(A Bosnian soldier returns fire in downtown Sarajevo as he and civilians come under fire from Serbian snipers, April 1992)

In the 1970s CIA analysts warned that if Josip Broz Tito, the authoritarian leader of Yugoslavia died eventually the country would break apart and the result would be a nasty civil war.  Tito would pass from the scene in 1980, and it took until January 1992 for the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to cease its existence, dissolving into its constituent states.  Earlier an American National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) 15-90 presented a dire warning; “Yugoslavia will cease to function as a federal state within a year and will probably dissolve within two….A full-scale interrepublic war is unlikely, but serious intercommunal conflict will accompany the breakup and will continue afterward.  The violence will be intractable and bitter.”  

Slovenia was the first to declare its “sovereignty” in 1990.  Croatia followed in May, and in August, the Yugoslav republic of Bosnia-Herzegovina also declared itself sovereign.  Soon after, Slovenia and Croatia both declared formal independence on June 25, 1991.  Bosnia-Herzegovina declared its independence in May 1992, while the Serbs in Bosnia declared their own areas an independent republic.

(Women run for their lives across ‘Sniper Alley’ under the sights of Serb gunmen during the siege of Sarajevo. 1992)

Serbia and Montenegro formed a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a successor state to the old Yugoslavia, but the international community did not recognize its claim.  Over the next three years war would ensue in Bosnia and Herzegovina claiming hundreds of thousands of lives and displaced millions from their homes, as Europe experienced the most horrific fighting since World War II.  One major component of the fighting was the siege of Sarajevo which came about because the Bosnian Serbs wanted to create a new Serb state of Republika Srpska and would encircle the city, located in the southern part of Bosnia-Herzegovina.  Starting in April 1992, Serbia set out to “ethnically cleanse” Bosnian territory by systematically removing all Bosnian Muslims, known as Bosniaks. Serbia, together with ethnic Bosnian Serbs, attacked Bosniaks with former Yugoslavian military equipment and surrounded Sarajevo, the capital city.  The resulting blockade and the ensuing assault with artillery, tanks, and 500,000 bombs resulted in the death of 13,952 people, including 5,434 civilians.  The population of Sarajevo dropped by a third because of the siege which lasted from April 5, 1992, to February 29, 1996, three times longer than the siege of Stalingrad, and a year longer than the siege of Leningrad.

The reasons behind the country’s breakup ranged from cultural and religious divisions between the ethnic groups that made up the former Yugoslavia, including Serbs, Croats, and Muslims.  Sarajevo’s 1991 ethnic population consisted of a total of 527,049, including; 259,470 ethnic Muslims; 157,143 Serbs; and 34,873 Croats.   In addition, the memories of World War II and the atrocities committed by all sides greatly contributed to the breakup, as did the growing nationalist forces.  Another major contributing factor was following the death of Tito in 1980, the provisions of the 1974 constitution kicked in providing for the dissolution of all power away from the federal government to the republics and autonomous provinces within Serbia.  The result was that the federal government maintained little control over the country.

This situation forms the background for Priscilla Morris’ evocative novel, BLACK BUTTERFLIES.  The story begins as Zora, an artist and teacher, and her husband, Franjo arrive at Zora’s aged mother’s apartment to find three people squatting and refusing to leave arguing that the city government had decided that if a flat was unoccupied anyone could live there.  Their daughter Dubravka was married to an Englishman and resided near Salisbury, and they decided to send her mother to visit because of the stress of the situation and her declining health, accompanied by Franjo leaving Zora alone in Sarajevo.

(A wounded woman is helped to get out of her apartment building after it was hit by a rocket fired from Bosnia Serb positions, June 1995)

The novel focuses on the experiences of Zora Kocovic, an artist and teacher at the National Academy of Art and her attempts at survival as Sarajevo is being pounded by artillery and sniper fire by Bosnian Serbs who want to ethnically cleanse the city of Muslims and Bosnian Serbs who do not support them.  Zora’s family has left for England and Zora thought it would be safe to remain in the city, but that turned out to be a “pipe dream.”  Along with her neighbors they try to navigate a situation where electricity, water, phone lines, and the airport have been cut off and it is too dangerous to walk the street to find food and water because of sniper fire.  Bodies lay in the street for days and city services are non-existent.

One of Morris’ most important themes is the importance of art in wartime, particularly those who are suffering.  This can be seen in numerous ways.  Zora continues to instruct those students who are able to make their way to her flat, even creating an art exhibition out of any material they can employ for the neighborhood.  When she runs out of paper and canvas, she and her eight year old neighbor’s daughter Una draw on the walls and paint natural scenes.  To further her work, Zora takes her last few coins to purchase art supplies from the wife of an artist who has disappeared.

(UN peacekeepers and Sarajevo citizens take cover from gunfire on the city’s infamous ‘Sniper Alley’, March 1993)

Morris’ description of Sarajevo is vividly rendered from its cobblestone streets, grandfathers playing chess outside, the shade offered by the spires of Orthodox churches, and the minarets dating to the Ottoman era.  It was a beautiful city before the siege and served as a bridge between east and west based on its multi-ethnic culture and religions.  But as the siege begins to take its toll people are reluctant to leave despite the danger for fear squatters would take over their flats, stealing their possessions.  Morris uses the dialogue between her characters to shine a light on the ethnic hatred that exists in the city.  A comment by Zora’s neighbor Vensa, an orthodox Christian is emblematic of how people feel, she says to Zora; “But God, I’m terrified, aren’t you?  Day by day, Sarajevo is becoming more Muslim.”  Zora visits her Uncle Vuk who believes that the Muslims want an Islamic state, and Serbs would then be treated as if the Ottoman Empire were reconstituted.  This leads to constant anxiety among her characters as she goes on to describe “Bosnian Serb snipers lying behind sandbags on the tops of buildings and taking aim at people in the street below as if they are sparrows.”

Serb nationalists cannot accept that people like Zora want to go on living with Muslims and Croats as they have always done – historically, Sarajevo was always seen as a model of tolerance.  The situation is very trying for Zora.  Her studio was her sanctuary, but once Bosnian nationalists banned it, she hurried to recoup as much art supplies and her paintings as possible, but they would soon run out.  Zora becomes further depressed when she was promised a seat on a UN bus leaving the city and at the last minute it fell through.

In one of the most poignant scenes in the book is also its title, Zora and her neighbors are outside when it seems to be raining black puffs of paper.  In reality it is paper from books that have been destroyed from the National Library by the shelling.  They refer to the paper flying around as “Black Butterflies.”  For Zora, her national heritage has been destroyed.  She states, “Zora Kocovic, the painter, is dead.” Her survival rests on her relationship with her neighbor Mirsad, who owns a bookstore and his son Shamir, who has joined the anti-nationalist forces.  Their camaraderie, along with other neighbors, becomes the core of each other’s existence.  The people become their own family, and their relationships carry them through the harshest aspects of the shelling.  They create a sumptuous meal for all in Zora’s flat, they work to find a phone that works so Zora can speak with her daughter in London, Zora cooks pigeons, spending money needed for art supplies to buy garlic so she can cook for all, among other examples.  Even when Zora falls in love with Mirsad, which occurs after many seasons of mutual suffering, it is a love doomed to fail as the conflict rages on, as it is born out of proximity and trauma and the constant fear of loss, rather than a betrayal of her husband in England.

Morris takes a narrow approach in developing her story and toward the expanding fighting.  Her focus on Zora and her compatriots allows her to keep the burgeoning war in the background as she focuses on the daily travails of her characters.  According to Malavika Praseed in her August 28, 2024, book review entitled, “Rebirth Amongst Despair in “Black Butterflies” in the Chicago Review of Books; “While it is easy for a book of this nature to end either in soul-crushing despair or unrealistic optimism, Morris is savvy in her story craft and chooses neither. This is true to Zora’s character arc compared to her life arc; while the former ends, the latter must continue in new circumstances and with new knowledge of the suffering that came before. It is also true to the Bosnian genocide as a whole, which only just begins in Sarajevo and escalates to a multi-year conflict with an Islamophobic focus. Nevertheless, Black Butterflies is both a historical portrait as well as a character one, with emphasis on the latter. Morris understands her intent, to tell a single story touched by many other characters, but still unmistakably Zora’s, instead of widening her scope and losing tender moments and pinpoint detail in the process.” 

Further, Bea Seaton wrote in the New York Times on September 3, 2024 ,a view I agree with wholeheartedly; “This is a dark novel that wrests beauty and hope out of suffering.  It is a work of literature that transforms horror and violence into a life force.”

(A boy playing on a tank in the Sarajevo neighbourhood of Grbavica, April 1996)

Mark Sullivan’s grasp of story creation for historical fiction is exceptional.  He has the ability to blend storytelling with historical facts that transport the reader to different eras seeking to understand the interplay of human relations.  This talent was on full display in his previous two novels; BENEATH THE SCARLET SKY which centers on the rescue of Jews  during the Holocaust guiding and transporting them across the Alps, and THE LAST VALLEY which focuses on people caught between the pincer of Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia during World War II Ukraine.  Sullivan’s remarkable story telling gift is on full display in his latest effort; ALL THE GLIMMERING STARS as two young people, Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori are kidnapped and forced into the fanatical Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) in the early 1990s, though the story encompasses the 1987-2009 period.  Sullivan describes how these two and other victims try to navigate their captivity and survive.  The book is historical fiction, but it is based on the actual journey of Anthony and Florence.

Image

(LRA leader Joseph Kony)

In developing his plot line, Sullivan describes the daily existence in parts of Uganda where a primitive lifestyle full of disease, poverty, and civil war is the norm.  At the outset, the main characters are children.  Anthony Opoka is a fifteen year old when seized by the LRA, after a wonderful life with his family, particularly his father George, who spends his time instructing his son from an early age to be a good human.  Florence Okori, who lived 60 kilometers southeast of Anthony’s village comes from a family that believes in education, and she is a lover of school and her goal in life is to be a nurse.  However, nomadic warriors called the Karimojong  arrive at her school, strip her teachers and burn all educational facilities.  Florence is devastated as she had spent two years surviving a measles epidemic and now she has lost the thing she loves.

Anthony and Florence will meet in captivity and fall in love realizing that they can never go home again.  Under the threat of messianic warlord Joseph Kony and his LRA who continue to kidnap children to do their fighting, Anthony and Florence devote their lives to helping their fellow child captives escape bondage and return to their families by relying on their early education by their parents by following the stars.

(Anthony Opoka and Florence Okori)

As the story evolves Sullivan lays out the psychological imprint that the LRA strives for as it brain washes its child recruits.  Joseph Kony sees himself as a messiah in the light of Jesus and his own version of Catholicism.  Military and mind training are developed through Anthony’s experiences and his friend Patrick Lumumba who saves his former competitor’s life on more than one occasion.  The combat experiences are vivid and hundreds of unarmed child soldiers are killed.  Dealing with Anthony’s psyche on multiple levels, Sullivan brings out the hidden survival skills taught by his father as he approaches a life as “a good human.”  For Anthony, who “not long ago had been a head boy, a top student, a leader, a revered son and brother, a running champion, a young man with a bright future in front of him,” all seem lost as he is absorbed into the LRA.  At first, Anthony seems to try and rationalize the benefits of his situation, but after facing combat as an unarmed teenager and a fully equipped soldier his attitude become one of bitterness against Kony believing his youth and promise has been stolen by a man who ruled with merciless fear, killing children or turning children into killers for his own insane ideas.

The situation for child  recruits is deplorable as they are used as cannon fodder in the LRA’s war to overthrow the Ugandan government.  The back story is clearly laid out as the LRA is allied with the Sudanese government which is threatened by the Dinka tribe in southern Sudan.  In return for the LRA fighting the Dinka, the Arab government supplies the LRA with weapons, money, and training.  Kony’s rationale is to employ his forces to defeat the Dinka, and once that job is completed take all they have acquired and learned and overthrow the Kampala government.

The story markedly changes when Anthony and Florene are abducted.  Their lives were now subject to Kony’s whims and the LRA with so many contemptible rules about all aspects of their existence.  Sullivan takes the reader throughout northeast Uganda and southern Sudan as combat rages and the death count rises, particularly among the child warriors.  Sullivan delves into Kony’s thought process as the guerilla leader’s goal was to create fighters out of 12 to 16 year old teenagers because their brains were not fully developed, weak, and ready to be brainwashed and trained.  His rationality rested on the lack of  anything good in their lives.  Kony’s convoluted belief system alleged that once they made it through their training ordeal and facing the enemy without weapons they would realize their value to Kony personally and the LRA in general.  They would then feel part of a family and a vision of the future which would link them to Kony forever.

(Anthony and Florence on the left, the rest are family and friends)

As time passed, Anthony was accepted into Kony’s good graces as he rose to become his communication officer.  Despite his survival, Anthony grew increasingly bitter and angry toward Kony as he witnessed the seizure of thousands of child recruits and their resulting deaths.  For Anthony, Kony was a cruel megalomaniac.

Sullivan’s gift is his ability to write about the horrors of events in Uganda and southern Sudan in a manner that allows the reader to tolerate their revulsion as to LRA actions.  This is accomplished as Sullivan does not hammer the reader with repulsive descriptions but lays out events as “softly” as possible.

Sullivan introduces and develops a number of important characters that influence Anthony and Florence’s lives.  Mr. Mabior, a shopkeeper, educated Anthony as he lay dying and imparts his wisdom concerning the “four voices of suffering;” Mr. Alonsius, Florence’s teacher whose praise created her goal of becoming a nurse; Miss Catherine, a nurse whose care saved Florence from dying from measles;  Patrick Lumumba, Anthony’s racing competitor who will become his friend and guide him through the labyrinth of rules fostered by the LRA;  Anthony’s father, George offered much needed advice that was the key to Anthony’s survival – “whenever you were confused about what to do, always ask – what would a good human do?” and Josca, Florence’s mother, would always say, “there is nothing stronger than the power of love – whatever the problem, it could be solved by turning to love as the answer.”

The dichotomy of Anthony and Florence’s lives are on full display before and after their abduction.  Their eventual love for each other and their children will help them overcome practically anything as they both came from strong loving families, and they maintained the values their parents taught them throughout their lives.  Sullivan’s recreation of their life story is at times harsh, warm, with the ability to face and overcome whatever challenges they must confront.

(Joseph Kony and his followers)

Ultimately the novel describes two people who are madly in love, resilient, and the ability to persevere, exhibit tremendous courage, with a high degree of compassion.  Their upbringing, family values, and moral code allowed them to survive.  It is a story of a spiritual journey taken by two people which resound throughout the novel. Sullivan has authored an impactful story and hopefully his subject matter dealing with child seizures, war, and death will end quickly in areas of Africa.

To conclude, every time I read a Mark Sullivan novel the time expended is rewarding on every level.  I hope he is working on his next book which I will read with pleasure.  Sullivan continues to tell stories that are inherently moving, inspiring, healing and without doubt extremely meaningful for me and his many readers.

———————————————————————————————————————————————-

After the Ugandan Civil War, Kony participated in the subsequent insurgency against president Yoweri Museveni under the Holy Spirit Movement or the Uganda People’s Democratic Army before founding the LRA in 1987. Aiming to create a Christian state based on dominion theology, Kony directed the multi-decade Lord’s Resistance Army insurgency. After Kony’s terror activities, he was banished from Uganda and shifted to South Sudan.

Kony has long been one of Africa’s most notorious and most wanted militant warlords. He has been accused by government entities of ordering the abduction of children to become child soldiers and sex slaves. Approximately 66,000 children became soldiers, and 2 million people were displaced internally from 1986 to 2009 by his forces. Kony was indicted in 2005 for war crimes and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, but he has evaded capture. He has been subject to an Interpol Red Notice at the ICC’s request since 2006. Since the Juba peace talks in 2006, the Lord’s Resistance Army no longer operates in Uganda. Sources claim that they are in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), the Central African Republic (CAR), or South Sudan. In 2013, Kony was reported to be in poor health, and Michel Djotodia, president of the CAR, claimed he was negotiating with Kony to surrender.

By April 2017, Kony was still at large, but his force was reported to have shrunk to approximately 100 soldiers, down from an estimated high of 3,000. Both the United States and Uganda ended the hunt for Kony and the LRA, believing that the LRA was no longer a significant security risk to Uganda. As of 2022, he is reported to be hiding in Darfur.*

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Kony

(The city of Ghent, Belgium during WWII)

Internationally acclaimed Dutch author Stefan Hertmans has written two powerful historical novels that have achieved extraordinary recognition.  The first, WAR AND TURPENTINE was long listed for the Man Booker International Prize in 2017 and the second, THE CONVERT was a 2020 National Jewish Book Award finalist.  His latest effort, THE ASCENT is a captivating story about family and evil that alludes to the problems that face society today.

It is a story that originated with Hertman’s own life experiences.  In 1979, the author purchased a town house in the Belgium city of Ghent.  It was in poor condition that dated back to the end of World War II.  Though a neglected structure, Hertman was enamored with it.  The house forms the basis of the novel which fits the mold of a technique known as auto fiction, a combination of autobiography and fiction that describes the author’s quest to learn about Willem Verhulst, a Flemish nationalist who during World War II was a member of the SS and sought to link Flanders and Nazi Germany.   Hertmans was unaware of the checkered history of the house when he purchased it and the interaction between the real estate agent and the author lends itself to the condition of the house and why it attracted him.  Years later when he sold the house he came across a memoir of the previous owner’s son, Adriaan Verhulst, a renowned professor of history and coincidentally, the author’s former teacher.  Hertmans would learn that Adriaan’s father, Willem had served in the SS during World War II and committed unspeakable crimes.

(Pro-Nazi rally with speech by VNV strongman Hendrik Elias (Vlaams Nationaal Verbondat) at Grote Markt, Antwerp, on 26 September 1943)

Hertman would become obsessed with the Verhulst family resulting in an exploratory mission to tell the story of Adriaan’s father, the story of the house in which he lived, and the people who he came in contact with.  Hertman’s relies on memoirs, diaries, official documents, and interviews with Willem’s three children to recreate the lives of one family as they navigated the tumultuous events of World war II under the aegis of Nazi collaboration in their midst.  The result is an amazing novel that reimagines the life of a family surviving a world war that destroyed a significant part of Europe.  It is a testament to the author who successfully blends history and fiction to reach its readers about the past, the role of human nature during conflict, and providing lessons for the future.

Hermans carefully lays out the national and ethnic conflict that existed in Belgium before and during the war.  It centers on Flemish nationalists who wanted schools to reflect Dutch culture and those who favored the French.  Willem loathes the Belgium state and hitches his wagon to Flemish nationalism.  Willem was blind in one eye from childhood, and it greatly affected his socialization process while growing up and provides clues for his later behavior.  Willem’s first wife, Lisa, will die of cervical cancer in 1925 in her late twenties.  Two years later he will remarry Harmina Margaretha Wijers who had been Lisa’s nurse during her illness when she lived with her pastor who never accepted the “one eyed” Belgium.

Harmina who went by the name Mientje and Willem had a son Adriaan, and two daughters, Aletta, and Suzanne.  Mientje was a very pious Protestant and grew suspicious of her husband’s activities and his interest in Nazism.  Willem was a womanizer who had a long running affair with a woman nine years his junior named Griert Latomme.  For Mientje her children were her life and she overlooked “pappi’s” faults for years.  Willem would force the family to move from a comfortable middle class home in Ghent to a house provided by the Nazis in Oudburg after he had ingratiates himself with the SS and often traveled to Germany.  Needless to say, Mientje despised the house.

(German soldiers parade past the Royal Palace in Brussels, 1940)

Hertmans does an excellent job describing the German occupation of Belgium and its impact on its citizens.  He follows the course of the war carefully and has a firm knowledge of historical events and battles.  The author intersperses chapters describing his purchase of the house and his interactions with the children and other decades after the war. 

(‘Confidential agent’ Willem Verhulst and his wife Mientje in 1930) 

Under the German occupation Willem is made Director of the Ghent Rediffusion Service to be used as a vehicle for Nazi propaganda.  From this position Willem rose in the Nazi hierarchy to become a reliable collaborator and achieved SS rank as he cobbled together thorough lists of resistance fighters and anyone who opposed or even spoke words that the Nazis deemed treasonous.  Countless people were rounded up, beaten, tortured and many would die in the extermination camps.

The marriage of Willem and Mientje made little sense.  He possessed a dual personality; on the one hand he was very sweet toward his wife, but he was a womanizer and a Nazi collaborator.  He did his best to keep his wife and family in the dark when it came to his activities.  She was very religious and cannot fathom why their lives have taken such a drastic turn.  Once he started wearing his SS uniform at home, she forbade the children to enter certain rooms that were used for Nazi visitors and held Nazi memorabilia referring to them as “the death rooms.”  The issue of spousal loyalty reverberates throughout the novel.  No matter how abusive he acted at times or as she learned of his Nazi activities she always tried to smooth over their relationship and keep him calm, standing by him. However, by July 1944 when Willem contemplates fleeing with the family to Hanover, Germany, she refuses to allow herself and the children to accompany him.

(Stefan Hertmans)

Hertmans does a masterful job weaving the post war history of how collaborators fled Belgium and how they were treated by the Germans and Belgians upon their return.  Roughly 15,000 Flemish citizens fled with another 6,000 Walloons joining them. By integrating so much factual information into the novel it reflects the authenticity of the story as the author fictionalized certain aspects of his work.

The book is segmented into two parts.  The first half surrounds Willem’s rise in the Nazi hierarchy and the deeds that would result in his arrest and imprisonment.  The second half of the book focuses on the post war period as Willem languishes in prison unrepentant, writing untruths and fantasies in his diaries, while outside, Europe lies in ruins.  Hermans describes the boarders who Mientje housed and their futures, and what became of Mientje and her children and the final years of their father.   David McKay provides a lucid translation from the Dutch which is illustrated with photographs and other information.  Hertmans combination of history and fiction is a powerful reminder that the horrors of World War II are inexhaustibly fascinating and how events that seem beyond our control can result in disaster.

---

(WWII German Luftwaffe soldiers training with a MG 34 machine gun – probably near Ghent, Belgium)

The Vietnam War has sparked numerous arguments over the roles of diverse groups and vocations.  One that has been dominant is the role of nurses, particularly women.  How many served in what capacity, their experiences dealing with combat, and interactions with wounded soldiers all come to mind.  There have been a few works of non-fiction that stand out in the discussion of nurses during the war, they include; AMERICAN DAUGHTER GONE TO WAR by Winnie Smith; HEALING WOUNDS by Diane Carlson Evans; and HOME BEFORE MORNING by Lynda Van Devanter.  Recently, Kristin Hannah, the bestselling  New York Times author has published her latest novel that deals with the issues faced by American nurses during the war, entitled THE WOMEN.

Hannah’s work of fiction begins with Frances Grace McGrath, a twenty year old nursing student asking the question “why couldn’t women be heroes?” after examining the photos in her father’s study displayed on what he called his “wall of heroes.”  McGrath noticed there were no women on display, and with her brother off to fight in Vietnam she surmised that he too would soon be exhibited on the “wall.”  Tired of being primed by her parents to marry and have children, McGrath decides to enlist in the US Army Nursing Corps and join her brother in Vietnam.  Almost immediately after joining up she learns that her brother has been killed in a helicopter accident, with the Pentagon offering few if any details about how he died.

Hannah’s work returns the reader to a time in American history where faith in government was decreasing daily and people took to the streets because of war – sounds familiar.  The book chronicles the evolution of Francis McGrath from an inexperienced nurse who was raised with the values of the 1950s to an independent women who found her calling in the surgical ward in Vietnam.  Hannah’s description of operating rooms, triage, the friendships and love she found, the impact on the Vietnamese people and American GIs rings true.  McGrath would soon learn that the rules of “polite society” that she left in Cornado Island, California was unimportant in Southeast Asia.  The only way she felt she could survive was develop a “hard shell” to protect her heart.  She quickly learned to focus, tune out the noise and napalm to help the wounded in pre-Op, Post-Op, and try to recover each day from what she experienced by returning to her “hootch” and commiserate with her fellow nurses.

(Lt. Cmdr. Dorothy Ryan, a Navy nurse, checks on a Marine aboard the Repose in 1966).

The horrors of war are on full display in THE WOMEN.  The descriptions of injured soldiers and Vietnamese peasants are raw and for McGrath it reminded her of her brother’s death.  Hannah’s approach to the daily existence of Vietnamese peasants is accurate as she describes the effects of napalm, agent orange, the destruction of their fields, and the loss of their men.

As the novel evolves you can discern McGrath becoming more and more disillusioned with the conduct of the war and the slaughter of the Vietnamese by American bombing.  Despite these feelings McGrath will reup for a second tour as she believes that nursing in Vietnam was now her calling.

There are a number of important storylines to the novel.  First and foremost is McGrath’s growth as a person, then her world crashing down upon her return to the United States, the loss of loved ones, and the betrayal she felt fostered by others.  Her experiences in a field hospital in Pleiku made her an exceptional nurse and achieved a competency that she believed she could never attain.  But the war created demons, particularly as everyone she loved seemed to perish in the war or lied to her.  Soon she would develop an emptiness that called for alcohol, pills, and rage, especially when she returned home and was spat upon by anti-war demonstrators and the fact that even her father did not recognize her experiences in a war zone and society in general held the belief that women did not fight in Vietnam.

Hannah creates a support system for McGrath through the friendship of fellow surgical nurses; Ethel Flint from a Charlottesville, Va. farm and Barb Johnson, a black nurse from a one stoplight town in Georgia.  The bonds of friendship, emotional support, and general love for each other made the war and post-war situation almost palatable.  This relationship and other aspects of the book take the reader on an emotional rollercoaster which is common in Hannah’s other novels.  Here, at times it is a bit overblown as McGrath passes from one crisis to another suffering from PTSD, and an inability to face the truth about her feelings and relationships.

(Air Force 2nd. Lt. Kathleen Sullivan comforts a Vietnamese child as part of the military’s Medical Civic Action Program, MEDCAP, which assisted people in villages).

The book is a time capsule of the 1960s through 1970s in American history.  As a historian who has taught and studied the war for decades I found the book factual, emotional, with an accurate representation of the scars that afflicted American society at the time.  From McGrath’s experiences one sees the elements of the lies and horrors of war which I am certain still haunt thousands of Americans.  With the current situation in Gaza and the demonstrations across college campuses I found myself back in the 1966-1974 period with the Tet Offensive, anti-war demonstrations, POWS, Kent State, and it is not a comfortable feeling.

Hannah knows how to pull every emotional string a reader can feel, especially for those of the Vietnam generation.  At times, McGrath’s personal chronology seems a bit much as she experiences so much tragedy, misinformation about life, a rejection by her family, and an inability to deal with her demons. The many plot twists that Hannah creates for McGrath are analogous to what many veterans experienced when they returned home.  Hannah does not offer anything new about the war and its aftermath, but she places women at the center of her novel, playing a significant role saving the lives of American soldiers.  This is an important story which needed to be told to a wide readership, which Hannah has accomplished very well.

(U.S. Army nurses at the 93rd Evacuation Hospital in Long Binh, near Saigon, in 1968, work to stabilize a patient. Nurses in Vietnam often faced not only intense demands for patient care but also the threat of attacks on close-by military facilities and even the hospitals themselves).

(Jean-Bertrand Aristide, centre, a former Catholic priest, won Haiti’s first free election in 1990 – he was removed in a coup in 1991)

The images out of Haiti that appear on the nightly news each day are horrible.  Starving children, gang violence, lack of government control, and a society still reeling from recent earthquakes seem almost normal.  Haiti is afflicted by constant gang wars fighting for control of Haitian cities, villages, and neighborhoods.  It is important that a new novel that highlights these difficulties has been released.  Ben Fountain’s fourth work, DEVIL MAKES THREE takes place in the early 1990s with Haitian instability at its height as a violent coup de’ état led to the overthrow of President Jean-Betrand Aristide’s government.  The novel tells a fascinating story which is fictional, however, the background commentary lays out the terror of the daily existence of the Haitian people.

Fountain develops his novel focusing on American expat Matt Amaker who is forced to abandon his beachfront scuba business because of the chaos that dominates the Caribbean country.  Amaker will team up with his friend Alix Variel, a member of a prominent Haitian family, and a partner in the defunct scuba business to pursue priceless treasures rumored to be buried on historical shipwrecks off a remote section of Haiti’s southern coast.  Admirers of the work of Joseph Conrad, Graham Greene and John Le Carrie should see similarities in Fountain’s approach as he develops this deeply humane political thriller.

The novel opens with the 1991 coup in full swing.  The coup resulted from the first democratic election in Haiti’s history as Aristide, a populist Catholic priest was elected president of Haiti.  Aristide, a member of the National Front for Change and Democracy party, was one of the only church figures to speak out against the repression that existed under the dictatorships of the Duvalier family.  Aristide’s populist Lavalas movement which advocated the use of legislation and popular mobilization as vehicles for economic reform , an end to corruption, and justice for victims of the Haitian military and the Tonton Macoutes, (a Haitian paramilitary and secret police force created in 1959 by dictator François “Papa Doc” Duvalier) earned 67.5% of the popular vote.  Since Aristide’s program threatened the power of some of the Haitian elite, many of which were supporters of the Duvalier’s and the Haitian military it is not surprising that his election was soon negated. The coup took place on September 28, 1991, and was led by General Raoul Ceras and the Haitian army. The military immediately targeted pro-Aristide officials, rural and peasant organizations, neighborhood and community associations, and trade unions.  The press and radio stations were soon silenced.  Because of human rights abuses over 14,000 Haitian refugees arrived at Guantanamo seeking asylum.

As Fountain’s novel evolves the reign of terror of the Haitian military and gangs seem to permeate each scene.  As he proceeds Fountain provides an insightful description of Haitian politics and society with poverty, corruption, and violence on full display. 

Fountain introduces a number of important and interesting characters as the novel progresses.  Alix who convinces Matt to move to Haiti from the United States to set up a scuba business on land owned by his family and led by its matriarch Lena Varie plays a significant role.  Audrey O’Donnell aka. Shelly Graves is a “clandestine service trainee” who arrived during the coup as an assistant political attaché as her CIA cover.  Graves will fall in love with Alix creating a rather unusual relationship.  There is Tommy Rittenhouse who runs the Kokiyaj Beach Resort; Dr. Jean-Hubert Laroque who operates his family’s hospital which has existed in Haiti for generations; Misha Variel, a Ph. D candidate in French literature at Brown University who Matt adores; General Romeo Concers, second in command during the coup; Sonia Delambre, the mistress of Colonel Rene Delvas and a CIA asset; Charles Durham “CD” Nelms who helped finance the treasure hunting scheme and then abandoned Matt and Alix; and a host of other characters that remind one of Conrad, Greene, and Le Carrie.

The role of the CIA is important as Chief of Station Lorenz and his people grew concerned that Matt and Alix would discover gold and silver which would be seized by the Haitian army and used to stabilize its dictatorial regime.  This scenario was complex because Shelly and Alix’s affair will end, and she is distraught.  An undercurrent throughout is the role of the US government as people wonder if newly elected President Bill Clinton will allow boat people into the United States, a departure from the policies of the Bush administration.  Fountain integrates American duplicity, support for corporate interests, and in effect the exploitation of the Haitian people on a daily basis.

Employing Matt’s expertise, Fountain leads the reader through the deep exploration of the Haitian coast in search of treasure located in Anse Serrat. Matt is convinced there are bronze cannons, gold, and silver inside a shipwrecked Spanish galleon.  Fountain describes the intricacies of mapping the site, the types of tools used and other equipment in minute detail.  If you are a scuba aficionado, this book is for you!  In addition, Fountain describes flora, coral, and aquatic life as Matt’s team uncovers evidence of the Philippvs crest on one of the canons.

There are many layers to Fountain’s story.  There is the everyday existence of the Haitian people.  Starvation, poor or no medical care, murders and political assassination along with the seizure of private property by coup leaders, and little or no income for families who live in uninhabitable homes pervade the novel. The importance of vodou also dominates the story through constant references and the role of Duvie, a Vodou priest who tries to educate Matt and others of the importance Vodou plays in the lives of ordinary Haitians.

 As the novel evolves it is clear that coup leaders like General Concers are obsessed with the 500^th anniversary of Columbus’ voyage and want Matt to locate the shipwrecked Santa Maria which would enhance his regime’s reputation.  This places Matt, Alix, and others in a precarious position as Concers requests are more like demands with consequences if they are not met.  At the same time Shelly, who thinks she knows everything through her sources, works to install a government that favors American interests.

Francine Prose writes in her New York Times review and succinctly gets to the core of Fountain’s novel writing, “Not only a skillful author, but a brave one, Fountain is drawn to difficult subjects. An earlier novel, the award-winning BILLY LYNN’S LONG HALFTIME WALK featured a damaged veteran of the Iraq war who was promoted, by the news media, as a conquering hero. It takes courage to set an extremely complicated work of fiction in Haiti, to write across the lines of class, color, gender, ideology and nationality. And it’s nervy to blow the whistle on how the C.I.A. has engineered regime changes worldwide, often with disastrous results.

(General Raoul Cedras, Haitian military dictator)

Over 500 pages long, the novel has its slow spots. Some readers may be more interested than I was in the specs of diving equipment. Others may question why so much of the book is devoted to Matt and Alix’s harebrained plan to solve their money woes by finding sunken treasure off the Haitian coast. When a fabulously awful character, Davis, seems to wander in from an Elmore Leonard novel — ‘Someone needed to slap a warning on his forehead: Contents Under Pressure’— you can’t help wondering why Matt and Alix (neither of them fools) believe they can do business with him or with the rich, sketchy owner of the ship from which they dive in search of gold. But it all makes perfect sense when we realize that, during a time of lawlessness, a historically significant and potentially lucrative treasure hunt is just another ScubaRave, on steroids.

Given the thrum of political anxiety that keeps many of us awake at night, some readers might think: The last thing I need right now is a novel about a crisis that has worsened over time in one of the world’s poorest nations. I understand the sentiment, but I was grateful for the old-fashioned pleasure of immersion in a long book with engaging characters, a sense of history and place, and a multifaceted vision of people trying to figure out what to do when the world around them is changing.”*

• Francine Prose, “Treasure and Trouble,” New York Times Book Review, October 15, 2023, p. 18.

(Port Au Prince circa 1992)

(The Kremlin, Moscow)

Since February 2022 when Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine a plethora of books have been published or reissued that deal with the mindset of Russian President Vladimir Putin.  The most important include works by  Philip Short, Steven Lee Myers, Catherine Belton, Masha Gessen, Mark Galeotti, Owen Matthews, Luke Harding, Christopher Miller, Serhii Plokhy, Angela Stent, Shaun Walker, and Samuel Ramani.  These authors explore Putin’s rise to power, his Pan-Slavism ideology designed to restore the Kremlin to its previous world power status, his domestic agenda, and the reason behind his invasion of Ukraine.  These monographs are works of non-fiction and rely on intensive research that includes interviews with the relevant personages and scouring available documentation to foster insights and critical viewpoints.  Turning to the fictional genre it has a recent addition to this subject matter with the publication of THE WIZARD OF THE KREMLIN: A NOVEL by Giuliano Da Empoli that attempts to explain Putin’s realpolitik and other aspects of his reign employing the format of a novel.

The central character in Da Empoli’s work is Vadim Baranov, a lover of literature, also known as “the wizard of the Kremlin” who was a television producer before becoming Putin’s political advisor.  After fifteen years at Putin’s side, Baranov decides to escape Putin’s grasp and explain the inner workings of the Russian state where Putin’s sycophants and oligarchs battle for the attention of the Russian Tsar.  Russia finds itself in a dark place because of Baranov’s work as the Kremlin “spin doctor.”  Baranov is ensconced in a system he helped create but realizes he must leave – not an easy thing to accomplish in Putin’s Russia.

(Russian President, Vladimir Putin)

Da Empoli conveys his story by employing Baranov as a conduit for the narrator of the novel.  The novel opens with an unnamed narrator visiting Moscow to research the early 20^th century writer, Yevgeny Zamyatin.  It turns out that Baranov is an admirer of the novelist and through social media the narrator visits Baranov in his remote country house.  As the novel evolves Baranov shares his life story with his visitor moving with energy through Russia in the 1990s to the invasion of Ukraine.

As the Soviet Union comes to an end in 1991 it appears that Russia may be on the verge of some sort of democratic edifice with the end of censorship and a new cultural freedom.  As we know this did not come to pass and Baranov, who resented the new intelligentsia realizes that the future will belong to more practical individuals as a result he will join Putin as a political/media advisor and consummate insider.  In this capacity Da Empoli relates Putin’s rise to power and through dialogue with the Russian autocrat he explains in rather crude form his view of power, how it should be used, and what it can accomplish – the restoration of Russia as a force in the world.

(Russian oligarch, Boris Berezovsky)

Da Emploi’s fictional account borders on reality as he weaves in historical events and characters into his novel.  We are witnessed to Putin’s actions and reactions to the sinking of a Russian submarine in the Barents Sea in which the entire crew drowned; terrorist attacks by Chechen rebels that some believe was carried out by the FSB; employing Putin’s large labrador in a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, knowing her fear of dogs, among many other examples.  Influential figures appear and reappear.  Oligarchs such as Boris Berezovsky, a billionaire who for a time owned ORT the main Russian television station; Mikhail Khodorkovsky, an opposition activist who had owed Yukos, the largest Russian energy company; Igor Sechin, Putin’s Deputy Chief of Staff and energy issues who would eventually take over Yukos; Yevgeny Prigozhin, a gangster who became Putin’s caterer and eventually opponent, and other important individuals.

(Igor Sechin, Putin’s Chief of Staff)

Da Empoli employs a sarcastic sense of humor and a great deal of irony in carrying out his plot as he compares the old Soviet state to the nouveaux riche of the new Russia.  Through Baranov’s autobiography the author offers interesting comparisons of Joseph Stalin and Putin, and descriptions of Russia in the 1990s when it seemed to be on the cusp of some sort of democracy with the present autocracy.  Da Empoli explains the need of the Russian people for stability and unity after the chaos of the 1990s – for Putin this could only be accomplished through raw power, never admitting an error, appealing to Russian nationalism by calling for a restoration of its Soviet Empire, interfering with the internal mechanism of western democracy, and never giving in to those who oppose him.

The author is right on as he parrots Putin’s critique of Russian docility toward the west under Boris Yeltsin.  As Baranov recounts “our docility called for the harshest punishment.  NATO flooded into the Baltic States, and American military bases into central Asia.  The oversight of financial institutions was no longer sufficient; now they wanted to take power directly.  Send us back to the basement and replace us with agents of the CIA and the International Monetary Fund.  First in Georgia, then in Ukraine, the very heart of our lost Empire.”  For Putin, American actions in Ukrainian elections and its move toward the European Union and NATO was the last straw resulting in the invasion.

The book is ostensibly about cunning and the manipulation of reality as Baranov, a wonderful storyteller that the reader falls under his spell.  Baranov uses his prowess of creating a new reality, a vision of Russian specialness, a new national myth, and cultivates grievances against the west carrying out Putin’s mission.  Da Empoli has created an important character to carry out his novel in Baranov, a cynic who possesses sharp political analysis.  His character is loosely based on Vladislav Surkov, a politician and strategist whose Machiavellian approach to politics made him a perfect advisor for Putin as he accompanied him from St. Petersburg to the Kremlin.  The novel succeeds as a work of fiction, but its origin in reality makes you shudder as you read on.

(The Kremlin, Moscow)

(Early 19th century British factory)

For those devotees of Ken Follett’s Kingsbridge series his latest addition will not disappoint.  His new book, THE ARMOR OF LIGHT is the fifth novel in the series and contains elements from earlier Kingsbridge works.  It follows ordinary working people whose lives were altered by historical crises.  Follett introduces inventors that change history and have profound impact on everyone.  Further, it presents the battle for freedom as people fight for lives free of oppression and lastly, Follett develops impactful female characters who play significant roles in the flow of the novel.

Follett is a master storyteller who has a firm grip on historical detail.  The current storyline is set during the Industrial Revolution and relates the tale of a group of intertwined families whose lives are greatly impacted by mechanical and technological change.  Follett’s characters are involved in food riots, worker strikes, and resistance to forced military service.  The English Parliament responds with a series of repressive laws making it a crime to speak out against the government.

The story’s background focuses on the year 1792 amidst what English historian, Eric Hobsbawm describes as the Age of Revolution.  Highlighted by the dual revolutions of industry and ideology in France that commenced in 1789 the story proceeds to the Age of Napoleon as the French dictator launches a series of wars across Europe that will culminate by 1814 with the Congress of Vienna.  The story continues for another ten years with the story concluding in 1824.

(A hand loom weaving)

Follett’s mythical village of Kingsbridge is a center of textile production where work is moving from piece work at home to mills equipped with more productive machinery.  In addition to being forced to work in pseudo-factories, labor must deal with inflation induced by war and a government that is cracking down on dissent.  The propertied classes take advantage of the situation as they control Parliament and make it difficult for workers to unite resulting in low wages, dangerous working conditions, and poor housing.

The story accurately rehashes the plight of English workers at the turn of the 19^th century and their relationship with the new industrial aristocracy fostered by the mechanization of the industrial revolution.  Follett depicts many scenes that correctly replicate historical events.  From attempts at unionization of weavers to government institution of laws preventing workers from combining; the effects of decades of war with France resulting in increasing inflation and poverty for the masses; action and results from the battlefield; the arrest and prosecution of the poor, even hanging a seven year old boy; the press gang of the poor into the Royal navy; the fears of the gentry first, the French Revolution and later the machinations of Napoleon are just a few themes that Follett develops.

(Rioting mob of Luddites)

Of course, as in any of Follett’s historical novels there are a series of characters, some heroes, others villains.  Among those who stand out are Sal Clitheroe and her son Kit.  Sal’s husband dies and she remarries and becomes a leader in trying to organize the weavers.  Jarge Box, Sal’s second husband, a laborer with a temper who loved his wife.  Amos Barrowfield, a clothier who begins engaging in the “putting out” system and graduates to owning his own mills as the novel progresses.  He is in love with a woman he cannot have, and of course there is another woman who is in love with him who he rejects.  The Riddick brothers.  Will who is a self-absorbed nasty person who is also a crook.  Roger, a mechanical genius who supports the workers, lastly, George, who is the Rector of Bradford.  A key individual is David Shoveller, known as Spade, a generous and caring person who works with Sal to help the plight of the poor.  Arabella Latimer, married to the Bishop of Kingsbridge who she deplores and eventually has an affair, a child, and a new marriage!  Henry Viscount of Northwood, a soldier who is married to Elsie, Arabella’s daughter, is also married to a man she does not love and cannot have the man she desires.

As far as villains are concerned we can generalize and state it is the English Parliament, judicial system, monarchy, and the British aristocracy for the most part lacks any empathy for its workers and subjects in general.  It is highlighted by the policies of Prime Minister William Pitt and others who occupied the office.  As for individuals that Follett carefully develops, Alderman Joseph Hornbean stands out as a person who survived extreme poverty as a child including the witnessing of the hanging of his mother.  He goes on to become a very rich and influential mill owner with under the table contracts with the English military to supply uniforms.  He opposes all progress except machines that will make him even wealthier.  Arrest, trials, bribery, hangings are all aspects of things that he is ultimately responsible for.  There are many others that Follett introduces, and he is very successful in developing their personalities and their impact on the evolution of the novel.

(The impact of the Industrial Revolution)

The story is constructed chronologically, and it follows the course of the wars of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars.  Follett has excellent command of the war’s progression and its impact on British society, especially the working poor.  The lifestyle of the aristocratic households is deftly compared to that of the underclass and how certain characters strive for inclusion with the upper classes.  Follett develops a number of important themes, the foremost of which is the precarious nature of work for the poor as mechanization threatens the loss of their livelihood.  Other themes include the schism between Anglicanism and Methodism. In addition, the aristocracy’s fear of the ecumenical revolution fostered by the French and a possible invasion of Britain by Napoleon which would destroy their way of life, and the fear of mill owners of the Luddites who were crossing the country smashing machines.   This is highlighted by the growth of a number of characters highlighted by Sal as she overcomes widowhood to become a leader and spokesperson of the poor and Amos and Spade as they leave their comfort level to take on more responsibility and leadership in Kingsbridge.

(Coal pits and factories)

THE ARMOR OF LIGHT continues Follett’s remarkable success that began thirty-four years ago with the publication of THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH.  Over the decades the series has sold over 27 million copies stunning readers and critics with its rich detail, amazing architectural research, and brilliant storytelling.  THE ARMOR OF LIGHT is written with the author’s gift for personal and political drama creating a story that moves gratifyingly through over 700 pages.  It is so engrossing that you might want to return to the earlier volumes, the first of which appeared in 2007 presenting a saga that covers 800 years and well over 4,000 pages.

As one reads on and you are as Katherine Powers writes in her Washington Post review,  “propelled by acts of highhanded cruelty answered by the resourcefulness and pluck of its victims, a dynamic so predictable that we know that, in most cases, it’s only a matter of time before good triumphs and comeuppance is delivered — whereupon the cycle repeats itself. Yes, we’re being manipulated, but we can’t stop turning the pages: What now? What next? Beyond that, however, it is Follett’s generosity and adeptness with historical detail and nimble depictions of technical matters that set this book, like its predecessors, above mere historical melodrama.”

(Early 19th century British Factory)