Angel Fire by Ron Franscell
I finally finished this novel, and I’m glad. Yes, it was good. Surprising, and well-written. But I just seemed to have trouble getting into it. But don’t get me wrong, you should definitely check it out, especially if you are interested in the Vietnam War.
I guess my “stuck” feeling started on the first few pages. Like so many sappy novels, it starts out with the nostalgic baseball field, the small town, and boys on bikes, etc. Of course, so does a lot of Stephen King. So I gave it a shot. And I’m glad I did.
Basically, the story is about two boys, Cassidy and Daniel. Daniel is the older, a story-teller. And Cassidy is the younger, a little boy who is afraid of everything, and especially death. Their mother died when they were young, and their father is a newspaperman. This beautiful portrait of pre-Vietnam life is shattered when Daniel goes to Vietnam, not as a soldier, but as a reporter, and is finally shipped home in a small box. This, along with his father’s death, and a divorce and crappy second marriage, make Cassidy even more despressed than before. But then, he finds out that his brother really did not die at all, and has returned to their home town.
Many scenes in the book remind me of the Southern small towns I grew up in, even though the book is set in Wisconsin. So many landmarks, and even the town itself, West Canaan, are named for Bible places. And the people are characters, laid back and predictable.
All in all, I think Franscell did a good job. I just wasn’t in the mood for it, especially while reading The Garden Club and the Kumquat Incident right along with it. But I have a thing about not leaving any book left unread. On to better things.
Filed under: Beautiful, Nothing Like a Good Book