The End of It

by Michael Goodman

Assimilated into the massive Allied invasion force, an American artillery lieutenant is forced to reexamine his life and his beliefs by his experiences in beautiful but war-torn Italy

Genres: Fiction

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

Reviews

[Genevra De Mond · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although a novel, it seems to thoroughly bring to mind my experiences with G.I.s and their thinking about going to war. This takes place during WWII, and my experience has been with Vietnam soldiers, but the excitement about the big machines, even the killing and how the military is just like a huge corporation are all similiar, I assume, in any war. The fact that the government has to brainwash their soldiers to dislike everything about their enemies. This book is written in a third person narrative, following the Lieutenant very closely. Takes him from the beginning where he is excited to join the war effort to the end, where is thinking about killing have certainly changed.
Incidently, having just read the book, I googled the author and discovered he just died yesterday, when I finished the book. He was an active anti-war protest leader during the Vietnam war.

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 5 out of 5]

The language and imagery that Goodman used is powerful, evocative, and beautiful. The prose is highly poetic, without becoming pretentious and unreadable, which so often happens. Perhaps most impressively, he manages to marry the political novel with the poetic novel without losing the power of either.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

A young, American, artillery officer is unhinged when he witnesses an artillery strike he's called in on a German position. This book is about his coming back to life amid the history, the culture, and the people of Italy. It is as powerful an indictment of war as it is because it offers not one overt condemnation.