Kurtz: A Novel

by John Lawson III

Nick Willard may be three years her junior but he has pined for Annie Kurtz since they were both prep school students. After 9/11, however, Annie joins the Marines, eventually making a split-second decision her superiors never wanted her to make and leaving her to wrestle with whether she should have followed orders or her conscience.




After her return from a combat deployment to Afghanistan, Nick, now a successful journalist, must grapple with his own conscience as he uncovers the reasons for the changes to the schoolgirl he has long deified. Together, Nick and Annie explore the tensions between love and friendship, even those between morality and law, as they come of age amid the psychological traumas that result when war makers sweep reality under a rug of ridiculous details.

Kindle Edition

Published March 15, 2024

Reviews

[John Cochran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kurtz is a compelling, multi-layered love story and thriller with two remarkable characters at the center: Annie Kurtz, who follows her own path to the Marines and then deployment to Afghanistan, and journalist Nick Willard, who loves her and faces a wrenching dilemma when he uncovers the horrifying reason Afghanistan has changed Annie. Set against the Global War on Terror, Kurtz draws inspiration from Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now and their critiques of imperialism, but it is thoroughly original, beginning with its vivid and nuanced portrayal of Annie, a smart, strong woman fighting to make a place for herself in a male-dominated world while remaining true to herself. Kurtz offers sharp insights into the naivete and moral obtuseness of post-9/11 military and security doctrine and also the challenges and complexities of being a thinking, moral grownup in a dark and often absurd world. Lawson's book is crisply written, mature in its take on love and politics, and a fun read, with a conclusion that is satisfying in being, appropriately, neither simple nor easy.

[Goldie Blumenstyk · Rating 4 out of 5]

In his first novel, John Lawson gives a fun, engrossing read that mixes elements of a coming-of-age story with political intrigue. The author’s familiarity w journalism and military culture lend an extra air of authenticity.