Author George H. Wolfe, himself a Vietnam-era veteran, gives us to understand that with his first novel, "Aftershock," he was looking to correct what he sees as a mistaken assumption about World War II vets – that, unlike vets of America's later more divisive conflicts, they came back from their "good" war with their psyches relatively undamaged and pretty much prepared to get on with their prewar civilian lives. And to that end he succeeds well enough, with his presentation of four such vets scarred in their own ways – Dante, a cocky Italian-American who lost a friend while serving as a tanker under Patton; David, a would-be novelist who lost a hand during a Japanese kamikaze attack on his ship; Tim, a Rhodes Scholar who participated in the Manhattan project and later endured the horrible aftermath of the sinking of the Indianapolis; and Evelyn, a female crop duster who served as a WASP during the war. Each is accorded sympathetic treatment facilitated by a close-third-person rotating point of view which is curiously – and to my mind, off-puttingly – simply abandoned at times for a straight omniscient point of view. Nevertheless, as I say, each character is presented with great empathy and with close attention to period detail. Particularly interesting to me, for instance (and I would think to Wolfe’s female readers) is the account of Evelyn having to endure infuriatingly condescending male attitudes when she interviews for a pilot job with Pan Am.

This is a real masterpiece of a novel. The writing is exquisite, especially knowing that this is a first novel. The story is important, the characters are vivid, but most of all I simply enjoyed Wolfe's ability to craft a sentence. This is what superb writing looks like; what most authors aspire to do.

The story is so unique. A group of WW2 veterans are back from the war and we see how the war affected them, how it motivated them for their own futures, and how they banded together supporting each other. And it is not just the veterans' story, but the story of those who had roles in the war. This is a book that will stay with you long after you've finished reading it.

Really good book. The plot was well-written and engrossing. I look forward to reading more from this author.

WOW! Just WOW!! Author George H. Wolfe has created a historical masterpiece. The characters are so well developed and the writing is at another level. Most historical reads sound similar but George H. Wolfe brings a unique story and conversations that need to be heard.

Have you ever read a book that just leaves you speechless? Perhaps I will come back and add more detail to this review after I think about it more but if you appreciate history GRAB THIS BOOK!! I read the Kindle version but I will be order a copy to annotate and study. This is one of my top 5 favorite historical fiction reads ever.

Thank you to Livingston Press, the author and NetGalley for allowing me to review this spectacular read.