- Paperback: 320 pages
- Publisher: Riverhead Books; Reprint edition (Jan 2003)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 1573229717
- ISBN-13: 978-1573229715
- Product Dimensions: 20.4 x 13 x 2.1 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,357,410 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Miracle at Sant'Anna
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Product Description
Amazon.co.uk Review
The Buffalo Soldiers were the black American troopers of the 92nd Division who fought and died in Italy in World War II. In Miracle at Sant'Anna their remarkable story has been "novelised" by James McBride, bestselling author of The Color of Water. To get at the emotional and metaphorical heart of the fate of the so-called "Negro Division", McBride has invented a number of black soldier heroes and antiheroes; Sam Train, Stamps, Bishop, Hector, etc. Using the eyes, ears and voices of these and other soldiers McBride tells how the Buffalo Soldiers fought, loved, cursed, cooked, stole, whored, wept, suffered, killed, and mule-trained their way up the war-torn Italian peninsula. It's in many ways the standard war story, told in McBride's admirably calm, judiciously lyrical prose: this is an author unafraid of saying things the simple way, nor of utilising slang or cliché: "he fell asleep and slept like a dead man", "the big galoo was sitting in the path of twelve thousand Germans, and he couldn't even read a map".
And yet, and yet. This isn't just your average bit of combat fiction. These are black American soldiers, two generations from Africa and slavery, fighting in the cradle of Christendom, the birthplace of the Renaissance. With cleverness and subtly McBride makes great play with the perceived and supposed distinction between the savage uncouthness of the "jitterbugging negroes" and the refined and elegant beauties of Tuscany and Rome. And it's when these distinctions are truly disproved, or even upended, that this skilful, intelligent, deeply felt novel carries frank emotional power--earning it comparisons with the likes of Charles Frazier's Cold Mountain. --Sean Thomas --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
The List Glasgow
'War, cruelty, passion, heroism and race crammed into one lyrical tale'
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A reasonable story, but not strong,
By
This review is from: Miracle at Sant'Anna (Hardcover)
Like most people who may read this book, I picked it up on the strength of his Color of Water book, which was thoroughly excellent. The is a very different book. The story itself has a great deal of potential, but I felt it lost its way somewhere in the middle. The characters are somewhat muddled and don't develop the level of complexity I had hoped. And, I had the nagging feeling I was reading a follow up to Captain Corelli (which for me isn't a compliment by any means!). However, unlike Captain Corelli I did make it all the way through this book without actually cursing author. It's reasonable read, but it'll leave you thinking it could have been better. jwk
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Tender Experience,
By 106442.3342@compuserve.com (Newcastle, UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Miracle at Sant'Anna (Hardcover)
This is a tender and emotional tale of survival of the heart and soul in the harsh reality of war. The hero manages successfully to overcome his thoughts of the recklessness of war by falling in love with the hostile environment in which he is placed. This is a truly touching book for those who can share our hero's experiences from true life.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
IT COULD HAVE BEEN A CONTENDER...,
By
This review is from: Miracle at St. Anna (Paperback)
The author, who penned the classic international bestseller, "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother", and was the recipient of the prestigious Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, now turns to a story inspired by an incident that took place during World War II in the war torn, Italian village of St. Anna di Stazzema in the region of Tuscany. This is a war yarn with a twist, as it features a certain segment of our nation's army at the time, the Buffalo Soldiers of the 92nd Division.The Buffalo soldiers were men of color in the segregated army of yesteryear. On top of fighting enemy soldiers, they were also subjected not only to racist stereotyping but to poor battle decisions by their white commanding officers, which decisions reflected just how dispensable the army thought these Buffalo soldiers to be. This is a story primarily viewed through the eyes of these very soldiers. In the town of St. Anna di Stazzema, something very bad happened, something that would affect all those who would encounter those connected to the town and its events. It would affect Germans, Americans, Italians, partisans, and collaborators in different ways. Its impact would carry through the years and last until the present day. This is a story about those Buffalo soldiers, the village in Tuscany nestled in a war zone, the enemy soldiers, villagers, collaborators, and partisans whom they encounter. At the heart of all that transpires is a little Italian boy, traumatized by war, whose fate would touch all with whom he came in contact and who would be at the heart of the miracle that was to take place. It is through him that they all learn that miracles do, indeed, exist. The book gets off to a great start. In present day New York, an older postal worker, for seemingly no reason, blows away a customer at point blank range with the single pull of a trigger. An investigative reporter runs with a lead and finds that the postal worker has, hidden in his home, a famous piece of statuary, an exquisitely sculpted head, which has been missing from a bridge in Italy since World War II. The mystery deepens. The book then reverts to World War II and the cast of characters that are central to the story. It is here that the author runs into some difficulties. When a number of Buffalo soldiers get caught behind enemy lines, the story start to fall apart. Though it is an interesting story, it is simply dully told. Excruciatingly pedestrian in its telling, the book takes its toll on the reader, turning what could have been a vivid, riveting account into a soporific one. It is not until towards the end of the book that the story again picks up and is able to deliver the same one two punch that it does in the beginning. By then, however, it is too late, and the book never reaches the promise so incipient in its beginning pages. Still, for those readers willing to put up with some disappointment, the book ultimately delivers at the end.
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