Engaging Tale, Confusing Ending

books:


	• Miracle at St. Anna James McBride RIVERHEAD BOOKS, 2001 - 304 pages average customer review:based on 38 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Miracle at St. Anna

I was reading through a weekly entertainment magazine when I cam across a blurb aboout Spike Lee prepairing to direct the movie "Miracle at St. Anna", about WWII Buffalo Soldiers by James McBride. I became interest and looked up Mr. McBride. Found out about his other book, the Color of Water....so, I decided to order them both. I am not a licensed book reviewer, I just love to read and this story is one of the best I've ever read. McBride is a fantastic story teller - once I opened the book, I found it hard to put it down. I could feel myself there with these soldiers on that mountain in Italy scared, confused, woundering why am I here fighting for someone else's freedom when I am not free my self? I can't trust the folks who lead me because they either hate me for what/who I am, secretly jealous because I have the command of this foreign language and I should be leading, have the ability to adapt to various situations that command me to be strong and survive, or they are just plain bigots. If this isn't enough, I am held down in a village waiting for help because a big hearted brother has decided to save this little fellow's life. Solidarity! Like it or not I am here and on the other side is the military enemy who hates and destroys everything insite. I'm damned if I do and damned if I don't. This book had me feeling for those men, wanting to know how and if they make it; and if they do, what the future holds for them. A great read...tell me what you think. Oh,loved the Color or Water too!

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Miracle at St. Anna

Excellent capturing of the Negro experience in
World War II Italy. Contrasts U.S. attitudes with Italian attitudes.

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Amazing Grace

This story sings to the human soul with the power of timeless poetry. The author has artfully entwined gritty realism and surreal divinity.

It will enjoy a permanent place in our family library.

Engaging Tale, Confusing Ending

MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA tells the story of four Buffalo Soldiers trapped behind enemy lines in 1944 Tuscany. The story opens in Manhattan, where a postal employee kills a customer, and a search of his apartment reveals a priceless statue head. The story is unfolded in flashbacks (and forwards) and sometimes the digressions are disorienting. The narrative starts out strong and vivid, then loses steam as the reader is mired in the back stories of minor characters. I freely admit that I finished reading this very late at night, but I found the end very confusing - I'm still not entirely sure what the "miracle" was, or if it was two or more things, and one or more of them was a metaphor.

McBride's writing is excellent, and he does a good job portraying the soldiers' interactions with each other and with the Italian villagers, however... I know I'm going to get flamed for this....

While I was reading, I couldn't shake the feeling that the four soldiers were stereotypes. I really would have liked it if the characters could have stood on their own, without the constant need to remind us that 1) Bishop was a juke-joint loving, flim-flam man, 2) Sam was the northern, college-educated one who looked down on his less sophisticated companions, 3) Hector was the Puerto Rican from Spanish Harlem, and 4) Train was the enormous, illiterate, good-hearted one - basically John Coffey from THE GREEN MILE.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Inspired by a historical incident that took place in the village of St. Anna di Stazzema in Tuscany and by the experiences of the famed Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division in Italy during World War 11, Miracle at St. Anna is a singular evocation of war, cruelty, passion, heroism, and love. It is the story of four American soldiers, the villagers among whom they take refuge, a band of partisans, and an Italian boy, all of whom encounter a miracle -- though perhaps the true miracle lies in themselves.

Traversing class, race, and geography, Miracle at St. Anna is above,, all a hymn to the brotherhood of man and the power to do good that lives in each of us. It reveals a little-known but fascinating moment in history through the eyes and imagination of a gifted writer. Like The Color of Water, James McBride's stunning' first novel will change the way we perceive ourselves and our world.

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