuracy. As a combat veteran, I felt the author was telling it like it was. Her obviously gifted writing skills make this literary journey through her book a pleasure. It is at all times entertaining, as well as insightful.

I think the word "authentic" applies to this accounting of the battle of Iwo Jima even though it is a fictionalize portrait of that event. This is destined to become a classic WWII book. My guess is that the author did a lot of research on this subject before undertaking the story itself. It just feels like it is so right!

I enthusiastically give this book the MWSA's Highest Rating of FIVE STARS! A must read book for all fans of this genre.

A very well written tale of seven marines from all works of life who go through training together and then wind up at Iwo Jima. The story is fairly predictable, after all, what can happen to a group of men on Iwo.

What makes the book so good is her ability to describe the actions, reactions and thoughts of men in combat. The key to survival, to functioning at all in combat is small unit cohesion. Ms. Faulkner seems to have grasped this better than nearly any writer I know. Her understanding and analysis of what is making these men think and act as they do in a time of utmost stress is amazing. Her description of the effects of modern weapons on the human body likewise makes you believe that she was there.

Published by a very small press, this book won't get the marketing and advertising that might make it a best seller or a major Hollywood movie. As such, it is likely to remain one of those little gems that you come across once in a while.

When I fish, I frequently wear my "boonie" hat from Vietnam, and sometimes an old fatigue jacket of my father's. But, I never, ever fish, without my little tackle/ equipment bag hanging from my shoulder. It is a faded, khaki pouch, canvas, made soft with time, and use, the USMC stencil barely readable now. It was with my uncle on Iwo Jima. He was 18 on that island, on that beach, one of three brothers serving in the war in 1945.

Combat veterans share a bond, and kinship that is known only to them. It is the envy of all men who do not belong to that group. They reunite occassionally with fellow soldiers that they served with. They share stories of those days that most are still trying to understand. They speak broadly of events that were shared, warm with the understanding that they are among brothers who share a little piece of their hearts. But, they do not speak of specific brutal moments. To verbalize memories of the exact splashes of horror that they have built a wall around for so long would be an intrusion into the hidden places of their comrades. It would be a garish blare of insensitivity. So they keep those things that should be talked about inside themselves. Such was the mindset of my uncle for the 63 years he lived after Iwo. I wish he had lived to read this book. It might have released some demons, put his heart in a more restful place.

I wear my very old Cav sweat shirt sometimes, and had it on in a store once, when an old guy in the check out line asked me, somewhat cynically, if I had ever worn that faded patch on a uniform. Both shoulders, I informed him. He softened. I want to be buried with my uncle's pouch, my cav shirt inside of it, wrapped around this book. I hope that says it all about In The Shadow of Suribachi.

Faulkner, Joyce. In The Shadow Of Suribachi. Key West, Florida: Red Engine Press, 2005.
205 pages. $15.95.

Reviewed by Regis Schilken
Educator: Pittsburgh Public School System
Author: The Oculi Incident, The Island Off Stony Point, "The Stars," published in Dan River Anthology 2005

Joyce Faulkner is the author of In The Shadow Of Suribachi and Losing Patience.
A woman of varied talents, she holds a degree in chemical engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, and an MBA from Cleveland State.
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In The Shadow Of Suribachi
Six young marines, who have trained together as part of a unit, await the lowering of the heavy metal door of their Higgens landing craft. They stand aghast in terror at the horror taking place on the very beach they must secure. Some retch, all tremble, some pray, but their confidence comes from the brotherhood established among them as a group. They will take care of one another. They will remain safe as long as they follow their commanding officer, Sargeant Kroner.

But within a few seconds as the unit stumbles ashore onto the black sands at the base of Mount Suribachi, Kroner is obliterated; exploded into a mass of eviscerated, bloody pulp that must be wiped from the hands, faces, and glasses of the brave men he promised to protect. Detached from his body, Kroner's head slams so hard against the chest of private Bill Zimmer, that he falls to the ground, dazed and badly bruised by the impact.

In spite of the unimaginable atrocities of this uphill combat, Suribachi is eventually taken but at what price--a catastrophic fee paid by uncountable dead and injured. Yet, as a direct result of securing Iwo Jima, Allied Forces could now land heavy bombers for refueling and resupplying, in order to carry the malignancy of war deep into the tissue of Japan itself.

Although Joyce Faulkner claims that what took place in those terrible days of February and March of 1945 is "indescribable," In The Shadow of Suribachi she reveals scenes so repulsively vivid, that one wonders if Faulkner is not somehow haunted by the ghosts of the men who fought there. Her book is a page turner--but thankfully, one can turn the pages and then leave them behind.

The book begins with brief clips, snipped from the lives of six marines before their paths intersect.

There is Kroner, a lad searching with his father, for any sign of life among the garbage and bodies that litter Islamorada, Florida, after the deadly hurricane of 1935.

Bill Zimmer from Arkansas, carries a terrible psychological gash into battle. In 1937, he accidentally drops a rifle from a hayloft, which fires on impact with the floor, killing his younger brother.

There is Arty Lieberman. He, and a few of his family, escape Germany in 1941 via circuitous route through Russia and Japan to the United States where they join Pittsburgh relatives. They bribe their way with a few precious stones.

In 1942 in Ohio, Danny Kline with his young sister narrowly escape being burned and trampled, when a fire breaks out at a Wringling Brothers & Barnum and Baily circus tent.

Tommy Haines loves chocolate. He hides in Texas in 1943 as a small-time crook, AWOL for two years. Yet, Tommy with his stolen stash is accosted by another bandit until a bizarre series of events leads to his capture by military police.

Lastly, there is Kendall Smith, who in 1944 lives in California. He is fascinated by the appearance of Faith Weddington, a woman much older than himself. His infatuation leads to a shocking discovery. Faith, who had allowed her infant son to be adopted, could easily be his own mother. Kendal bears a scar of surgery under his nose and on his lip--Faith's son was born with a harelip.

In The Shadow of Suribachi is a highly readable book. Its characters are developed just enough that you can claw your way with them, up the side of Suribachi into the clutches of agonizing death. The climb is Satanic. Lucifer lingers there. Only the most fortunate reach the summit.

I would highly recommend In The Shadow of Suribachi to all readers, female and male. It is necessary to experience the appalling throes of combat, to appreciate our freedom, won by these heroes. The book is a must for anyone attempting to understand what troops are enduring in Iraq, a prolonged battle that is already weakening the will of the American public. It is my sincere hope that The Shadow of hard-won Suribachi will fall over our military forces to protect them, and give them courage in their uphill battle to free another nation from unspeakable tyranny.

Based on interviews with family and survivors, these historically accurate stories paint a picture of the horrors of war and the innocence of the men and women who suffer the consequences first hand. Growing up in the Vietnam era, when the story switched to Kent State, it hit me right between the eyes. Ms. Faulkner's writing style brings the various storylines together for an altogether fitting and satisfying conclusion. Great work.

The chosen few that live to tell about the gore of battle usually don't mention it, yet they carry the effects each instant of every day. Vividly portrayed "In the Shadow of Suribachi," Joyce Faulkner provides a ride through history to meet simple men that become fate's chosen warriors. Ms. Faulkner accurately creates the brutality and complications of intense warfare through characters from the thirties and beyond the Vietnam War. She craftily reveal's the War Veteran's shared dilemna from the first instant of battle - that dark permanence felt as the warrior gets blind-sided with loss of innocence and becomes chained silently to guilt FOREVER!

I was moved to tears as the characters developed, and as a future generation grew up to face similar complexities. I felt healed from situational conversations between "The Greatest Generation" and mine from the Vietnam era in Suribachi, with hopes that heart to heart talks between the old and new might happen more often. If we could only be understood and identify, huh?

"In the Shadow of Suribachi" is must read about those that gave all that won't fade from memory as the cover closes.

Hodge Wood

Joyce Faulkner does a great job capturing the essence of all the characters. I felt like I was in the story as though I was really involved with what they were thinking and feeling. Great Job!

The individual stories of these 7 young men are compelling in their own right. But when Ms Faulkner weaves their lives together through their training as Marines in Hawaii and into the battle at Iwo Jima, I felt I was with them every step of the way. A must read for anyone who has experienced war first hand; for all those who love and support them. and want to understand what it's really like.

NOW I UNDERSTAND!

The characters in award-winning author Joyce Faulkner's novel "In the Shadow of Suribachi" have embedded themselves in my soul. Two days after reading this amazing story, I cannot get them out of my head. Or heart. These boys turned men -- in the blink-of-an-eye during the hellish days of battle on the beaches of Iwo Jima -- are now the ghosts that will haunt me the rest of my life.

Based on stories her father told her about his time in the Marines during WWII, Joyce Faulkner has created a story that sweeps the reader up and plants them smack down in the middle of hell. You can try to close the book and turn your back on these scared young men who are barely old enough to shave, but something keeps pulling you back. You keep turning the pages because suddenly YOU are the young Marine lying there sick to your stomach and heart in the black gritty sand on that Godforsaken beach. YOU are the young Marine crying for his mama, praying for God to either take you quickly or let you survive. YOU are the young Marine who digs into your foxhole and waits.

You are no longer a bystander waiting and watching for old veterans to come marching down Main Street during the annual Veteran's Day Parade. You are no longer the shopper rushing off to buy stuff on sale at the annual Memorial Day Sales Event. No, because YOU are still on that beach, waiting to die. Or waiting to live. After reading this book, I can no longer rush through the stories the newspapers trot out every military related holiday. You know the ones. The stories of old WWII Veterans with their medals, some even donned in old uniforms if they can still squeeze into them. Or seated in an armchair with a black and white photo framed nearby, showing young men smiling with their arms draped over each others' shoulders. Very much like the young men featured on the cover of this novel.

This novel is so achingly beautiful. One of my favorite characters is Bill Zimmer. I fell in love with him the moment I first saw him, peeking out of his mother's closet when he was a shy little boy. Get this book and read about the others. Along with Zim, there's Arty, Smitty, Kirby, Cordell, Doc. Kline and Kroner. And the next time I see an old Veteran, I will look beyond his wrinkles and into his deep haunted eyes. And I WILL UNDERSTAND.

Highly recommend this book. Yes, the author is a woman, and yes, she writes about war with the authority of someone who has been there. She put herself on the beaches of Iwo Jima long ago, when she sat at her daddy's knees, and LISTENED to his war stories with her HEART!

Kathleen M. Rodgers ~ author of the award-winning novel "The Final Salute: Together We Live On"

If reviewing were a different sort of animal I could probably pen three lines of 17 syllables, wind up with haiku that would remain with the reader and call it day. I could describe In the Shadow of Suribachi by Joyce Faulkner with wordslike "heartfelt, consummate skill, emotional and bloody," fool a bit with the caesuras and stresses and--perhaps--give readers a better sense of the soul of the book.

Having said that, there is more to this work than its essence and prose will work better to explain that. Here the author assembles disparate events like the 1935 Labor Day Hurricane in Islmorada, Fl, the infamous kristallnacht, the 1942 circus fire in Cleveland. Each real-life event is told from the point of view of a character and may--at first--feel as if they are separate stories. If the reader listens carefully, however, she will hear the intimations in each of how these young men's futures will connect, how what has gone before will affect them later as Marines fighting and suffering in Iwo Jima in 1945.

This book is neither beast nor fowl. The stories (and story) are based on interviews and careful research so it is nonfiction. They are told with all the craft of a fiction writer; that makes it creative nonfiction. They are assembled in a way that would qualify it as a literary novel. A literary novel, after all, tells of the human condition. Characters in literary novels must be carefully drawn and readers should draw something from one that lives long after the last page is turned. This book, published by a new traditional press called the Red Engine Press, qualifies.

Readers should know that, though they may well be mesmerized by this story (stories), it is not easy reading. Endorsed by professionals from the Army's 101st Airborne Division to history teachers, it captures what Lt. Col. Dave Grossman calls "the reality of human aggression and combat." This is a time when we, as a nation, need to fully understand what we are sending our young men and women to do. To understand it may behoove us to visit--or revisit--Suribachi.
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Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This is the Place, won eight awards.Harkening, a collection of stories, has three.