Review of The Greatcoat

[christina92]

[Following is a volunteer review of "The Greatcoat" by Lawrence DAntonio.]

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3 out of 4 stars

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The Greatcoat by Lawrence DAntonio is an historical fiction story about two family generations trying to reconcile their lives filled with traumatizing events of war through love, friendship and family. You first follow Herb Stenerude during the second world war. Herb went to war during the second world war out of honor and love for his country. He experienced the horror of war after being shot down behind the enemy lines. He is filled with regret and shame towards the experience he lived on Christmas Eve 1944 and is unable to tell the tale to anyone. Years later, his son Eric also experiences the horror of war in Vietnam. Will the different mindset of two generations regarding the war keep a family apart? Will Herb be able to appease his soul and let go of the past?

Lawrence DAntonio’s book has an incredible story. You get hooked to the story from the first few pages of the book. The detailed descriptions make you feel like you are living the story instead of reading it. The characters are so well developed that you feel like you know them. I learned details about the Vietnam war that I did not know before. It was a pleasure experience as well as an educational experience because the author did a really good research about the war in Vietnam and what was happening in the United States at that time.

Even if this book is amazing, there are some negative points to it. The book seems to start with an omniscient narrator to then switch to a first-person narrator. Then, throughout the book we get a first- and third-person narrator. At times, both narrative voices are used are the same time and it gets confusing. There are also some minor errors in names towards the end of the book which again makes it more confusing to follow the story without having to reread a few sentences twice or even three times.

I give 3 out of 4 stars to this book because the story is amazing and it makes you feel for the characters as if they were your family, however the confusing narrating voice can make it harder to follow the story properly.

I would recommend this book to an older audience that are not too sensitive, that loves war history, family theme, drama as there are some vivid descriptions and sexual content. Even people who does not enjoy reading can read this book since there are not even 300 pages.

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The Greatcoat
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