The Spring Offensive

by Howard L. Anderson

The Spring Offensive is the story of a doctor imprisoned for his refusal to fight in World War I. The novel begins a few years after the war when he is paroled to a small mission hospital in New Mexico. After he arrives. he finds himself caught in the middle of a feud between two local families and discoverers he didn't escape the war. It is the story of Andrea, a pilot who had spent the war at the airfields in France trying to get a chance to fly in combat. It is the story of Reynaldo Mondragon, who was willing to do what he needed to do in order to keep his sheep alive. Most of all, it is a story of the people who Northern New Mexico who have struggled for hundreds of years to remain the same.

Genres: Fiction

Unknown Binding

Reviews

[Eleanor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was not at all what I was expecting (considering the cover). I though it would be heavily plot-driven and it wasn't. Nor was it particularly focused on characters; we never really get inside their heads or their hearts. The whole book is a sort of set piece, a landscape, a mood - reading it felt more like looking at a work of art than like being entertained or being absorbed into a world. It was captivating, but distant. The prose is stark and simple in a way that really echoes the arid landscape in the book. It just worked really well as a literary whole.
That said, I don't usually like books like this and probably wouldn't have committed to it if I knew what I was getting myself into. Still, I read this one all the way to the end and was engaged in the story the whole time. I'm still thinking about it two months later, which means it must have made a real impact.

[Eliza Svihra · Rating 2 out of 5]

I won this in a goodreads giveaway. I started to like it close to the beginning, but it dragged rather quickly. It seemed to focus on the doctor as the main character, and the father of one of the main families mentioned. There wasn’t much to the story. Even after reading it, there wasn’t much memorable to it. The ending was absolutely trash. If I would’ve known how it ended, I probably would’ve never picked it up to begin with. There was also many typos in it, or sentences without punctuation. Not a fan.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a touching, heartfelt story that had me from the first page. I sort of knew what was going to happen but I still found myself really engrossed in John and, later, Andrea. I thought that the characters surrounding them were interesting, I loved the New Mexico setting and the touch of mysticism was just right. Tears but enjoyable!
I won a copy of this book in a Goodreads giveaway for this honest review.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF. I barely do this, but I really couldn't get into this book. I got halfway through.