Souvenir

by James R. Benn

An American soldier's life, from the Depression to WWII and the turbulent 1960s, is told through memory--and a dangerous secret.

Secrets trail an American soldier from his Depression upbringing to the cold winter battles in the Ardennes Forest in the last months of World War II, and through the postwar decades, as he struggles to keep his family from being torn apart while keeping the truth buried close to his heart. Clay Brock, proprietor of Jake's Tavern, has endured terrible losses throughout his life. In 1964, he is working to build a life for his wife and son, only to see everything he has worked for threatened by forces beyond his control. To keep his family from breaking apart, he must confront the very secret he has kept buried. For Clay, the war has never been over, and his foxhole buddy Jake Burnett never far from his thoughts. At two crucial points in his life, as a young father and later as an old man at the dawn of a new and unfamiliar century, his memories draw him back until he must confront them and speak the truth. But at what cost?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction

296 pages, ebook

First published February 27, 2012

About the author

James R. Benn is the author of Billy Boyle: A World War II Mystery, selected by Book Sense as one of the top five mysteries of 2006 and nominated for a Dilys Award. The First Wave was a Book Sense Notable title.
Benn is a librarian and lives in Hadlyme, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Historical Fiction/Fiction. There are a few different time lines. The main one is set in WWII as a young man fights on the front lines and how his fellow soldiers became more than just friends. They were more like family. The next most frequent time line is set in the mid 1960's, when our MC has a wife and young son and he has to come clean about some of his war secrets. And then there is a brief time line when the MC is an old man.

There was a strong narrative voice in this. I didn't like that at first, but once I settled into the lives of the characters it didn't bother me. I liked the way the author showed how, when under the stress of war, some people discover their heroic side and others, well, not so much. The characters felt like family in this one as their lives unfolded. They were grounded firmly in reality. I loved that part. So 3 stars.

[James]

SOUVENIR is a book of secrets, a novel of memory, loss and identity.
As Marcel Proust said:

The moments of the past do not remain still;
they retain in our memory the motion which drew them towards the future,
towards a future which has itself become the past,
and draw us on in their train.

Clay Brock is trying to forget. Forget a harsh childhood during the Depression, horrific combat in the frigid Adrennes Forest, and a terrible personal loss. But he finds, as a young father in the 1960s and as an old man in a new and unfamiliar century, that those moments of the past have not remained still at all.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lovely surprise this read was. This story was told over three time periods, 1945, 1964 and 2000 with an epilogue in 2002.
The story is about a man with two secrets and how he deals with them in the WWII theatre, through a marriage and fatherhood and finally in his dotage. The stories interweave and slowly the secrets are exposed to us.

A well written plot and a page turner. I really wanted to know those secrets!! Enjoy.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, not the book I expected from reading and enjoying the James Benn's Billy Boyle series. Read this to see what men do in war and what they do when they get back. I knew some vets from WW II and the one thing I learned is the guys who said little were the guys who saw stuff. This gives them a voice.

I recommend this book and all of James Benn's other books.

This might be my favorite book this year. I've had it sitting in my To Be Read queue for years. I'm actually glad i waited

[PLS · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audiobook: Another representation of the true, nitty-gritty experiences of war and consequent effects. Loss of one star due to the difficulty in keeping time periods straight. In one case a character was dead, then presented as alive and disabled, then alive, healthy young, then.... Particularly confusing as audio since one can't easily flip back a page or two to check the date. The primary characters held my interest and the depiction of PTSD appeared more realistic than often portrayed in some media. Some twists helped add interest without becoming absurd. Good narration

[Judie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just not my type of book.

[Candace Simar · Rating 4 out of 5]

wow. a great read that kept me glued to each page. James Benn at his best.

[Thomas Sharp]

multiple story threads, coming together at the end. World War II Battle of the Bulge is the most gut-wrenching.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the story and would love to see it on screen.

[Andrew Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a wonderful book that meshed good old World War II settings involving mainly the Battle of the Bulge but with a much bigger overarching story regarding friendships and obviously "souvenirs" that people carry with them. The story follows the main character from three different times in his life. His World War II part, another portion in the 1960s, and then as an old man at the turn of the century.

As always, Benn has done his research and delivers an action packed yet very introspective aspect of the World War II and I come away with learning something about the war despite very fictional aspect of the story. As the story unfolds, you can kind of tell where it's going but the characters' inner emotions and motivations unfold well like an onion with great pacing and and great parallel plots. And not only did I learn more about WW2 from Benn, I also enjoy how he explains the history or etymology of the main themes of his books. This one was rather obvious (the history of the world souvenir) but it was still reminiscent of the Billy Boyle series and was an enjoyable story nonetheless.

[Martha Alami · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this story of World War II vets and their lives after the war. I am the daughter of a vet and many descriptions of the war and how the veterans felt, not being able to talk about it, knowing what other vets went thru without even discussing it and life after the war, all rang true to me. Benn has created a well researched and very realistic story of a veteran with secrets. The story is well told, alternating between the war and the years after the war and then the later years of the main character. The secrets revealed are intriguing enough to keep you reading and wondering. The only thing I could criticize was too much of the battle scenes with too many details, although even those were well done. I just did not enjoy reading that much detail about weapons, sneak attacks and hiding in the woods. One or two of these would have been good with more interaction between the soldiers. In summary, a well written story (although there are quite a few editing errors, including missing words and articles from sentences) that I would recommend. Also, I will be trying the Billy Boyle series.

[El · Rating 2 out of 5]

This charts a man's life in three stages: his WW2 experience, his marriage and his later years. The man, Clay Brock, has well-hidden secrets which make his life difficult and make him hard to live with and love. The story weaves in betwen these periods of his life revealing snippets of information until we find out some truths at the end.

I found parts of this book very interesting but I wasn't gripped by the war descriptions. There seemed to be, for me, too many of these and I wanted the story to get back to the other times of his life. However, it was very well plotted with convincing characters and was beautifully read by Peter Berkot so all in all one worth reading.

[Heathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story grabbed my attention and didn't let go. The author's writing style is very beautiful and perfectly outlines the scenery without seeming too tedious. It just flows. I also like how the flashbacks were well identified with dates at the beginning of each chapter.

My only problem is the lack of quotations or italicized sentences to differentiate between spoken sentences, internal thoughts, etc. There were SOME quotation marks, but sometimes I was left wondering if something was actually spoken, just thought about, or if it was a narration.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had idea of what happen somewhere in the middle, but I could not figure out how he pulled it off till the end.

[Clare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that will stay with me. Great read.

[Denny · Rating 5 out of 5]

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