3 out of 4 stars
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“Things are not what they appear.”
I remember this song from the animation, “Pocahontas 2” I’d watched as a kid. It aptly describes the Vietnamese woman, Ann Minh Bourdain alias Trung Trac who lived according to the fundamental rule of Comrade Choh: “Obscurity is your security.” At least, she did, up until she met and lost her senses over Clarence Bankston, a Vietnam War veteran.
Unable to regulate her emotions, Ann initiates conversation with the elusive Bankston who’d rather not remember his days in Vietnam. However, upon realization that they were both affected by the war, they sought solace in each other until events spiraled out of control and culminated in drastic outcomes. Tough decisions had to be made but she found comfort in the thought: “Whatever happens, wherever I end up, at least I have the memories.”
Ann, or more accurately, Trung, had reasons for her actions as she turned out to be totally different from the initial image she’d portrayed. Years later, she crossed paths with Bankston again, in the unlikeliest of circumstances.
Published in 2017 by Northland Publishing Company, J. Everett Prewitt’s Something About Ann: Stories of Love and Brotherhood is a historical fiction novella of 22 chapters alongside eleven short stories which tell of a group of African-American soldiers as they try to stabilize their lives upon returning from the Vietnam War. Most of them have to deal with the trauma and violence in its wake, sometimes leaning on each other to pull through.
In the story, Lucky, Raphael “Lucky” Holland soon learns that ‘luck’ has no business in failing to play the player as he is ousted by a stranger with a much darker past. The Education of Xavier Warfield sees Xavier finding motivation in least likely places, understanding that the emphasis placed on the present far supersedes past errors. Marcus Glover in A Sound Decision takes the best course of action in a bid to avoid the horror of a sound he never wanted to hear again. With One Exception tells of a militant African-American who can’t get over the age-long racial discrimination until an unexpected friendship with a white Vietnam veteran is forged in its stead.
The Gift tells of Myron Turner whose special abilities lead to connections with certain people on an uncanny frequency. Leroy Casper is enjoying A Good Life till a blast from the past barges into his life and ruffles up the calm he has created. In The Tell, Maurice is taught that everybody has a ‘tell,’ “that little something that gives you away, shows your hand.” Thankfully, he reaches a wise conclusion. After crashing from a lofty law career, Ralph Gaines also loses The Best Seat in the House to a young bully and uses a very abrupt approach in resolving the insult.
The Last Time I Saw Willie recounts Raymond’s experience with a severely competitive friend who taught him about confrontation and the principles behind the policy, “Leave no man behind.” A Good Day to Be a Man proves that true manhood is not achieved by aggressiveness. Lieutenant Raymond Williams will never forget what happened at 575th Headquarters and that’s why he still plays the Slow Songs.
I would describe this book as a clean breath of fresh air; it came to me at a point where I barely enjoyed my reads. It was a truly refreshing collection. Written in the third person POV, it embodies perfect suspense with events flowing seamlessly into each other, creating an intense web of actions that makes the book “unputdownable.” The writing style is highly conversational and down to earth, easily understood and intellectually stimulating.
Perhaps the biggest strength of this book is that it is character driven. Each character received his fair share of attention and I got to understand them personally, especially on their thoughts and actions. To further explain this, a classic example would be one precise moment when you read what is happening to one character at the exact moment when something significant was happening to a previous character. This really made my mind spin. It was a herculean task choosing my favorite character as I felt a bond with every single one as they took turns being in the spotlight.
I especially ravished the healthy dose of quotes garnishing the different stories. Although it would appear that some of these quotes are made up and infused as part of the dialogue, they still ring true in daily life scenarios such as:
“There’s an expiration date when you run the streets.”
“When the same bad things keep happening to you, maybe you’re an accomplice in your own demise.”
In addition, I relished several beautiful figurative expressions and laugh-out-loud moments dominant in the book like:
“Both smiled at the dance they had just completed.”
“Gail...glared at him like his grandmother would when she wanted him to be on his best behavior.”
However, as much of a fan as I am of this book, it wasn’t without flaws. I did come across a handful of errors sprinkled sparingly across its 33 chapters. They include wrong word usage, a few misused tenses and punctuation omissions. There was also a recurring problem of a space after an open quote before the main speech, like this: “ That’ll be the day.” Still, the errors weren't too distracting.
Author of ‘Snake Walkers’ and ‘A Long Way Back,’ J. Everett Prewitt has done an amazing job piecing together Something About Ann: Stories of Love and Brotherhood and I look forward to reading more from him. Despite the aforementioned discrepancies, I would have given a 4 star rating simply because I genuinely don’t think that a full star be deducted for the errors. Nonetheless, my official rating will have to be 3 out of 4 stars. Readers more inclined to heavy romance or edge-of-your-seat adventures may likely not fancy this book that much, but it is recommended to those who are up for cozy reads with lots of lessons.
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Something About Ann
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Like Vickie Noel's review? Post a comment saying so!
I sure will !
Wouldn't want J. Prewitt on my tails for copyright infringement now...Lol. Ann truly got wiser with her experiences. Thanks for commenting.
