War Stories: 06/10/21

War Stories by Gordon Korman is about a family traveling to a small French village to celebrate its liberation at the end of WWII. The last time Jacob was in France he was a seventeen year old infantryman with the nickname "High School." Now he's a reluctant 90 year old who is going back with his grandson and great grandson.

Like nearly every Korman novel, War Stories has multiple points of view. This time, though, he sticks to just two: Trevor (the war obsessed great-grandson) and Jacob during WWII. Together the two points of view give a larger context to each location the family visits.

In the background of the modern day story there is a group of protestors unhappy with Jacob's impending return. Their protests first online and then in person add a level of suspense and danger. This suspense builds against the literal danger and death of the WWII scenes.

The family journey to and through France is also mapped onto the road narrative spectrum. As stated, the travelers are a family (33). Their destination is uhoria (CC) to remember the dead and to celebrate the one survivor. Their route is the labyrinth (99) as the trip is a transformative one that spirals into the truth and changes Trevor's views on war and war themed video games. Summarized then War Stories is about a family traveling to and through uhoria via the labyrinth (33CC99).

Four stars

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