Quickly I became immersed in this memoir and truly fascinated began to wonder when the nightmares would begin. There are accounts of violence here that are thoroughly disturbing and personally my imagination does not lose the images conjured up very readily. I may have chosen to put the book down except that within pages I felt that I trusted Dexter Filkins voice; he writes not only with heart felt integrity but with an unstated compassion for all the people involved in war. (The quality I am trying to describe reminds me in many ways of what attracted me to Primo Levi in his book 'Survival In Auschwitz'.)
My review title is a quote from Goethe, a quote that looks to me to be at odds with Dexter Filkins account of life Iraq. In Iraq the luxury of choice is practically unaffordable and so the hope glimpsed is glimpsed in an elemental way. To continue at all is to hope. The strength of ordinary people in extraordinary situations is founded on that elemental hope and I was left in awe of the depth of humanity portrayed in 'The Forever War'.
This book has given me a better feel for the war in Iraq than anything else I have read over the last few years (which isn't much so take that with a pinch of salt) I recommend it highly.
Get more detail about The Forever War (Vintage).
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