Book review: As Far As I Can Tell

Hello, pornies! I hope you had a wonderful week. I have been reading and discovering the horror of World War II through a book that doesn't fit in my usual genres, but I picked it because we all need to get out of our comfort zones, right? Today I come to tell you about As Far As I Can Tell: Finding My Father in World War II, by Philip Gambone. Thanks to Gay Book Promotions for sending me a review copy!

• Print Length: 489 pages.
• Publisher: Rattling Good Yarns Press; 1st edition (January 6, 2021)
• Publication Date: January 6, 2021.
• Genres: Family, Gay, History, Memoir, War.
• Rating: 3 / 5

Philip Gambone, a gay man, never told his father the reason why he was rejected from the draft during the Vietnam War. In turn, his father never talked about his participation in World War II. Father and son were enigmas to each other. Gambone, an award-winning novelist and non-fiction writer, spent seven years uncovering who the man his quiet, taciturn father had been, by retracing his father's journey through WW II. As Far As I Can Tell not only reconstructs what Gambone’s father endured, it also chronicles his own emotional odyssey as he followed his father’s route from Liverpool to the Elbe River. A journey that challenged the author’s thinking about war, about European history, and about “civilization."

I have to say I expected many things from this book, but although I knew it would focus on WWII, I expected a more balanced content, maybe not 50-50, but something close to it. What I found was a vivid and detailed description of this war, but almost to nothing about the author, as the synopsis lead me to believe. It is not that I don't like it, but I felt I was reading a different kind of book.

Someone as Gambone obivously know how to tell a story and recover all the important pieces. More than once I was transported to the battle field with the soldiers, sharing their fears, their traumas, and experiences. You think you've had a hard life, and then you learn about WWII. Not that you don't have the right to complain, but then you realize how fortunate you be born in such a peaceful time.

However, my main problem with this book was exactly that: the huge amount of details that got me lost more than once. I had to go back a few lines many times in order to keep track of what was happening, and while I understand why the auhtor did this, it didn't work well for me. The fact that he didn't explain much of his feelings, compared to the war content, made the reading unbalanced and heavy at times.

I would recommend As Far As I Can Tell: Finding My Father in World War II to those who are passionate about WWII and want a reading that doesn't hold back anything, filled with testimonies and a light dose of family tales. Philip Gambone has a good style and knows how to keep you interested in a book, but this one was the right for me, but I'm more than interested in visiting his fiction.

About Philip Gambone:
Philip Gambone was born in Wakefield, Massachusetts. He earned a BA from Harvard College and an MA from the Episcopal Divinity School. His writing has covered many genres, including novels and short stories, personal reminiscence, non-fiction, and scholarly essays, as well as book reviews and interviews. He has taught writing at the University of Massachusetts Boston, Boston College, and also taught in the expository writing program at Harvard. Gambone teaches in the writing program at the Harvard Extension School, which has twice awarded him Distinguished Teaching Citations. He lives in Boston, Massachusetts.

Have you read this book? Would you recommend it or not? Let me know in the comments! Kinky regards, K!

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