ADVERTISEMENT
Revenants, The Odyssey Home
Scott Kauffman, author
A grief-stricken candy-striper serving in a VA hospital following her brother’s death in Viet Nam struggles to return home an anonymous veteran of the Great War against the skullduggery of a congressman who not only controls the hospital as part of his small-town fiefdom but knows the name of her veteran. A name if revealed would end his political ambitions and his fifty-year marriage. In its retelling of Odysseus’s journey, Revenants casts a flickering candle upon the charon toll exacted not only from the families of those who fail to return home but of those who do
Plot/Idea: 9 out of 10
Originality: 7 out of 10
Prose: 6 out of 10
Character/Execution: 8 out of 10
Overall: 7.50 out of 10
Assessment:
At its strongest when recounting Jamie Hamilton's experiences, Kauffman's thoughtful novel explores a candy-striper's grief for her brother who was killed in Vietnam. Some of the sections set in the 1970s need fine-tuning -- there are moments when the action is unclear to readers, and sometimes the book's tone shifts, making for an uneven reading experience. Betsy is a complex, well-drawn character, but her dialogue sometimes fails to ring true. Overall, the story is well-plotted and moving, and the characters fully developed.
Date Submitted: June 03, 2016
