Our Desperate Hour: Novels of the Great War
In this powerful novel of World War I, Major Ab Johnson, an officer responsible for sending medical supplies to the front lines, searches for news of his son Jack with whom he had quarreled because Jack has joined the Marines. Ab, who comes from an Army family, has always looked down on the Marines. His desire to reconcile with his son leads Ab to the Battle of Belleau Wood, which halted the German advance toward Paris in 1918. He experiences the heroism of the soldiers and Marines who fight in the battle, and he changes his opinion of the Marines, but he also sees the horrors of war. Ab’s story is intertwined with those of several other characters, including Carl, a Marine private who serves as a messenger while longing to see action; Lyle, a Navy corpsman assisting with medical treatment for wounded soldiers; and, most compellingly, Arthur, a self-centered Navy surgeon who wants to join a research unit but instead is sent to the front lines and discovers his own strength of character.
Andrews takes the reader into the action and makes you feel as if you were there, experiencing the horrific scenes of war along with his characters. His descriptions of wounds and the effects of poison gas are not for the faint-hearted, but that is to be expected in a war novel. Andrews is a physician, so his descriptions of medical procedures are accurate. He also writes movingly about the needless tragedy of the men lost in this battle, because of the incompetence of the French general and high-ranking officers, and the inexperience of the Americans. We also learn about the rivalry between the Army and Marine Corps, and we wonder how many deaths could have been prevented if they had worked more closely together. Highly recommended.
