Customer Reviews

The Special Prisoner: A Novel

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(14)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

`The Special Prisoner' is a special book. Jim Lehrer has scripted a beautiful and emotional tale about a WWII American B-29 pilot coming to grips with horrid memories that he would like to have forgotten over the past 50 years and his ability to forgive.

Quincy Watson, known as Big Red during his runs over Japan today is a fragile shell of what he could have been. Today as a retired Methodist Bishop, he `accidentally' runs into the man who tortured him so many years ago in a POW camp. The man known as `Hyena' killed many of Watson's compatriots in numerous and sickening ways, the whole time playing mind games with Watson. But Watson didn't escape easily after the war. His leg is maimed, his reproductive organs shattered, he is numb to death, and hate begins to bubble down inside. This is where Quincy spends the next 50 years recovering, an emotional hurdle to overcome, where religion is discovered and forgiveness is a key element. But his life is put to a new test in his 70's, as the world as he knew it was over, a shocking sight open up all wounds. What do you say to the man who controlled whether you lived or died if you bumped into him today?

The story is amazing, simply put. It is a fairly easy read, but the images and descriptions of the atrocities of what happens in the POW camps will leave the reader not only speechless but asking themselves of their own capacity for forgiveness. What is equally presented here is the opinions and perspectives of the Japanese. Is it really that cut and dry for Americans? I challenge you to read the side of the Japanese mentality and you may learn more about yourself than you thought you knew.

There is a `great surprise' that happens about half way through the book that I promise changes everything, but does not detract from the story, but rather adds a new challenging dynamic to it. This is not just a story you read about an old American Pilot and his Japanese nemesis, this is a story that really takes you on an emotional roller coaster and will hit you in the deepest psychological, religious, and moral ways. You don't even have to be of that generation. Jim Lehrer delivers an accurate account of human behavior in the worst conditions, and yet teaches us about love, and getting over horrific events and how we deal with them. Don't miss out, you will not be disappointed!

This is a novel about the best and worst of the human spirit; and some of the terrible legacies of war. The main character in the story is Bishop John Quincy Watson of the Methodist Church. In 1945 Watson was a B-29 bomber pilot, flying missions over Japan. On his seventeenth mission his plane went down over Tokyo, and he was taken prisoner by the Japanese. The Japanese authorities called downed American airmen "Special Prisoners", and reserved for them especially brutal treatment and death. Bishop Watson survived the war, but his body and soul had been permanently maimed in the Japanese prison. After the war Watson became a minister. One day fifty years after the war had ended Watson was in the Dallas Airport, and he saw the face of a man that he believed was one of the main commanders of the prison camp in Japan. Every day of his life for fifty years he had suffered pain and disability from his time as a prisoner of war in Japan, and now the source of his pain was standing before him in the airport. Watson began following the Japanese man, seeking a confrontation with him. The chapters in the book begin switching back and forth from the past to the present, describing events from the war and Watson's confrontation with the Japanese commander. Much of the little known history of American prisoners of war in Japan is given in the novel. As a minister Bishop Watson believed in forgiveness; but could he find a way to forgive a very real monster from his past? There are several moments in the novel that will go straight to your heart. There is a rising sense of tension as you keep reading; and a deep sense of wrenching truth about the nature of forgiveness and the lasting horror of war. There is a very haunting, moving quality to this novel that I will always remember. This is a deeply felt novel that I highly recommend.

I'm not a regular reader or necessarily a fan of short or long fiction. When I heard this book hyped on IMUS, I decided to give it a try. Of course, I've been a fan of Jim Lehrer for years -- his no nonsense approach to journalism.

"The Special Prisoner" is an easy terrific read -- short but surprisingly complex in its treatment of major issues associated with war and theology.

The book's essence is heavy and somewhat depressing. There is nothing the least bit light and funny about this story. A great story to read in remembrance of our veterans who gave so much that we might be free.

Highly recommended.

That comment is made by a European Chef who wishes to extend his best wishes to The Reverend Bishop Watson the book's main character. The response comes from a dear friend of the Bishop while they are speaking of many serious issues, some heinous. The Bishop's friend responds, "We were talking about sex, specifically about getting the Bishop laid". I suppose this type of humor is possible in the circumstances portrayed, only by men who have experienced hell on earth together. Both men were Prisoners Of War interned in a hell created by their Japanese captors. That this passage in the book works, and does so brilliantly, is a credit to the Author Mr. Jim Lehrer.

This is a story that contains horrible historical truths and the impact they can have on the victims. Issues of revenge and retribution, divine and personal forgiveness, a man's loyalty to both the Bishop's office he has held, and the loyalty to and truth about himself he must face.

This is not a long work, but I sat up until 3:30 this morning so I could finish it in one sitting. It was very much worth the lost sleep. This is not an easy book to read, and the issues it addresses are not resolved to this day. The dilemmas, moral and otherwise are faced by individuals, their sons, and as always the government which does not always make the best choice, just the best political decision.

Mr. Lehrer is well known on both television, and as a writer. He is a veteran, which brings authenticity to the story, which is enforced by his Brother who is a Minister who helped with the contents.

A disturbing read, but one that is very much worth your time.

As a 60+ reader, I felt a long suppressed anger rising like bile while reading "The Special Prisoner". Like so many other readers, I had problems putting the book down; finishing it in one read. I had never read any of Mr. Lehrer's work before, rather admiring him solely for his exquisite handling of the news. In this day of political correctness, it was refreshing reading the thoughts expressed in the book by this straight-shooting author. Japan's treatment of their fellow human beings, be it in Nanjing, Hong Kong, Bataan or Guam, (where I was stationed for two years)is universally condemned for it's xenophobic brutality. Who said - "Those who forget the past will be doomed to re-live it." also, at the entrance to the National Archives in DC are two plinths, one says, "The past is prologue" the other says " Study the past." Thank you Jim Lehrer for allowing me the quiet luxury of heeding both these caveats.

I very much enjoyed The Special Prisoner. Having lived in the Philippines and Japan as a young boy, I have a great interest in the story of POWs held by the Japanese. I remember visiting Bataan and Corregidor, places of which most Americans today have no knowledge.

While The Special Prisoner is about a man still suffering from his fifty year-old ordeal as a POW in Japan, it is not a book about POWs. Certainly, a reader without any knowledge of the Japanese treatment of American POWs would learn much from this work. However, for a better understanding of American POWs in Asia, read "Prisoners of the Japanese: POWs of World War II in the Pacific" by Gavan Daws.

Jim Leher writes with power and effectiveness in causing the reader to understand and feel the physical and emotional pain that is impossible for a POW survivor to forget. A reader should approach this book not to learn more about POWs and World War II, but to reflect on the struggle to survive the horrors of war and the difficulty of forgiveness.

"Special Prisoned" refers to the designation the Japanese used for pilots captured during World War ll. These prisoners were considered war criminals and treated to unspeakable cruelty and deprivation. John Quincy Watson was captured after his plane went down on a bombing run over Tokyo. Taken into captivity, he comes face to face with T. Tashimoto, the Hyena. The Hyena seems to delight in humiliating and torturing the prisoners, especially those like Watson, with red hair. Watson is forced to watch as those around him are abused and killed . He is permanently marked by the constant beatings recieved at the hands of martial arts expert Hyena. As he and his fellow prisoners struggle to survive, a deep hatred of his captor festers and eventually errupts. Years later a chance sighting in the DFW airport triggers all the horrific memories and sends Watson,now a Methodist bishop, on a quest to settle one last score. The story that follws blends both the present and horrific flashbacks to explain how a man of God can be overcome by such extreme hatred and a desire for vengence. This book rang true for me, for a friend of our family had been interred for four years by the Japanese in a camp of foreign civilians. He was only 10 years old at the time (much like Empire of the Sun) and was forever marked by the cruelty of his captors. A chance meeting across a boardroom table, years later in New York, errupted into a similar situation. Jim Lehrer has been able to balance a compelling story of man's search for redemption and revenge, and the price it extracts.

As a B-29 crewman [navigator] who flew a number of missions over Japan, I looked forward to reading this book. The treatment of POWs by the Japanese was deplorable, a fact that only in recent years has been publicized. We B-29 crewmen were briefed late in the war that, if captured, we could tell the Japanese anything we wanted, rather than the name, rank, serial number response. In retrospect, this was likely because through intelligence we had discovered that B-29 crewman were often killed within a day after capture, and it was hoped this might ease our lot if we fell into Japanese hands.

But I came away disappointed. Lehrer does replicate many of the horrors of a POW, and he brings in various incidents from actual accounts. But it is difficult for me to fully believe the plot line as to Bishop Watson's reactions after running into his presumed Japanese torturer--the "hyena." A lot of the writing seems melodramatic and hastily done, and while he explores the important moral issues here, he does not probe beyond some surface generalities. Likewise the Sermon given by Watson at the end of the book is not reflective of the type of sermon I've heard Methodist and other clerics preach. Another serious defect in the book, important only to those who actually served in the AAF during WWII, is the erron-filled time-line of training to be a pilot--from entry into the AAF to flying a B-29 in 9 months is not plausible--nor is the sequence of events of low-level bombing raids or of Lehrer's placing Saipan 1500 miles east of Japan [it's actually almost 1500 miles due south]. Several other questionable or poorly explained events mar the factual foundation for the novel. For those who know little about the Pacific War, Lehrer's account will likely pass muster, as many reviewers attest. Those with greater background and familiarity with the events of the time will find, as I did, the book promising but in the end frustrating and unsatisfying.

I sought this book, as did other readers, after hearing about it from Don Imus. Though I often disagree with his reviews, he was right on the money with this one.

I finished this book between sunrise and sunset of a recent weekend day. I couldn't put it down. My progress was hindered by my wife, who found the book unattended and began reading. She, too, could not stop and I finished it after alternating with her for most of the day.

Lehrer carefully weaves the plot but does so with concise detail that is refreshing. He does a fantastic job of building his characters economically and moving quickly through the plot, sparing us endless description that typically adds no value. In addition to a solid plot, Lehrer is able to provide us with touching and thought provoking relationships: an impotent clergyman and his loving wife, two veteran clergymen who have counseled hundreds through dark and trying times up against their own personal demons, and two POWs who a share a lifetime friendship galvanized by their prison camp experience.

The only disappointment was that I fairly accurately had the ending figured out. Though predictable, it was still fitting and did not detract from my enjoyment of the book.

This is the kind of book that really grips you from page one. Bishop Watson's long-expunged demons suddenly resurface, poignantly, following a chance encounter with a person he takes to be his one-time tormentor from a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

This book stimulated a lot of reflection on the atrocities committed during WWII and what we think about those atrocities 50 years later.

Congratulations, Mr. Lehrer, for a truly stand-out work.