Monday, August 19, 2013

The Life of Ling Ling by Jerad W. Alexander


18169936"Sergeant Square bought a blow-up doll. It was called the "Backdoor Beauty" and it cost $49.99 plus shipping. He did it impulsively, for sheer amusement, and openly admitted to himself that he would have had neither the time nor inclination to look for it at all if only his wife had been home to take his call. He was completely comfortable with that excuse."

In The Life of Ling Ling, the Marines of Combat Outpost Bordelon are weeks away from going home. Buried fantasies of a peaceful future rise to the surface as returning home from Iraq alive suddenly seems real. But for Sergeant Timothy Square, his own destructive bravado and eagerness to embrace the warlike culture where he thrives may have cost him the one bit of peace he has waiting for him: his wife Crystal. Only after confronting an act of wretchedness involving a young Iraqi girl does Square finally learn the brutal fallacy of his worldview, though it may be too late.
Purchase Links 

Amazon Ebook 

My Review
   
I really enjoyed this novel.  From the first sentence I was pulled into the world and fascinated by the different characters.  The novel follows several marines at Outpost Bordelon, mainly focusing on Sergeant Square, who bursts to life on the first page as a man frustrated, and afraid and determined to not show it, especially to the men in his company.  As the story progressed, I wanted to learn more about his life situation and I rooted for him to find some sort of resolution.  

In the end, I would say he does, and everything comes together with the last page of the book.  The only issue I had was one of time.  I had a few moments where I wasn't sure when something was supposed to have happened in relationship to the two most distinct POVs.  
  
I strongly recommend this to anyone looking for a strong character read, or who really enjoys war novels, especially in regards to Iraq.  






2 comments:

  1. You manage to find some really interesting sounding books! Thanks for this!

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  2. This does sound interesting. Thanks for the heads-up. :-)

    ReplyDelete