by Frank Nappi
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| List Price: | $23.95 |
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| Lowest New Price: | $12.15 |
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Product Description
Frank Nappi is a school teacher on Long Island who, over the last several years, befriended aging World War II veterans in his community. As he heard their reminiscences he became absorbed in their stories of simple heroism--and of trying to recapture what they'd left behind when they returned home. They are the stories of men who never asked for recognition or adulation, only a place in the free and prosperous society they'd built with their own blood, sweat and tears--men who could never entirely leave behind the horrors of the battlefield, or explain them to their own children . . .
Now, Nappi has synthesized those reminiscences and crafted them into a heartwarming and at times harrowing novel: Echoes from the Infantry. It is the fictionalized tale of one Long Island veteran, the misery of combat, and the powerful emotional bond that connected him to his fiancée back home and that allowed him to survive the war with his soul battered but intact.
It is about a father and a son, and their ultimately redeeming struggle to understand the worlds that shaped each one--one a world at war, the other a world shaped by its veterans.
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Average Customer Review:
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
Reads Like A Four Star Movie, 2007-11-03
I just finished reading Frank Nappi's first novel after hearing about the second one, which is being released this April. I usually only read baseball novels, but I figured I'd give this WWII one a shot while I wait for the next one, The Legend Of Mickey Tussler, which sounds like a fabulous baseball classic. This book is all that everyone before me has said. It is powerful, well written, and informative. I honestly think that it reads just like a movie would play out. I saw everything so clearly in my head. If The Legend of Mickey Tussler is even half as good, I will be a very happy camper!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
Cried Like A Baby....., 2007-10-13
I decided to pick up a copy of Echoes from the Infantry. Echoes is not a genre that would typically call out to me while browsing the shelves but I was glad I was able to break away from Oprah's book club, if only for the weekend. Usually anything with war gets crossed off my reading list, but it was well worth the departure.
Nappi tells the story of James McCleary, a World War II veteran who survives the horrors of war, but he's haunted by guilt and memories for many years to come. Nappi's writing is so eloquent; I often read sentences twice, just to absorb the impact. While at war, McCleary encounters a young girl standing over her deceased grandmother which he tries to forget but, Nappi writes, "She was always there, a restless soul, just like him, sustained forever by the enduring vitality of his memory." Before reading this story, I had never considered how a sharp memory could be such a curse to a war veteran.
The story toggles back and forth between war time and present day. During war time, the character development is so rich that the soldiers begin to remind me of people I know. Although the war details are at times disturbing, Nappi weaves in enough beauty to balance out the horrors. The soldiers at one point are described as lying there, "clutching the ground like orphans seeking refuge in the maternal folds of the earth." I am reminded that, despite the historical subject matter, Nappi is indeed an English teacher. Only a master of the language can come up with image-inspiring similes like that (at least I think that's a simile).
It takes me a while to realize why this book struck such a cord with me. Beyond the beautiful language and the true to life the characters is an incredibly moving story. My husband is shocked to see me flipping through the pages of a historical fiction novel so quickly (he can't get me to watch a minute of the history channel). He smiles knowingly as I read parts aloud to him, love letters. Echoes may be historical fiction but in the end, it's a love story, not just between husband and wife, but father and son. I think it's a story about forgiveness, of ourselves and others. I wonder how many men and women returning from war have stories like McCleary's, and are now battling guilt and shame within themselves.
The only time I really think about what it must be like to be a veteran returning from war is when I see those signs hanging from the parkway overpass welcoming home a soldier from Iraq, or when we adopt a soldier at Christmas time and send over a basket of cheer. This book made me examine my conscience and think about how I will honor our war veterans, past and present, and more importantly how I will teach my students to do the same. I have always thought there is no better way to teach a lesson than through a wonderful story. This story taught me a thing or two about patriotism that will long be echoing through my mind.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
 I must of missed something., 2007-04-14
Yes, I enjoyed the book. It was a quick read. I don't understand all the gushing reviews. I did not find the book emotionally stirring. Nor did I find the writing that compelling. If you are looking for a great book on a soldier's journey in WWII -actually a pilot- I recommend "In the Shadow of War" by Childers. If you want a truly lyrical novel of a soldiers travails during war -in this case WWI- I would recommend "A Soldier of the Great War" by Helprin.
4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
...'Echoes From the Infantry' will leave a lasting impression upon you..., 2006-10-20
James McCleary has been attempting to put the horrors of the battlefield behind him for years. Unfortunately, his sordid tries have fallen flat, and the days of battle are still ingrained in his mind, rearing their evil heads at the worst possible times. All John McCleary wants, on the other hand, is to know his father. The father who has cast him aside. Who has refused to learn more about him. Who has refused to let anyone in. Memory has left James trapped in a world of his own. A world where he is locked inside his own mind, where the only person who is permitted entry is himself. He cannot embrace his wife, nor his children, he can only sit and ponder what happened out there. Out on the battlefield all those years ago. While James is in this infirmary of a world, John is in his own place. For John is wrestling with the memories of a life with a man he calls his father. A man he is related to - flesh and blood - but who he knows nothing about, and, in return, a man who knows nothing about him. Now, the death of John's mother has begun to change things. Suddenly, the two men, father and son, are being brought together for a final exchange. As John begins searching through family heirlooms and artifacts in his parents attic, he suddenly begins finding missing pieces to the puzzle. A puzzle that will give him a glimpse into the frozen battlefields that have left his father eternally scarred mentally, and of a secret romance that kept him whole as he traveled through wartime Europe, fighting for our country.
I will admit right off the bat that I don't normally read books in this particular genre, and rarely read anything related to war - fiction or non. However, I was sucked in by Frank Nappi's ECHOES FROM THE INFANTRY from the very first paragraph. Nappi's descriptiveness is uncanny, and hard to resist, from the way that he illustrates the lasting effects of war, and how it can tear apart a family; to the flashbacks of various war scenes that can easily choke the reader up. Nappi's character development was also a shining point throughout this particular novel, as it showed the maturation of characters as realization dawned on them regarding different situations, while at the same time gave them the chance to learn more about their family's history by "digging through the past," as opposed to confronting various people to learn more about their father's heroic, yet troubled life. Whether you're a fan of war novels or not, Frank Nappi's ECHOES FROM THE INFANTRY will leave a lasting impression upon you, and have you wiping a tear from your eye once the book is complete.
Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
 touching, 2006-08-24
It's easy to overlook writing flaws when a story like this is so good. I can't knock this book in any way. It was a well thought out story with an unpredictable ending. I would tell you in advance that the story jumps back and forth from present time to WW2 quite often so be prepared. Some of the time the authors transitions weren't done that well and a few more narrative set ups would have been nice but I was never lost except in the comfort of the story. I would recommend and I personally look forward to reading his second book whenever it comes out. He has a lot of potential.
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