Our faculty book club read this novel, selected by our solo male English teacher...and in our attempt to not just read "girly" books!
John J. Kelly's novel The Fallen Snow tells the journey of a young man Joshua Hunter from the mountains of Virginia to the front lines of wars in 1918 and the months of recovery afterwards from wounds physical, mental, and emotional. Leaving his girl behind, he meets and falls for a partner that does not return from the war. When we selected the novel, I did not realize the novel with deal with topic and, honestly, I might not have read it had I realized that for personal beliefs. I did appreciate, though, the background knowledge I gained on WWI, a time period on which I have not read enough.
Much of the story was told via flashbacks, representing literally what was happening in young Joshua's mind. A great technique, these flashbacks provided glimpses into the war, the relationships (both at home and abroad), and the growth of the characters as they dealt with a young man who had seen much and killed many.
This is one that both genders could read. With male protagonists and plenty of female perspectives, any audience would feel included.
What have you read lately that challenged your belief system?
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