SOMETHING ABOUT A SOLDIER

by Mark Harris ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 22, 1957

....and something about Pvt. Jacob Epp (ne Epstein), 17, from Perkinsville, New York, which is wistfully and ineffably appealing. Jacob, the son of a small town financier (pawnbroker) arrives in Cohoe, Georgia, with his Soldier's Handbook, a pair of broken glasses, and a set of ideals he cannot reconcile with reality. He broods over the Negro who cannot change his skin as easily as the Jew changes his name (he would like to have his old name back); he falls in love with Joleen, the countergirl in the PX; and he gets some help from Dodd, the Captain of his platoon, who is also a little in love with Joleen. As the weeks pass- his doubts and fears are magnified until he finally realizes that he cannot in conscience kill- he goes AWOL and in committed to the ""nutward"" so that when his platoon is shipped overseas to be killed- to the last man- Epp is left behind....A naive, sensitive, overserious kid- tussling with some of the unanswerable issues of our time, this is a perhaps roundabout way of asking some awkward questions but the intent is quite clear. It's a nice job.

Pub Date: Oct. 22, 1957

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Macmillan

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1957

Categories: FICTION