First published 2019
Vollie Frade makes an impulsive decision in 1966. He enlists in the Marine Corps to fight in Vietnam, cutting ties with his Iowa farm family. This choice sets off a chain reaction that pulls him into work for people whose motives remain hidden from him. Vollie's journey takes him from the jungles of Cambodia to a rundown boarding house in Queens to a New Mexico commune. He becomes a soldier caught up in secret government operations as the world shifts around him in the late twentieth century. His story spans four generations of fathers and sons, each grappling with loss and the possibility of redemption. The novel follows Vollie as he navigates life on America's edges, moving toward a final confrontation that seems unavoidable from the start.
Genres: american-fiction, historical-fiction, 20th-century, military-fiction, action, 21st-century
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, redemption
Setting: Iowa, Cambodia, Queens, New Mexico
Period: 1966, Late 20th Century
ebook · Vintage Digital