I'll say it now...it's the anything but happy life of Preston Katt if I'm being honest..
Yes...it's kinda a tear jerker...I shed some tears...
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| The thing that bothered me...the beautiful young looking nun on the cover...what was the point really??? |
I signed up to receive this copy via giveaway...why?? I am not even sure. The cover kinda appealed to me. I saw a hot looking nun on the cover. I thought, "Def something about forbidden love". And yes hot nun..cause she is pretty..then my brain starts going in the direction of equally hot body hidden behind them nun robes...steamy scenes between a woman of faith and a young also hot military guy. Yeah.....uh....anything but. Turns out I was nowhere near that...but could I have possibly been the only one thinking that when they saw the cover??!!
The story starts off with Katt...Preston Katt but known as Katt...and his shipmate Moriarty...two Seaman Second Classes that crept off their war ship the USS Callahan to have a drunken dirty rendezvous with two Japanese whores...they struggle with trying to get back on the ship without being noticed because they will obviously be in some major trouble if caught. Moriarty already is notorious for trouble making and Katt is just a skinny rookie that has not had much experience with life on his own. Moriarty is the bad boy...Katt has the conscience and is very driven by religion. He knows he needs to stop hanging out with Moriarty if he is to focus on his life goals in the military and life in general. But something always seems to steer him towards the temptations of Moriarty and all the rebelliousness he gets into.
Backtrack...this is December 7, 1941...in Pearl Harbor right in the middle of World War II....the day after their night of boozing and women they are attacked by the Japanese. In Zerr's writing we capture a feel of the devastation of war while on a war ship...battle ship..in the military. Intricate with technical details...sometimes I found myself bored...but maybe that's just me..obviously this book needed all the technical ship stuff...I mean we are talking about a war!! Throughout the story Katt looks back to the times growing up...living with his abusive alcoholic mother and her bad choices in partners...Sister Ralph (Ding Ding Ding...the nun on the cover) and Mrs. Grossman always sympathizing with him and his struggles. And because of his struggles as a kid with his mother he vowed never to go down the same path...however, it was harder to do than he thought...especially with a friend like Moriarty. Although to be fair to the character Moriarity is no bad guy..never intentionally trying to be a bad friend...he's just a rebellious guy that does not like to be limited by rules and he loves having a wingman. Military Banter...and fun in between all the struggle and trauma of a war. So...as the story moves along Moriarty gets injured and is set up to stay in the hospital for the military. Katt goes to pay him a visit...maybe not trying to make us think that he is excited about seeing his friend..come to find out Moriarty gets discharged out to battleship Yorktown and although it fills Katt with a sense of relief (relief because it helps him to see it as a way to keep him from fun trouble) he feels bad as a friend..having not done more for him as Moriarty did for Katt to get discharged back to the Callahan when he was sent to the hospital for a concussion and could not be quickly released. Moriarty was that friend that got a doc to release Katt sooner than later so the two could stay together on the Callahan. So on Katt's way back to the Callahan he discovers that the ship is setting off port...dramatically finding his way back to the ship he realizes that they are on a mission to save Yorktown's occupants (they got bombed by the Japs). All Katt could think about is his friend Moriarty. Disaster strikes...and well, With the most amazing eagle eyes to see enemy subs, periscopes, etc it has helped him to move up in the ranks...He is very hard on you'll have to read the book to find out what..with whom...why..whatever.
Backtrack...this is December 7, 1941...in Pearl Harbor right in the middle of World War II....the day after their night of boozing and women they are attacked by the Japanese. In Zerr's writing we capture a feel of the devastation of war while on a war ship...battle ship..in the military. Intricate with technical details...sometimes I found myself bored...but maybe that's just me..obviously this book needed all the technical ship stuff...I mean we are talking about a war!! Throughout the story Katt looks back to the times growing up...living with his abusive alcoholic mother and her bad choices in partners...Sister Ralph (Ding Ding Ding...the nun on the cover) and Mrs. Grossman always sympathizing with him and his struggles. And because of his struggles as a kid with his mother he vowed never to go down the same path...however, it was harder to do than he thought...especially with a friend like Moriarty. Although to be fair to the character Moriarity is no bad guy..never intentionally trying to be a bad friend...he's just a rebellious guy that does not like to be limited by rules and he loves having a wingman. Military Banter...and fun in between all the struggle and trauma of a war. So...as the story moves along Moriarty gets injured and is set up to stay in the hospital for the military. Katt goes to pay him a visit...maybe not trying to make us think that he is excited about seeing his friend..come to find out Moriarty gets discharged out to battleship Yorktown and although it fills Katt with a sense of relief (relief because it helps him to see it as a way to keep him from fun trouble) he feels bad as a friend..having not done more for him as Moriarty did for Katt to get discharged back to the Callahan when he was sent to the hospital for a concussion and could not be quickly released. Moriarty was that friend that got a doc to release Katt sooner than later so the two could stay together on the Callahan. So on Katt's way back to the Callahan he discovers that the ship is setting off port...dramatically finding his way back to the ship he realizes that they are on a mission to save Yorktown's occupants (they got bombed by the Japs). All Katt could think about is his friend Moriarty. Disaster strikes...and well, With the most amazing eagle eyes to see enemy subs, periscopes, etc it has helped him to move up in the ranks...He is very hard on you'll have to read the book to find out what..with whom...why..whatever.
So at first I wanted to not like this book. I started reading it and I thought with all the military war details it was too technical for me. I wanted more. More backstory....more feelings. Things were nothing like it stated..Katt was not happy. If anything most of the time he always had the conscience to stop himself from doing anything on a whim for fun. He always felt like he and those around him were being punished by God for something he did..always concerned with letting everyone he knew down. And then the cover of the Nun..there was not enough in the story about her for her to deserve to have her face on the cover. If anything there was a few lines about her...nothing that special. His friendship with Moriarty was good but not great...not enough adventures for me to accept that Katt went out of his way to save the guy. But I will say as I continued reading I realized that it was a decent read. I was sad a lot for the life of Preston Katt. I was so sad for how the book ended. It was bittersweet. I still wish there was more...more details...more backstory...more about his troubled family life and this amazing compassionate Nun and Mrs. Grossman but I was pleased that it was just enough for the ending to have the effect that it had on me. The entire story...worth it for that ending.
I received my copy free via giveaway in exchange for an honest review to which I gladly voluntarily gave!!
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