PanThe Washington Independent Review of BooksThe good news is that Powers tells his story in a lyrical style that takes us deeply and effectively inside the voice and consciousness of his narrator, an emotionally damaged Army private named Bartles. The bad news is that the author rarely lets us out of that consciousness, keeping us locked there even through what should be vivid battle scenes, necessary character development, and essential passages of dialogue … Despite the fact that we’re locked in Bartles’ consciousness the whole time, Powers saves his Big Reveal for the penultimate chapter, which is not necessarily a bad thing, because it adds a modicum of tension to a story badly in need. The problem becomes one of over-charged expectations, however, and that Big Reveal isn’t big enough — even for Powers the author, who spends too little time describing it before taking us off once again into one of Bartles’ lyrical meditations.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay[/caption]
