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MWSA Review
Truly Are the Free by Jeffrey K. Walker is a carefully woven tapestry of nationality, race, sex, and prejudice during a difficult time in world history during the early 1900s. The textures of this literary fabric are rich and thought-provoking, rough in spots (war), smooth in others (peace), but always intriguing.
Author Walker creates a life-changing intersection for two extraordinary men. One is American Ned Tobin, a World War I veteran who has seen the ravages of war.Harlem-born attorney, Chester Dawkins, raised in a respectable, tightly knit black family, is the second character to give texture to this story. Chester joins the military with a strong sense of patriotism and pride to become an officer in an all-black regiment dubbed Harlem’s Hell Fighters. Ned is tasked as a liaison with Chester’s regiment, and he and Chester are sent into battle against the German forces. The two officers form an unbreakable bond in battle as they fight for survival from brutal enemy attacks.
In a compelling writing style, Jeffrey K. Walker weaves the stories of these two families during and after the war into the tumultuous years of the Roaring 1920s. Readers are treated to a journey of love, war, loss, and redemption through the artist community of Paris, prohibition-era Harlem, and into the lush green farm country of Ireland as the tale threads itself in and out of the lives of both men.
Review by Nancy Panko (March 2022)
Author's Synopsis
South Boston-native Ned Tobin has all the luck. Alive after the Somme, he meets, beds and falls in love with the alluring Adèle Chéreaux. Their love affair is suddenly upended in 1917 when Ned is called home and Adèle flees the last German advance of the First World War. Young Harlem lawyer Chester Dawkins dutifully joins a new regiment anxious to fight for their chance at valor in the face of deep-rooted racism. Meanwhile, his sister, Lena, is left at home to shoulder a crippling legacy of family debt. Ned finds himself back in France with Chester's regiment. Can these soldiers from very different backgrounds overcome long-held prejudices and find common cause in the bloody trenches? Will Ned ever find Adèle again? And what will become of Lena? Journey through avant-garde Paris, Prohibition-era Harlem and newly independent Ireland in this heart-wrenching yet hopeful story of love and loss.
ISBN/ASIN: 1947108026, 978-1947108028, B077SB7ZLH
Book Format(s): Soft cover, Kindle
Review Genre: Fiction—Historical Fiction
Number of Pages: 278