|
Eamon Dolan
Series
Aaron Gwyn
Houghton Mifflin
Harcourt
5/20/2014 / ISBN 9780544230279
Mystery / Thriller /War story
Reviewed
by Elise Cooper
|
|
Wynne’s
War by Aaron Gwyn is both a western
and a war story. It captures the essence of close combat while
showing how Special Forces in Afghanistan have used horses.
In fact, it conjures up memories of when President Obama wrongly
said during the 2012 Presidential debate that horses are no
longer used. This tale takes the reader on a journey with the
feeling that they are the ones in the saddle.
Gwyn writes within a distinct format since there are only four
chapters/sections in the entire book. The first part discusses
the character’s experiences in Iraq; the second part his
time on a military base in Eastern Afghanistan; the mission
is the third section; and the final part is more of an epilogue,
although it is a bit rushed and leaves the reader wondering
too much. The author noted, “I have friends and family
in the Special Operations community. Some of them use horses
for reconnaissance, and told me we have been using horses in
Afghanistan since 2001. This gave me the idea to write a modern
day western combined with a war story.”
The plot begins in Iraq when Corporal Elijah Russell risks his
life to save an Arabian horse. The episode winds up on YouTube
where it comes to the attention of a commander in Afghanistan,
Green Beret Captain Carson Wynne. He is able to have Russell
transferred to his unit and assigns him to train horses for
a secret mission. It is during the mission that Russell sees
Wynne as someone who does not believe in fighting a war to tie
or lose. The Captain is through with political negotiations
and political correctness. Instead he has the mentality of not
an eye for an eye, but two eyes for an eye, an escalating of
violence for every torturous action taken by the enemy.
The torture scenes in the book are graphic and realistic. In
the novel Gwyn describes the Afghan way through “castration
or disembowelment, followed by decapitation,” and “Rape,
torture: these are our enemy’s weapons. Like a rifle or
grenade.” He stated, “I actually had to tone it
down because it is more brutal than I described. Much more ruthless
in real life.”
Besides the action scenes there are a number of passages discussing
horses and their training. The horse scenes are fastidiously
detailed, allowing the reader to gain insight into the Oklahoma
upbringing of the author and his character, Russell, both raised
by their grandparents on a cattle ranch. Gwyn commented that
he used the famous horse trainer, Ray Hunt, also known as the
Horse Whisper, as a model for Russell. “Since Hunt is
the father of natural horsemanship and was very influential
in the western riding world I wanted Russell to have that persona.
I hoped to show that the best way to train a horse is to the
make the wrong thing hard and the right thing easy for the horse.
In other words, to always give a positive experience. The horse
and the rider eventually are collaborative.”
Wynne’s War is a novel about horses, the relationship
between horses and man, and about men and horses at war. It
explores the question of when orders should be followed, especially
by someone who might not believe in the mission or trust the
person issuing the orders. Anyone who wants a story involving
war, horses, and decisions made under stress should read this
novel.
|
|
|