Soldier's Son: An American Boyhood during World War II Book

I first started reading this when I was given the first few chapters and found them captivating. When I got the next set of chapters I vowed that I wouldn't read any more until I had the complete manuscript.

With a printed out version of the manuscript in a binder I took it with me for my summer time at the lake to read front to back. I was so spelled bound that near the end I was a blurry eyed mess.

Just before it was published I mentioned to some acquaintances. A woman asked me if I knew the ending. I relied with I did indeed, having lived during part of the aftermath. How the story got there was something I didn't know.

I again reread the book in published form at summer after it was published again at the lake and again I was a blurry eyed mess for the last few chapters.

Hodgkins tells a tale of how WWII creates hard shifts on a young family in deep rural Maine. It's told alternately between the family left behind in Temple and the fathers time in Europe just behind the front lines. He tells and honest tale of grim and hard life.

One of the few books I give 5 solid stars (though I am a bit biased, I'll admit to that!)