Official Review: a private war by Perry cockerell

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 16 Nov 2016, 08:38

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "a private war" by Perry cockerell.]

2 out of 4 stars

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A Private War by Perry Cockerell is a work of historical fiction covering the time leading up to and including World War 2. The novel follows two main story lines. First to be introduced are Andre and Booker, two young African Americans whose friendship must endure great family tragedy, their enlistment in the Army, and the ensuing hardships of war. The other main plot follows Oliver, a journalist who works his way through racial barriers to become the first African American war correspondent. The two main stories converge in the last third of the book, culminating in an intense courtroom drama. Although the main characters are fictional, many real historical figures make appearances throughout the novel.

Overall, A Private War has a lot of potential. The plot is intriguing, filled with twists and turns and well developed tension between the main characters, especially Andre and Booker. I enjoyed the content of the novel; the author provided great insight into the lives of African American soldiers as well as the lives of early war correspondents. Additionally, the author sufficiently set the scene; the descriptions of the places the characters traveled to felt real and clearly embodied the time period. Unfortunately, the book did not meet its full potential. Many moments that should have been dramatic fell flat.

My least favorite part of the novel was the character development. Although the author satisfactorily tells the story of Booker and Andre, the two characters were unmemorable. The secondary characters felt one dimensional as well. Characters tended to do things that disagreed with their development. For example, Booker’s uncle raises the boys and is described as being cruel and uninterested in caring for them; however, he has a very emotional reaction after the boys embark on their journey to become soldiers. Based on the way the character was developed, it felt contradictory and unnatural for him to take such an emotional turn. The more I read of the novel, the less I cared for the characters; they had few endearing qualities and many times felt interchangeable.

The prose throughout the novel is choppy, especially the dialogue. Characters often spoke in an unnatural way, using stilted speech that interrupted the flow of the narrative. Additionally, the writing lacked imagination; the author relied too much on providing large amounts of information in lieu of letting the reader form their own opinions and conclusions. There were too many instances where interesting plot lines felt rather dull, making it difficult to enjoy this book. I had a hard time finishing this book due to the lack of excitement in the writing.

I rate this book 2 out of 4 stars mostly because the novel did not live up to its full potential. If the writing had been more exciting, and the author had not relied so heavily on dumping information on the reader, I would have given this book a higher rating. Although I did not love this novel, I think readers who enjoy this time period, and are interested in a story focusing on overcoming racial barriers, may find this novel enjoyable.

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a private war
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Kdonegan91 · Post by **Kdonegan91** » 17 Nov 2016, 18:51

It is hard to finish a book that just doesn't keep the your interest. However, you managed to read the book and write an excellent review of it. Historical fiction is not really my cup of tea especially when the characters and story line are dull. It sounds like this book could have been better if the author would have taken their time to develop the story a little more.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 18 Nov 2016, 07:10

Thanks for taking the time to read my review! I agree that the book would have been significantly better if the story was better developed.

kimmyschemy06 · Post by **kimmyschemy06** » 22 Nov 2016, 09:41

That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very promising. Too bad about the flaws, especially the seemingly inconsistent character development. Great job on the review.

MarisaRose · Post by **MarisaRose** » 22 Nov 2016, 11:04

kimmyschemy06 wrote:That was a very honest review. The premise sounds very promising. Too bad about the flaws, especially the seemingly inconsistent character development. Great job on the review.

Thank you for your response and thank you for taking the time to read the review! The inconsistent characters really were a deal breaker for me.