Category: Book Review

In the story, it becomes clear early that the narrator is “Death.” This distinctive form of storytelling creates a magical atmosphere which transcends what readers normally expect. The book is a war story, and Death is an appropriate entity to tell it. But the author does not paint Death as omniscient; rather, Death is an onlooker, puzzled and amazed by the extreme duality people exhibit. Death perceives human uniqueness in the thousands of colors that he sees in the sky, marking the places where he must go to gather the soul.

Based upon the characters, this historical fiction might be seen as a coming-of-age story. But the many themes, including social pragmaticism, hopeful dreams, defending ourselves, getting a fresh start, betrayal, virtue, guilt, indignation, atonement, and forgiveness go well beyond the transition of youth into adulthood. Over almost 600 pages, all of the above come into play and are intermingled.