Wednesday, July 23, 2014

Book Review - Wayfaring Stranger

This is the latest book by James Lee Burke. It continues the saga of the Holland family, this time following the life of Wendel Holland, grandson to Hackberry and cousin to Billy Bob. Burke explains the family relations in his forward. He also says this is his best work and I agree with him.

The book starts with Wendel as a young man and a chance meeting with Bonnie and Clyde. It continues with Wendel in the Battle of the Bulge and the rescue of his future wife from a concentration camp. After the war, he partners with his platoon sergeant in the development of welding technology and starts a pipeline construction business.

Burke uses Wendel's personal and business experience to explore the dark side of human nature, violence, love and redemption. As always, Burke has some of the most poetic descriptions of nature that I have ever read. This is a love story as well as an adventure story set in the post war era. I really enjoyed this book, and if you are a Burke fan, so will you.

1 comment:

Old NFO said...

It's going on the list... :-)