A Walk among Heroes
Character-focused and earnest, the historical novel A Walk Among Heroes is about the scars left by wartime experiences.
James McDevitt’s triumphant historical novel A Walk Among Heroes is about wartime tragedies and intersecting lives.
Herein, scenes of daring action in Europe during both world wars contrast with the long emotional scars of military service and the tribulations of love in wartime. Focal are T.J., an American infantryman during World War II, and Smitty, a veteran pilot of World War I. The men’s lives are joined by coincidences, romance, disillusionment, and renewal across generations.
Jumping between different eras and locations, the book starts out in Chicago, where T.J. decides to join the army in 1941. He is inspired to do so by the memory of his father’s service—and by his failure to reconnect with his former love, Magdalyn. His wartime experiences are followed by postwar depression and alcoholism as he seeks catharsis:
The past doesn’t control the present unless you let it. My tears … cleansed me. They washed away years of anger and despair, leaving me raw but whole.
Smitty’s wartime experiences are covered later and involve a daring escape from a prisoner-of-war camp. In time, the connections between Smitty, T.J., and Magdalyn are revealed to satisfying effect.
Character-focused and earnest, the book is narrated through a combination of crass, humorous conversations, religious and personal storylines, and sparse, effective descriptions. Its perspective shifts are eased by the the distinctiveness of people’s voices and backstories. Combat scenes, as with those on the beaches of Normandy, combine with scenes in dirty German prisoner-of-war camps to flesh out the seriousness of the period; these moments are tense and high stakes, requiring the characters to make quick decisions. Later, the men dwell on the violence and suffering they experienced, though their lengthy introspection occurs somewhat off-page; similarly, the book’s descriptions of gore and dismemberment are sparing.
The romance between Magdalyn and T.J. is handled in a choppy and diffuse manner, though. Their prewar relationship is covered via a few distinct flashbacks and memories, and the sense of chemistry between them is ill-established. Even though his desire is to reunite with Magdalyn, T.J.’s remorseful pining for his lost love strains credulity because of their loose dynamic, leading to repetitiveness. More compelling are his relationships with others, including a fellow soldier, Vance, and his postwar friend Smitty, who mentors him.
About veterans’ experiences, A Walk Among Heroes is an effective historical novel about faith, recovery, and duty.
Reviewed by
Brendan McKelvy
Disclosure: This article is not an endorsement, but a review. The publisher of this book provided free copies of the book and paid a small fee to have their book reviewed by a professional reviewer. Foreword Reviews and Clarion Reviews make no guarantee that the publisher will receive a positive review. Foreword Magazine, Inc. is disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.
