For Two Cents, I'll Go With You

by Marcia Maxwell

In the spring of 1917, Walter “Pat” Lusk sits at his desk shuffling papers and dreaming of glory on the battlefield. Frustrated, he’s convinced the Great War will remain forever out of reach until one day his friend Aubrey arrives with the thrilling news that the United States has finally declared war on Germany! With his path to adventure now clear, Pat immediately enlists in the Army, where he trains as a surgeon’s assistant. Sent to France with Evacuation Hospital No. 4, will Pat finally attain the glory he seeks treating desperately wounded soldiers through the war’s darkest days? Will he ever win over the redoubtable Nurse Oberholtzer? Will the Armistice bring peace to the boys of Evac 4, or does a time of even greater testing await Pat and his friends?

Now with ten thought-provoking questions from the author designed to help you or your book club get to the heart of this coming of age novella.

103 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 11, 2015

About the author

Born and raised in the Midwest, Marcia Maxwell discovered a passion for history while working on her Ph.D. dissertation. An edition of a 14th century manuscript in Anglo-Norman French, it became the genesis of her first novel, The Rogue Queen. Then, while visiting her family one summer she learned that her grandfather’s WWI letters had survived. Using paleographic skills honed in editing the medieval manuscript she transcribed and edited the letters only to find that they had been heavily censored. Undaunted, she researched the Great War, the Army Medical Department, and gathered her father’s oral version of his father’s adventures, for Granddad had shared them with no one else. Her second novel, For Two Cents, I’ll Go With You is based on his true story.

Reviews

[Audrey Adkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great WWI story based on a true story about a young man who enlists in the military and is sent to war. It is a story about Pat, who, after joining the military, is sent to work in evac hospitals. The story tells us about Pat's time in the military and all the things he endured from making new friends to being under attack and to eventually losing friends. It's a story about courage and hope. A story about seeing all the horrors they did only to come home and seeing their fellow soldiers still living those horrors daily. It is definite must read, especially if you like WWI historical novels. I gave this book five-stars only because it wouldn't let me give six.

[Jenn G · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've never read a book about WWII before. I liked this one, it was different because Pat wasn't on the battle field. He was a nurse. I liked the fact that it was a true story. It was hard to read sometimes before I would not be in his place.

[The Words We Carry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading stories based upon people’s family members. For Two Cents, I’ll Go With You is a short historical fiction novella (90ish pages) which focuses on Pa5 Lusk who heads to France during WWI to become an Army medic. As with many youth, he heads to the war with an idea of what it will be like and who he will become but he finds out that his expectations may not have been realistic. This story reads quickly as it has a lot of dialogue.

[Marcy Novak · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a well written account of a young soldier in WWI. Written as a novel, this history of a medical assistant focuses on the human side of the war, from stateside training to enemy encounters, and the aftermath of the war. I've read a great number of war memoirs, but never read anything quite so personal; you really get the feeling that you're hearing this tale from an elderly relative.

[SueAnn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Read

I never read a historical fiction! I loved reading this WW1 and from the beginning it hooked me to the end! With the war and when they come home is the painful thing to see or hearing stories! Read this story it will have you in tears. I love the bonding of brotherhood!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am not normally a historical fiction reader. I’ve watched plenty war movies but this hits very differently. It’s not constant battles and gore effects trying to drive an understanding of war. It is thoughts, and growth, and loss. It is well written and a quick, easy read.

[Yvonne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For Two Cents I'll Go With You follows Walter "Pat" Lusk from his role as a shipping clerk for a chemical company in Michigan, through his training in the Army Medical Corps to his posting as a surgeon's assistant with Evacuation Hospital No.4 in France during World War I.

Pat, his imagination fired up by his grandfather's stories of his time in the First Michigan Volunteer Cavalry during the American Civil War, yearns for glory and similar stories to tell his own grandchildren. When America declares war on Germany, it takes only a little cajoling from his friend, Aubrey, before he decides to enlist.

Like so many others, Pat was totally unprepared for what he was about to face. What promised to be a grand adventure quickly palled once he and his friends saw the devastation in France, experienced the horrific reality of war and the randomness with which lives could be lost, even if not in a combatant role.

Most of the books I have read relating to World War I were written from a British or Australian point of view, so I was very interested in reading about the war from an American perspective. From the opening chapters I realised that the reasons for enlisting were similar and further on in the book that even though the Americans entered the war late, their suffering and losses were no less horrific. Although not set in the trenches, this novel still managed to convey the tremendous loss of life and the appalling conditions under which the men and women had to work and live.

Pat is the narrator of the story, making it easy to form an attachment to him and his friends. He takes the reader through a range of emotions. His initial excitement at enlisting, mixed with trepidation at what lay ahead, is soon replaced by anger, sorrow and despair, and eventually the realisation that there is no glory to be had. However, as expected when young men are thrown together in unusual circumstances, there is humour and a great deal of camaraderie.

As incongruous as it may seem, amid all the horror and chaos, a ginger cat called Pip brings a sense of normality and a modicum of comfort to the boys. The cat comes and goes from their billet, but is there to offer Pat solace after a very emotional time. That scene and the ending of the novel are with me still.

For Two Cent's I'll Go With You was inspired by letters written by the author's grandfather to his mother and the oral stories of his war experiences told only to her father. The result is a very moving blend of fact and fiction, enhanced by the simplistic style in which it is written.

For Two Cent's I'll Go With You is a tale of one young man's experiences during World War I: of courage, duty, endurance, loss and friendship. It is a very thought provoking read and one that I am happy to recommend.

Thank you to Marcia Maxwell for providing me with a free copy to read and review.