The Long March Home

Starred review from February 27, 2023
In this tour de force from Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) and Lee (A Single Light), four friends’ lives change irrevocably when America becomes embroiled in WWII. In 1930s Mobile, Ala., preacher’s son Jimmy Propfield shares an idyllic upbringing with childhood sweetheart Claire Crockett and her younger brother Billy. Hank Wright soon enters their circle, and the four become inseparable as they grow up. But as high school graduation approaches, Jimmy wrestles with uncertainty about his future, and though he’s expected by his father to attend seminary, he’s driven by faith—and a telegram with shocking news——to enlist with Billy and Hank. (He’s also eager to create distance from Claire, with whom his relationship has fractured.) The three are assigned to the Thirty-First Infantry in Manila, which at first seems like a paradise. But things become dire after the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and the boys are taken prisoners of war, beginning a 60-mile march up the Bataan Peninsula to camps where unbelievable horrors await. They struggle to survive and return home, where Jimmy hopes to reunite with Claire. Brotherton and Lee masterfully capture what it was like for soldiers to face war’s atrocities, as well as the heartbreak of those waiting for them back home. This is a winner.

Starred review from May 1, 2023

Jimmy Propfield is expected to follow in his hard-nosed preacher father's footsteps, but he has bigger dreams. He views the second World War as his chance to escape rural Alabama and see the world. Soon he's in the Philippines, living large with his childhood friends Billy Crockett and Hank Wright. When the Japanese military invades the island country, though, Jimmy and thousands of other Allied soldiers are stranded behind enemy lines and all his daddy's preaching on hell "ain't done it a lick of justice." Forced to obey the whims of soldiers disregarding the Geneva convention, Jimmy and his pals vow to return home alive. Brotherton (A Bright and Blinding Sun) lends his research prowess to Lee's (The Line Between) suspense expertise in this gritty tale of suffering and redemption. VERDICT A great read for those enthralled with real-life stories of war and survival such as Laura Hilderbrand's Unbroken and Adam Makos's Devotion. Recommend to those looking for a new angle on World War II fiction.

Copyright 2023 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from April 1, 2023
Jimmy, Hank, and Billy were more than just the preacher's son, the outcast, and the tagalong. They are brothers by choice, sharing a bond of loyalty, understanding, and friendship throughout life's ups and downs. When the trio enlists together with the hope of seeing the world, they instead find themselves on the explosive front lines of the Pacific Theater after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Fighting for survival in a violent new world of dizzying unpredictability, uncertain hope, and crippling despair, their brotherhood faces the ultimate test in a journey to the war-torn edges of hell and back home again. Brotherton and Lee are a narrative tour de force in their first novel together. The Long March Home is a stunning WWII story of the ferocity with which three friends loved and fought for one another. Taking inspiration from true stories, the novel is an astonishing combination of gritty wartime action tempered with poignant growth and drama. Alternating chapters reveal the stories behind the men's resilient friendship, from the innocence of childhood to the confusion of adolescence to the impossible choices expedited by war. A heartbreaking, resonant story with characters who effortlessly come alive make this a must-read literary triumph.

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