Review of Memoir of a Deserter

[Mary Daurio]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Memoir of a Deserter" by Thomas Foster.]

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4 out of 5 stars

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Thomas Foster's ‘Memoir of a Deserter’, a National Indie Excellence Award finalist, illustrates well a young man's search for life’s answers. Thomas, detached and floundering, moved from activity to activity, place to place, and woman to woman. A seeker, Thomas read many books, turned to drugs, the Bible and God for truths and later to the army for solutions.

Thomas served three tours in the Middle East, first as an aid station medic, then as a field medic with a brief interlude at college between deployments. He came to understand ‘War Profiteering’ and that the answers he sought were not to be found in the military.

Reading ‘Memoir of a Deserter’, I often felt on the outside looking in. Though his story combined numerous personal and borrowed anecdotes, adding more emotional depth from his and others' perspectives would draw the reader closer. Following a landmine incident, Thomas uses narrative distance, saying, “The people of Afghanistan were not afraid of death, like us.” A more intimate view of his character's fears would benefit reader engagement.

However, the author did chronicle well and with emotion his marriage to Kaelyn dissolving, and his grandfather's illness and death. A total lack of compassion from the army when the author’s grandfather passed set the already disillusioned Thomas up for desertion.

The author describes the colour of most of the characters, depicting them in a non-racial way through simple observation. Still, I wasn’t sure if he was white or black until near the end of the novel when he calls himself a white boy from the West. Not that it mattered, nor did the other characters' colour.

Thomas, having not found his answers, continued searching after he deserted the army and hid out, becoming a tour guide on the small island of Vieques, Puerto Rico. It was there that the author read a book about the Bhagavad Gita and identified with Karma Yog, the art of giving and expecting nothing in return. This sentiment defines Thomas’s kind heart. Later, the author goes on to say, ‘Each person must recognize each truth when they are ready.’ These truths he uncovered in his search after walking the sand in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Vieques.

That realization was significant, and the book could have ended at that point for me because the final ending, in which new characters were introduced and the author’s marriage to Jahmi glossed over, in almost vignette form, did not satisfy me.

One thing that scattered the story was the many sideline narratives about people other than the main character, the memoirist. Because of these deviations, the account lacked cohesion. The Epilogue, though, did provide closure, and the advice for the reader to live their truth and make life beautiful for one another is the answer to the question Thomas sought, and sharing that treasure was lovely.

Although the book appears proofread and contains no glaring errors, a developmental editor could help the author weave its extraneous threads into a more cohesive whole. For this reason, I give ‘Memoir of a Deserter’ 4 out of 5 stars. This book would appeal to people of army age considering enlisting and those interested in the military or a different coming-of-age story.

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Memoir of a Deserter
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[Carmel Tabigue]

- "The novel excels in showing the nuances of human behavior; Thomas isn't simply a 'good guy' or a 'bad guy,' but a flawed individual navigating life's complexities."

[Kibet Hillary]

A book I read recently included a quote on how human beings will handles flower vases with care but deal with each without any care, and the advice to make life beautiful for others is timeless. I have enjoyed reading the review; thank you, @Mary Daurio.

[Mary Daurio]

Thank you, Hillary. The author saying, "...make life beautiful for one and other...," touched me and as you say, it is timeless. Learning to care for each other as if we were flower vases is something to spend a lifetime practicing. ( I love that analogy.)

[Mary Daurio]

Hi Carmel. I think you're right, one of the strengths of the novel is, as you say, that Thomas isn't simply a good or bad guy. We see the author's underbelly and struggles. There is no attempt to hide a flawed human nature, and that makes the novel raw and real.

[Kutloano Makhuvhela]

This was a good review. I think I would give this book a chance if I were to come across it. Keep up the amazing job of writing good reviews.

[Onyemuwa-dave]

Desertion may be a sensitive subject to most people in the military, but the author was bold enough to face the topic head on. He not only talked about desertion, but the things that led to it, giving us a clearer picture of what the deserter felt and passed through. The story sounds really interesting. Thank you for the review.

[Gerry Steen]

I am glad that the author seems to have finally found his truth and peace in his life after so much searching. Your review has piqued my interest in this memoir. I will add it to my bookshelves. Mary, thank you for this well-written and thorough review.