In 1968 – Somebody Else War, the author Johnson provides his readers with one of the most vivid literary descriptions of 1968, the year of global turmoil, culture, and post-war trauma. The author very dramatically and providing suspense to the readers has discussed this small town called Newport-on-the-Lake, and he demonstrates that not even the most peaceful, most mundane part of the world can be evaded by the cast of a troubled epoch. Using lively characters, tragedy, and a hint of humor, Johnson has portrayed a decade of contradictions, fear, hope, heartbreak, and strength.
The protagonist of the novel is the veteran of World War II and the Korean War, Captain Sammy Enfield, whose nights are filled by nightmares and days with emotional depression. Sammy starts to find comfort in the routine like walking the quiet streets, having coffee at the Oxford Diner, and flirting with a waitress whom he finds to be a lifeline in his lonely world. His hardships reflect upon the numerous men in 1968 who dragged battlefields back with them even after the wars had died out.
But the town is also a person, full of people who make the story colorful with heart and humor. The pompous and harmless Lord Mayor Windy Clarkson-Hayes is full of dramatic speeches that no one believes. The grizzled mechanic, Fat Tony, is complaining about the modern customer, but his harshness conceals some sort of tenderness within.
Tubby Tuberville, the dear old policeman and kind old veteran, is a comic figure with his slow way, his chronic cigarettes and his unexpected anecdotes of his life at Camp X. The humor used by Johnson is not accidental: this lightens the darkness of the decade, demonstrates the humanness of the characters he uses, and only makes their subsequent tragedy even all the more tragic.
But Johnson does nothing to sink the story into despair. The comedy, which permeates all parts of the novel, particularly in the first few chapters, serves to remind the reader that in the hardest times, common people laugh, love, gossip, hope, and attempt to live their lives to the fullest. Post violence, the town grieves, recovers, and starts all over again. Chrissy, Becky, Warren, and the remaining townsfolk are the embodiment of the persistence of a society that cannot be characterized by tragedy alone.
1968 – Somebody Else’s War is more than just a small-town story. It is about the year 1968, in which the world got to know that there is no war that is too far, and no society that is totally unaffected. Using an incredible tension, memorable characters, poignant humor, and the message that is still as relevant in the present as it was in the past, Johnson shows us that the wars we desperately attempt to avoid find their way into our lives anyway, either ruining our lives in ways too terrible to believe and at the same time, changing them in a way that is both wonderful and terrifying.
Contact:
Author: David Johnson
Website: https://davessillybooks.com/
Amazon: 1968 – SOMEBODY ELSE’S WAR
Email: 19olemiss55@gmail.com
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