About forty-three pages into my paperback version of A Midnight Clear I came across the point of the author’s story. You’d guess that the author might reveal his moment of truth in the heat of battle or during a long midnight conversation in a foxhole since the storyline of the book follows a reconnaissance squad in World War II.

You wouldn’t expect him to explain things in a hotel as four guys loose their virginity to a girl they paid to visit their room…at least, I wouldn’t.

Myself, I was kind-of wondering if a weird sexual flashback was really necessary at page 45 (or any page) or the book. Not that it’s explicit, it’s just that…well, it’s a screwed up situation. …Can you see the war analogies coming?

Here’s what the author has to say during the character’s visit to that hot Mississippi hotel room:

“…The girl’s in a slip and crying. Gordon and I stand at the edge of the bed and listen. I’ll give a quick version of the story. It’s not what this book’s about anyway, or maybe it is.

“Her name is Janice. She was engaged to a boy named Matt. Matt was killed in the Sicilian invasion. Janice only heard a week ago. She came down to see all the last places Matt had been in his short military life. She’s twenty. She came down here to kill herself but didn’t have enough nerve; all she has now is a ticket back on the bus.

“So what do you believe?”

You have four 18-year-old guys who are being told a story that they want to believe. They listen to it, believe it, and do something that will effect them (scar them) forever. They’re too young, too naive, too dumb to realize the consequences of what they’re doing.

The rest of the story of A Midnight Clear plays with this idea. Some might say that it’s an anti-war book. I wouldn’t go quite that far. The book doesn’t try to offer an answer that easy. Instead it asks questions. Can someone who was just deciding on a prom date understand whether going to war is a good decision or a bad one? Can this kid who has probably never even paid an electric bill go kill someone?

Many questions are asked, but the one that re-occurs the most is the maturity issue. Even the author’s style of writing in the book is intended to reveal the insecurity and naivete of the main character.

Everything is written as though it is happening at that exact moment. With this device in place we can see how the main character, William Knott, responds to his different situations. Sometimes you just feel sorry for him, other times you wish he’d have a little more confidence, and a couple times you just want to give him some good advice.

Will and his squad are in charge of guarding a chateau in the woods around Christmas time. Snow starts falling as soon as they get there and, at least in my mind, it made for some pretty scenery.

Not long after the snow starts falling they discover that there are Germans not too far away…and they seem to want to get together. Great scenes are painted for our imaginations…scenes involving snowball fights and snowmen…some very memorable stuff.

Well, the boys in Will’s troop want to believe that everything can be happy and fine. Everything can work out in the end. The right person can be named a hero, no blood needs to be shed. …not to spoil anything, but in case you haven’t guessed, they learn the hard way that this is not the case.

So, you have a guy named Will who now has “the lingering sensation that any woman with whom I make love has some other ideal person in her heart and mind”. Worse than that, he has the scars of a mission gone haywire.

Sounds like a pleasant winter read, doesn’t it?

…not exactly. But, the way the concepts of the book make you think…and, the uniqueness of the way the story carries itself along…these things make it a book well worth reading. I saw the movie, which spoiled the ending for me. And, still I was sucked into this crazy piece of the war that William Wharton created for me.

My only negative observation is that the book leans slightly toward only showing one side of the coin, the bad side. Theoretically, we only go to war out of necessity. When you do things out of necessity not everything is going to be what’s “best”. But, you have to do it because the alternative is so ugly. The thing you have to wonder is if it’s really a necessity.

That leads to the question… “What do you believe?”

My complaint is only minor, though. The author could have been much more dogmatic in anti-war sentiments, this would have turned me off to the book. Instead, the author offered my mind a lot of thoughts to wrestle with, he gave me some great quirky characters, and he threw some unusual but believable situations at me.

A Midnight Clear may not resolve everything in the most chipper of fashions. But, it’s a book you shouldn’t ignore, especially for those looking for something that doesn’t end when you close the covers.

Recommended: Yes