Friday, March 25, 2011

Leaving Jack, by Gareth Crocker ***

After months in Vietnam, soldier Carson Fletcher has had enough. He's tired of the rain, the mud, the discomfort, the danger - and most of all he's tired of seeing his buddies killed. But when his platoon encounters a yellow Lab named Jack, something in Carson comes alive again. He knows that if he can help Jack survive, he can save himself.

A friend recommended this short story to me. She said she's read it over and over and loves it every time. I've looked, and am pretty sure it's out of print... an audio version of it is going for $63 on Amazon, so I figured it must be a great story. I thought it was good, but not spectacular. The story opened up as the main character stands over his families grave, after an accident. He's already tried to commit suicide once over their loss, and decides to enlist to go to Vietnam to ensure his death in a 'useful' manner. It's a story that's been told many times in various forms, but it has potential.

Being the dog lover that I am, it feels odd to say this, but the story lost credibility when the dog is introduced. Injuries and events are a little to severe to be survived - multiple times. If you suspend your disbelief, the story is based on good premise; I just found it a little too hard to believe to get truly involved.

2 comments:

  1. Oh I disagree...

    Best,
    Gareth Crocker.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well, I get so few visitors at this little site, I never dreamed that I'd have an author of one of the book I discuss stop by. I suddenly feel as though I should apologize for not giving a better review.

    I will say that I enjoyed the book. I read it from start to finish in one sitting... staying up until almost 3:00am to finish it. I'll also say that I wondered as I wrote that description if I should give some qualification to what I didn't find believable, but I didn't want to give anything away.

    War stories are not my typical reading genre, so I really didn't know what to expect. I've never been to war, nor been part of the military. I consider myself lucky to be able to say that, even if it does leave me sheltered. I'm sure that many atrocities did (do) happen that I'd have trouble believing, but the portion of the story that I had trouble accepting had nothing to do with that.

    (Spoilers below)

    I also related to how Fletcher refused to leave without his dog - I think I'd do the same. Where I struggled was that Jack was on the receiving end of two incredible hail Marys. He was critically ill twice - while both dehydrated and starving - and unexpected to survive either in a relatively short amount of time. That he miraculously did - and lived another 10 years after that is what I had trouble believing.

    I think I could have accepted one of the hail Marys or the other, not both. Then again, I don't know how the story could have worked without both of those injuries, so maybe I need to stop looking for credibility in stories and just enjoy them as they're intended.

    ReplyDelete