Review: The Impossible Knife of Memory

The Impossible Knife of Memory by Laurie Halse Anderson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

When the old soldier's story was finished, Dad asked, "You know how Veterans Day started?" 
"The armistice, the end of World War One, " Fin answered. "At eleven o'clock in the morning of November 11, 1918, all the troops on both sides stopped fighting. That's the day we honor vets."
"Here's what you don't know, " Dad said. "By five o'clock that morning, the officers had all gotten the message that the war would end that day. But lots of them ordered their men to keep fighting. The end of the war meant that career officers would have fewer chances to move up in rank. The goddamn war was officially ending in hours and they sent their boys in to be sacrificed. Almost eleven thousand soldiers died on November 11, 1918. That's more men than died on the beaches of Normandy on D-day in World War Two, twenty-six years later." He cracked his knuckles. "Politics beats out freedom, honor, and service every time. Don't ever forget that."

That quote stuck with me for days after finishing The Impossible Knife of Memory. Hayley Kincain and her father have spent most of her life crisscrossing the nation trying to outrun his demons. Andy Kincain, a war veteran who suffers from PTSD never stays in one place too long. Hayley spends her time taking care of her father, careful not to set him off but unsuccessful more often than not. The Impossible Knife of Memory is a poignant look at the life of veterans and their loved ones. We ask a lot from our veterans, up to and sometimes including death. The fact that there are veterans and their families suffering without the help they deserve is disgusting. How our country could even consider recruiting new soldiers before our veterans are receiving what they were promised is mind boggling.

View all my reviews