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After hearing the interview with the author on public radio, I thought this powerful book would be about the complexities of race: black children raised by white parents, and their not fitting into either the white or black community. But it was so much more than that. The story begins as brothers, Achilles and Troy, return from the war in Afghanistan to learn that their father has just died. Their mother hands them sealed envelopes from their father, telling them about their birth parents. Achilles can’t open his; Troy does, reads it, and then leaves immediately for parts unknown. Achilles is the older and had always been Troy’s protector. The rest of the book is Achilles’ obsessive search for his brother, following tips that Troy had been seen in various cities. The writing is spiral and can be very confusing at times. Much of it covers incidents that occurred in Afghanistan — sometimes in the form of memories, dreams or hallucinations in the present, without clarification as to which. But they reveal the most intimate thoughts and emotions (or lack of them) at the time. This story has given me a much clearer picture of the brainwashing that must prepare recruits for war-readiness, the horror they must endure, and then the abrupt transition they face when coming home to loving people who have no basis of comparison in their own lives. Although billed as a novel, this book reads like an autobiography. I feel that Hold It ‘Til It Hurts is a book that all of us who have never been to war should read for better understanding.

Susan Beard ]]> http://rutlandfree.org/readers-resources/readers-blog/patron-book-review/feed/ 0