indy
12-21-09, 03:22 PM
Claude Pearson's vivid portrayal of Charley Jason's experiences aboard Gunfish in 1944 and 1945 brings submarine warfare to life. The experience of being on a submarine in the Pacific, hunting Japanese shipping, battling Kamikaze pilots, rescuing downed American flyers in the water, and missing friends and lovers back home remains remarkably palpable throughout the book. After getting my copy of the novel, I read it straight through on transcontinental flight... often finding myself turning the pages as fast I could to find out what would happen next to Jason, Flowers, Carruther, Janet Blair, and the rest of the characters. The funniest moments arise more often than not in the pages of an illegal diary kept on board the Gunfish and in the Gunfish Gargoyle. It has been a while since I found myself so genuinely attached to a cast of characters and I was happy to see Pearson remain true to his characters by resisting the temptation to bring everything to a tidy conclusion. Indy