Miracle at St. Anna Book

From the book jacket: McBride was inspired by an historical incident that took place in a Tuscan village and by the experiences of the Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division, who served in Italy during World War II. It is the story of four American soldiers, the villagers among whom they take refuge, a band of partisans, and an Italian boy, all of whom encounter a miracle.

My reactions:
Like any good war story, McBride includes dangerous situations, tense relationships, descriptions of brutality, and strong characters who behave admirably in dire circumstances. Sam Train is a giant of a man, with limited intellectual capacity, but a strong faith and a tender heart. Bishop Cummings is a minister from Kansas City, but he seems more interested in gambling than fighting. Hector Negron is a Puerto Rican from Harlem who resents having been assigned to the Negro division, but whose modest knowledge of Italian is crucial to their mission. Second Lieutenant Aubry Stamps is an educated man, who went to officer candidate school, but is unable to understand or connect with the rural Southern blacks he is commanding. And then we have Angelo, the young Italian boy who has witnessed atrocities no one should have to see, and who is nearly dead when Train plucks him from the rubble.

I like magical realism, and McBride does a reasonably good job of using this technique. But he does not sugarcoat the realities of war, or of the conditions the villagers endured in Tuscany during this time period. The writing is realistic and visceral, though he does add small scenes of compassion that serve to ease the tension. At heart it is a story of brotherhood, redemption, and the power of love and faith.

A few passages really struck me:
To fight the enemy? Which enemy? The Germans? The Italians? The enemy was irony and truth and hypocrisy, that was the real enemy. That was the enemy that was killing him.

A Negro was trying to make rent, save up enough to buy milk for his kids, survive this fucked-up war, and still, when the war was over, when all the fighting was done and all the people made up, a German could go to America and live well, start a factory, work in business, run a bank, while Stamps would still be … a nigger. He'd be lucky to get a job delivering their mail.

And this description of the Mountain of the Sleeping Man:
Once you see him, you cannot escape him. He follows you everywhere you walk, morning, noon or night, his gargantuan face just over your shoulder - an enraged, snoozing ogre, about to awaken.