THE COLDEST NIGHT by Robert Olmstead is like no other book I've ever read. There is no other about which I can say, "This reminds me...."
I love the style of writing. I hate the subject matter yet I couldn't stop reading.
I did stop twice but just long enough to let the tears subside so I could get back to the matter at hand.
Most of the book is about the battle of the Chosin Reservoir, the decisive battle of the Korean War. Never have I read such a vivid battle scene; I don't know if I could survive another. It bolstered my hate of war and what it does to the young people who give their all for the good of the machine. It highlights the friendships bonded in war.
Before Henry went to Korea, he had a passionate love affair with a girl, Mercy, from the good side of the tracks. Her family disapproved and sent Henry running for his life. He left his mother, whom he loved dearly. He knew nothing of his father. He was seventeen years old. Way too young to face the horrors of war.
He came home a year later scarred in body and spirit and unable to settle down. I kept wanting him to see Mercy again.
I'll give nothing away.
This book will wring you dry.
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