books
Children of the Wild by Kevin Powers review
Written by a US army veteran, this novel of courage and cruelty during the first world war is filled with unsettlingly authoritative depictions of violence – but its characters are less believable
TL;DR
- Children of the Wild is Kevin Powers' fourth novel, focusing on World War I.
- The story follows two young men from Virginia, Roy and Ennis, exploring themes of war and post-war adjustment.
- Powers' writing is praised for its visual storytelling and economical prose, lending authority to depictions of violence due to his own military background.
- The reviewer finds some characters and plot points melodramatic and implausible, despite the novel's epic ambitions.
- The novel is compared to other WWI literature, with the reviewer finding earlier works more enduringly realistic.