Amazon.com Review
There's a whole lot of triage going on in Scott Anderson's debut novel. First, there is the triage at the small Kurdish hospital where Mark Walsh, a wounded American war photographer, has been brought, in the wake of a battle between Kurdish separatists and Iraqi troops: those men deemed unlikely to survive by the woefully overworked and underequipped doctor in charge are summarily shot. Then there is the triage Mark himself performs after returning to the States as he goes through his various shots, sorting out which images will make the cut. Finally, there is the central mystery of what Mark saw and did during his time in Kurdistan--events so traumatic they continue to haunt him even after his physical wounds have healed. Though there appears to be no medical reason for it, Mark can't walk, and his Spanish girlfriend, Elena, is eventually forced to accept help from her estranged grandfather, Joachim--a psychiatrist who helped "purify" the consciences of Franco's fascist officers following the Spanish civil war.
Eventually the three travel together to Spain, where Mark, with Joachim's help, must face the secret he cannot bear to remember. As Joachim and Mark slowly forge a relationship with each other, they also strengthen their separate bonds to Elena. But as each man reveals his experience of war to the other, it becomes clear that when well-intentioned men commit evil acts--even for the best of reasons--there will always be a high price to pay.
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From Publishers Weekly
Journalist Anderson (The 4 O'Clock Murders) explores the difficulties of redemption in his austere, moving first novel, the story of a war photographer's recovery from a mind-altering head injury. Five weeks after he has been sent to cover a minor war in Kurdistan during the late 1980s, Mark Walsh is incapacitated by shrapnel from an artillery explosion and must return to New York to the care of his girlfriend, Elena Morales. Instead of recovering, Mark loses his sanity in stages, as merely quirky behavior (a false laugh, a non sequitur) escalates into derangement. Elena's grandfather, Joaquin, is a psychiatrist who, during the Franco regime, eased fascist war criminals' guilt after the Spanish Civil War. Although Elena is at first reluctant to allow him to counsel Mark, the two eventually embark upon an examination of Mark's wartime experiences. As Joaquin helps Mark to unblock his memory and discover the truth behind a friend's "disappearance" in Kurdistan, the elder survivor must grapple with the reality of his own past, questioning whether or not his acts of forgiveness were themselves forgivable. The narrative is at its best during Mark's reminiscences of battle, obviously growing from Anderson's own experiences as a wartime journalist; clear, simple diction combines with blazing imagery in these sections to achieve an eerie but alluring calm. At other times, Anderson's journalistic impulse is a detriment, as he summarizes rather than evokes characters' feelings. Yet several characters have sufficient depth to hold our interest. Joaquin is particularly intriguing, both detestable and magnetic. Coupling a provocative premise with a fine moral sensibility, Anderson has produced a memorable tale of two eras. Rights sold in France, Holland, Germany, U.K.; film rights to Mario Kassar Productions/Paramount Pictures. (Oct.) FYI: Anderson is a contributing editor at Harper's.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
