Neverlight

by Donald Pfarrer

Neverlight explores the marriage of Richard and Katherine Vail as Richard fights a war that Katherine comes to abhor. Richard is a volunteer, a naval gunfire officer serving with the Marine infantry in Vietnam. Katherine lives a secluded life with their daughter Terry in the New Hampshire woods.
Directing the big weapons, naval guns and Marine Corps artillery, Richard makes his decisions hour by hour -- at incalculable cost.

314 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1982

Reviews

[Sharon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I rarely ever just put a book down without finishing it, but sadly did so with this one a little over 2/3 of the way in. Started reading with enthusiasm this novel about a husband fighting in Viet Nam, a wife and daughter back home, and how their marriage and family survives from a "his/her" perspective. However, as the battle scenes deepened so did the military technical jargon, to the point that it was almost impossible for a non-war experienced civilian to follow. Meanwhile, back on the home front the wife and child's experiences, which originally started out interesting and poignant, dissolved into a strange and heavy self-dialogue smothered in the wife's penchant for Socratic method. Maybe its that I was reading the book at a time when I needed something lighter. Just couldn't slog through this one to the end.