I have a personal policy that everyone I tell about it resents. If I read the book, and especially if I loved it, I won’t see the movie. I’m not sure why people resent this, except that it becomes the grounds for rejecting their movie recommendations. But I have no doubt that it’s the right policy for me, because I want to see the story with my imagination rather than with Hollywood actors. Of course, there are times when I see the movie and find out afterwards that it’s based on a novel. If I enjoyed the movie, then I want to read the book. Such is my history with A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries. I saw the Kris Kristofferson movie in the 1990s, and I liked it and always intended to read the book. More than a decade later, I finally got around to it.
This is memoir written as fiction. Kaylie Jones is the daughter of James Jones, who wrote From Here to Eternity and Thin Red Line. Since they lived as expatriates, she grew up in Paris, France. Such is the case of Channe, the protagonist, the daughter of a famous American writer living in Paris. She’s an only child until her parents decide to adopt a son, and, in the nature of siblings, she both loves and resents this addition to the family. Much of this coming-of-age tale focuses on Channe coming to terms with her parents’ decision to adopt her brother, Benoit.
I wrote “much of” because, although the book is short, it’s loaded with conflict. Being an American living in France, Channe suffers identity issues. She thinks of herself as French, and she reads, writes, and sometimes even speaks French better than English. And being a French child adopted by American parents, Benoit, who changes his name to Billy, has similar identity issues. There is a sense that no one belongs where they are, that this is a family displaced from their natural birthplace.
Structuring this is less a novel and more a collection of short stories. It has eight self-contained chapters which, if you wish, you could read independently of each other without losing understanding. But I advise you to read the novel from start to finish. It’s a wonderful and interesting story about fascinating people.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary American fiction. I would also recommend this to anyone who’s interested in the personal lives of writers.I have a personal policy that everyone I tell about it resents. If I read the book, and especially if I loved it, I won’t see the movie. I’m not sure why people resent this, except that it becomes the grounds for rejecting their movie recommendations. But I have no doubt that it’s the right policy for me, because I want to see the story with my imagination rather than with Hollywood actors. Of course, there are times when I see the movie and find out afterwards that it’s based on a novel. If I enjoyed the movie, then I want to read the book. Such is my history with A Soldier’s Daughter Never Cries. I saw the Kris Kristofferson movie in the 1990s, and I liked it and always intended to read the book. More than a decade later, I finally got around to it.
This is memoir written as fiction. Kaylie Jones is the daughter of James Jones, who wrote From Here to Eternity and Thin Red Line. Since they lived as expatriates, she grew up in Paris, France. Such is the case of Channe, the protagonist, the daughter of a famous American writer living in Paris. She’s an only child until her parents decide to adopt a son, and, in the nature of siblings, she both loves and resents this addition to the family. Much of this coming-of-age tale focuses on Channe coming to terms with her parents’ decision to adopt her brother, Benoit.
I wrote “much of” because, although the book is short, it’s loaded with conflict. Being an American living in France, Channe suffers identity issues. She thinks of herself as French, and she reads, writes, and sometimes even speaks French better than English. And being a French child adopted by American parents, Benoit, who changes his name to Billy, has similar identity issues. There is a sense that no one belongs where they are, that this is a family displaced from their natural birthplace.
Structuring this is less a novel and more a collection of short stories. It has eight self-contained chapters which, if you wish, you could read independently of each other without losing understanding. But I advise you to read the novel from start to finish. It’s a wonderful and interesting story about fascinating people.
I recommend this book to anyone who likes contemporary American fiction. I would also recommend this to anyone who’s interested in the personal lives of writers.