Fives and Twenty-Fives is Michael Pitre's debut novel and an exhausting read about the perils of the Iraq War. 

Fives and Twenty-Fives
Bloomsbury USA
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I didn't like this novel because of the way it was written. I dislike reading books which flash back in time so frequently that it becomes difficult to follow, especially in regard to time and voice. I lost count of the number of times I reread passages because I was confused as to who was talking and if the scene was in the past or present.

I also felt the novel failed to address many of the questions I had about the actions and motives of the characters such as Pete, Pete's mother, Lizzie, and Zahn. Hence, I was left to fill in these areas with my own imagination, and I feel that was too much for the author to expect of his readers.

However, I did appreciate the scene with Pete's father at the end of the novel. It was crafted in such a visceral way that I cried reading this passage. Here, Pete finally confides in his father about how Gunny Stout, a comrade on the road repair platoon with him, died. "He stayed on the ground for six hours, Dad.

Michael Pitre
Michael Pitre
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"He laid there, and no one could get to him. They had to call in another team and use line charges to clear a lane twenty meters wide. Bombs everywhere. He rolled over. . . He was probably conscious. Knowing it was bad, but thinking I was on my way. . .He dies thinking he'd wake up in Germany. But he didn't. Just bled to death, right there on the hot . . .asphalt, too."

Pete and his father sit under the oak tree and "the whole time he had his hand on my shoulder. He doesn't ask me any questions. He doesn't say a word." What a beautiful way for a father to let his son know he understands and loves him despite what devastation he may have seen.

If the flashback style of writing doesn't phase you, then I am sure you will enjoy Michael Pitre's debut novel, Fives and Twenty-Fives.

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