Michael Winter (1) (1965–)

I liked this book. I liked the tone and the pacing and I actually really liked the interesting way it was punctuated. It was strange to read it in this sort of chatting at the pub or the Tim Hortons kind of way though. Last year I was studying Canadian miscarriages of justice and all the things that can go wrong in investigations. My readings included the Lamer Report

http://www.justice.gov.nl.ca/just/publications/lamerpart1.pdf

It just seemed sort of surreal to now read this account of one of these miscarriages of justice and have it become so much more human and real than a rather cold and detached government report. I think this is why I never read true crime books.… (more)

Since I am a Canadian, I decided this book would be an interesting read that would enhance my knowledge of Canada. And surprisingly, I enjoyed it a lot more than I expected!

I wanted to read the book to gain more knowledge, but I ended up really enjoying the book and getting into it.

The book follows the journey of the author through Newfoundland and past battlefields and grave sites of soldiers. The chapters in this book were short and sweet, but the nicest little gem was how much information and facts that were within the small chapters. Each chapter involved a small journey or task completed by the author, but little facts either about the author's childhood or the wars were included. These facts, despite being anywhere from one sentence to only a few paragraphs in length, gave an amazing and gigantic insight to how the War was fought and dealt with by soldiers.

The only downfall I saw to this book was how simple some of the language was. The read was smooth and quick, and I didn't find myself getting bored with the facts and plot laid out in the story. Overall, this book was incredibly well written and a gem I would definitely read again or suggest to anyone who is interested in history, wars, or specifically Canadian history.

I believe this book would help many high school students studying history understand it a bit more (considering the fact that this book would have helped me a lot when I sat bored in history class).

Amazing book! Four out of five stars!

I received this book for free through Goodreads First Reads.… (more)

I was enjoying this book until about half way through and the story wandered off into the wilderness. It's about three friends from Newfoundland (Henry, John and Tender ) who end up working on a government contract for another friend Rick near Kabul in Afghanistan. Tender (Patrick Morris) is in the militia and is the only one who is qualified to work with weapons. Many rules are stretched and the three friends head out in a military Jeep which is hit by a suicide bomber. Tender is killed and John and Henry are mildly injured. Henry, the narrator, heads home because he feels responsible for his friend's death. Henry is likely suffering from ptsd and decides to live near and in Tenders old aunt's house near Reveres, NFld. The story is filled with odd characters, odd relationships and odd dialogue which I could not always follow. He ends up with Tender's former girlfriend who gives birth to Tenders baby. There are no physical descriptions of any of the characters so I could not visualize their physiques. I can't figure out what the story is about: guilt, atonement, confession, family, revenge... I would not recommend this.… (more)