Ticket Home [Mass Market Paperback]

James Michael Pratt (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 15, 2002

At the dawn of World War II, in rural Oklahoma, identical twins Lucien and Norman Parker are bound by the tragic death of their mother, their railroad jobs, and an abiding well of brotherly devotion. But when both fall for the prettiest girl in town, they learn the hard way that they can't share everything. It is brash Lucien who finally wins her hand, while gentle cherishes and the brother who betrayed him. At last, reunited, and reconciled, in the war-torn South Pacific, Lucien and Norman fight side by side. But burdened with the heartbreaking loss of his brother--and the weight of a shocking secret that will haunt him for decades to come...

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Loyalty, romance and mistaken identity lie at the heart of this sentimental WW II drama by Pratt (The Lighthouse Keeper). Teenage twins Norman and Lucian Parker, trainmen in late 1930s Oklahoma, having endured the dual tragedies of the Depression and the death of their mother, fall for the same woman, blonde stunner Mary Jane Harrison. Conservative, sensitive Norman begins to court Mary Jane, but she soon leaves for California. Heartbroken, Norman joins the National Guard and tries to forget her. Meanwhile, rash, volatile Lucien moves to California to attend college. Of course he meets up with Mary Jane and they begin a secret romance. The rift between the brothers deepens when Lucien and Mary Jane wed, but it is clear that Mary Jane suffers regrets. Norman and Lucien achieve an uneasy truce when both are stationed in the Philippines just before the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their bond is strengthened during the conflict, but only one brother survives, and the other makes a decision that will haunt him for the rest of his life. Unfortunately, Pratt employs embarrassingly awkward language, tinny descriptions and simplistic characterizations--especially of Mary Jane. The big "secret," painfully obvious from the prologue, is no surprise. The novel is strongest when it focuses on the twins' nightmarish experiences in the South Pacific: Pratt has done his homework on the horrors endured by both Americans and Filipinos during WWII--from malaria to torture by the Japanese--and these scenes have authentic clarity.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Library Journal

This sentimental soap opera follows twin brothers Norman and Lucien from their youth in 1930s Oklahoma through World War II service together, to the surviving twin's death as an old man. Attending his deathbed is his wife, Mary Jane, the woman whom both brothers loved but only one married. Well not really. These are identical twins after all, and they can be hard to tell apart. Relying heavily on the "Foreshadowing" and "Dying in Loved One's Arms" chapters of the How-To-Write Manual, the tale celebrates family values, with hints of religious faith. Romance fans and admirers of Pratt's earlier novels, The Last Valentine and The Lighthouse Keeper, will find the dual love story brotherly and conjugal a satisfying yarn. Bruce Reizen's resonant voice adds gravity to an uncomplicated plot. Recommended for public library romance collections. Judith Robinson, Univ. at Buffalo, NY
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: St. Martin's Paperbacks (March 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312979894
• ISBN-13: 978-0312979898
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,098,016 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

James Michael Pratt is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling fiction author. Jim recently completed research and co-writing for the documentary and Rex J. Pratt Film, Between Iraq and a Hard Place. He is currently writing a screenplay taken from his regional bestseller, The Good Heart. Called "... a master of moral fiction," by Booklist, his novels are filled with history laden plots, conflict, mystery, and romance.

People Magazine billed Jim's breakout novel, The Last Valentine (1998-1999) "...a return ticket to Bridges of Madison Country territory." It is scheduled for a Hallmark Hall of Fame television "Movie of the Week" in early 2007. The Lighthouse Keeper, (2000-2001) and Ticket Home (2001-2002) hit bestseller charts across the country. Kirkus Reviews called the trio "...the fictionalization of The Greatest Generation," for the vivid portrayal of life and love before, during, and after World War Two.

Paradise Bay, (2002-2003) is a coming-of-age story geographically set between LA and an abandoned fishing hamlet just north of Santa Barbara, CA. Paradise Bay holds secrets for a present day musician son who never knew his Vietnam War hero-father. Sweeping back to the 1950s-60s with social changes, music, horrors of Vietnam, we see a young aspiring "piano man," drafted into the Marines and then seriously wounded. His music sleeps with him for thirty years. He will awaken from a battle induced coma to a strange world with new music, a son he never knew, and a love he had thought lost forever.

The Good Heart, (2005) depicts the entrapping of three troubled lives, one beating heart, and an unsolved mystery. Set in the fast-paced, power-hungry climate of the nation's capital and Tallahassee, FL. Jim's newest novel combines political and medical intrigue with passion and danger while unraveling the mystery behind a brotherly pact that has lain hidden for forty years.

Jim cultivated story-telling from his earliest days of carefree 1960's boy at play in the fields and hills near the old Corriganville Movie Ranch sets in Simi Valley, CA. His father's World War Two combat and two older brother's Vietnam service influenced Jim, at an early age, to study history in gen eral and military history specifically. Fluent in Spanish, he often uses the language and settings of old California and the Southwest where he grew up to add color, realism, and flavor to his stories.

In memoirs created as tributes to everyday parents, Jim reminds the reader in MOM, The Woman Who Made Oatmeal Stick to My Ribs, and DAD, The Man Who Lied To Save the Planet of a time and place when seemingly complex matters of life had simple, straightforward answers colored by time honored and traditional virtues and values. He recently finished two novels in the inspirational category, both available at Amazon.com; The Christ Report and As A Man Thinketh, In His Heart.

As well as author, James Pratt serves as Chairman of PowerThink Publishing, LLC. For more on James Michael Pratt and his writings see: www.jmpratt.com and www.powerthink.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ticket Home, November 19, 2003

By 

Igor (Madison, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ticket Home (Audio Cassette)

Ticket Home is one of the best books that I have read. The author, James Pratt, plots out the story extremely well. This book is a mixture of romance and action. The book takes place during the rise of World War Two in the fight against Hitler and the Japanese. The main characters are two twin brothers who are very alike in appearance but even more different in personalities. They both work with their father at their family owned train station.
One of the most important events in this book is when these two brothers fall in love with the same woman. When one of the boys actually takes the girl's hand in marriage the other feels betrayed and torn because his love for the girl was immense. Right after the wedding the boys (who have joined the Mexican National Guard) are sent away to the Philippines. It is while they are there that America joins into the war because of Pearl Harbor. The brothers are thrown into a fight that will change their lives forever.
Although the war helps the broken hearted brother get rid of his anger it also takes away his innocence and it eats away at his naturally kind heart. The war does however bring the brothers close together and many times they save each others lives. For the first time in their lives they see what war actually is and they suffer together as they strive to survive.
This book is a book of sadness. It uncovers the pain of war and also the pain of losing someone that you love. It covers things that all mankind suffers with. We have all been betrayed at one time or other by someone we think we can trust. We have all gone through the trials of love. Most importantly though we must all realize that in these dark times are lessons of life that we must learn. Learn from the mistakes of the past. Learn to forgive and not to fight. These are the things that war tends to teach.
This book is excellent and very thought provoking. I hope that I have inspired someone to read it. The lessons packed inside of it are something that nobody should want to miss.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Identical Twins + 1 Girl = Heartbreak, January 26, 2001

By 

Michele Risner "momrisner" (Gibson City, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ticket Home (Hardcover)

I have read the other books by James Michael Pratt, "The Last Valentine" and "The Lighthouse Keeper" and really enjoyed them. I should have known that "Ticket Home" would bring me to tears since the others did, but somehow I was not prepared for them at all.

Although this is a work of fiction, it is a great story of WWII, and the Bataan Death March. Mr. Pratt has done a great job with his research on this book (as well as his others) and the story was very credible because of it.

There is so much I could say about this book, but I don't want to give it away. It is a wonderful story of love and deception that had me not wanting to put the book down!

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I Loved It, January 14, 2001

By 

Dr. John H. Mccord (Chehalis, Washington USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ticket Home (Hardcover)

I was browsing in a small book shop, looking for something by a gifted storyteller. Ticket Home fulfilled my wish. Pratt is a skillful writer who lets the story develop his characters. All of the characters were just right. In the end, I found myself caring about these people.

Ticket Home is a novel that should be read in the light of a warm fire with classical music playing and a kitten sleeping on your lap. It's a romance written for men who are not afraid of their emotions.