Saturday, August 3, 2024

The World Played Chess by Robert Dugoni

First sentence:

"A purpose, I have learned, is rarely found, but revealed."

Description:

"In 1979, Vincent Bianco has just graduated high school. His only desire: collect a little beer money and enjoy his final summer before college. So he lands a job as a laborer on a construction crew. Working alongside two Vietnam vets, one suffering from PTSD, Vincent gets the education of a lifetime. Now forty years later, with his own son leaving for college, the lessons of that summer--Vincent's last taste of innocence and first taste of real life--dramatically unfold in a novel about breaking away, shaping a life, and seeking one's own destiny." -- from the inside flap

My thoughts:

I enjoyed this book about growing up from teen to an adult. William, a young man, discovering the stark reality of war as a marine/photographer in Vietnam, and later as a wiser adult coming to grips with PTSD. Vincent, a newly graduated high school student, learning about life and war from Vietnam vet William. Then, as an adult, Vincent passing some of his wisdom to his son, Beau.

Date read: 8/1/2024
Genre: Fiction
Rating: 3*/5 = good

ISBN-10: 1542029376
ISBN-13: 9781542029377
Publisher: Lake Union
Year: 2021
# of pages: 369
Binding: Hardcover
LibraryThing page