One Man's War: A Novel

by P. M. Kippert

Overview

One Man’s War is a gripping novel that follows the journey of one man, Bob Kafak, through his experiences as a rifleman in a frontline company during World War II. It makes visceral the fear, the filth, and the cold that were his constant companions. Kafak is a reluctant hero who intentionally pisses off the brass to avoid promotion because he has seen too many of his commanding officers get blown to pieces and he doesn’t want to be next. He fights from the beaches of Anzio in Italy and battles up through the South of France toward Germany, facing one terrible heart-pounding encounter after another. Seen through Kafak’s thick-lensed army-issued glasses, the wider implications of the war remain blurry while he focuses on the simple, urgent needs of survival: keep your head down, keep your feet dry, gain the next six feet of ground, and concentrate on what tomorrow will bring. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781613733561
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	05/01/2016
Pages:	272
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

P. M. Kippert is an attorney whose father fought on the beaches of Anzio in Italy during World War II in the famous Third Infantry Division, Fifteenth Regiment, L Company. His father never talked about the war until he was on his deathbed and then he told his son the stories that inspired this novel. Kippert has published numerous short stories; this is his debut novel. 

Editorial Reviews

"A fascinating fictional account of war at the tip of the spear." —Alex Kershaw, author of The Liberator: One World War II Soldier’s 500-Day Odyssey from the Beaches of Sicily to the Gates of Dachau


“Through its attention to detail and its deliberate perspective, Kippert’s first novel delivers a precise, tense, and moving story.” —Kirkus Reviews


“One Man’s War will appeal to history buffs and anyone interested in the real, human stories from war that should not be lost.” —Foreword Reviews


“With an impressive attention to detail and with a consummate skill as a storyteller, One Man's War clearly documents author P. M. Kippert's exceptional ability to consistently engage his reader from first page to last.” —Midwest Book Review

"One Man's War honors the memory of one soldier and, in doing so, pays tribune to them all. This visceral, intense, moving experience is a worthy addition to war literature." —Historical Novels Review

From the Publisher

2016-02-18
In this episodic novel of World War II, a young American soldier stationed in Italy fights in the Battle of Anzio and observes a host of quiet horrors along the way. This first novel, inspired by the experiences of Kippert's late father, follows a soldier named Bob Kafak through his experiences in Italy at the tail end of the war. It intersperses tense scenes of combat with lighter scenes of Kafak and his peers and occasionally moves away from the front lines entirely. The novel is neatly structured, which is of a piece with Kafak's experiences: "Because each time you went under fire was a new time. Each time was the first time, sort of. All over again." This isn't a novel with scenes of individual heroism; instead, Kippert focuses on the messiness of battle. At one point, Kafak shoots at a group of German soldiers, who all fall—but he's far from the only one who was firing in their direction. Much of the time the action is intentionally chaotic: one description of combat zeroes in on Kafak's specific actions—firing his gun, throwing a grenade—while withholding the larger picture until after the battle has ended, to nerve-wracking effect. That focus is intentional: in the novel's preface, Kippert briefly explains his decision to stay with Kafak's perspective and not reveal the bigger moments in broad strokes. (An Author's Note at the end of the book provides a larger historical context.) Thanks to Kippert's matter-of-fact storytelling, the bleakness accumulates without ever overwhelming the tale. In the novel's first quarter, one of Kafak's fellow soldiers abruptly shoots himself, while another loses a foot to gangrene; there's also a memorably scatological use for uniform helmets. Throughout, a balance is achieved between the absurd and the harrowing. Through its attention to detail and its deliberate perspective, Kippert's first novel delivers a precise, tense, and moving story.

Kirkus Reviews