Brothers No More
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $9.99
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Bestselling author William F. Buckley, Jr., offers a terrific new novel—in the gloriously gripping tradition of Howard Fast, Irwin Shaw, and Jeffery Archer—of men and women caught between the force of history and the power of their own desires.
Italy, 1944. Pfc. Danny O'Hara and Pfc. Henry Chafee are part of a regiment ordered to attack a German unit north of Rome. But at the critical moment, one young man's courage fails him. Court-martial and shame are averted only by the other's apparently valiant effort to cover for him. A complex lifelong bond is thus forged between two men who seem an unlikely match. Henry is the son of a widowed librarian, quiet, studious, devoted to his sister, Caroline. Danny is gregarious, charming, aglow with the glamour of wealth and privilege. He is also the President's grandson. Brothers No More is the sweeping story of the lives and times of these two men—one searching to redeem his courage and resolve, the other undone by his own ambition and greed—both spellbound by the devout and beautiful Caroline. From the European theater of World War II to the deadly jungles of Vietnam, from the verdant lawns of Yale to the glittering casinos of the French Riviera, from the intimate warmth of a suburban home to the most rarefied corridors of corporate power, Brothers No More spans continents and decades to touch on some of the most significant events in modern history.
With the masterful storytelling power, sophisticated wit, and deft blend of fact and fiction that have won William F. Buckley, Jr., legions of devoted readers around the world, Brothers No More is an unforgettable novel of honor, betrayal, and faith.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Danny O'Hara is exuberant, generous, ambitious--and the grandson of the recently deceased Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Henry Chafee is quiet and deliberate, from a pleasant but undistinguished family. The two, former roommates at Yale, are sharing a foxhole on the Arno line in WWII when Henry turns coward and Danny saves his life. So begins this latest novel from Buckley (A Very Private Plot), who won the American Book Award for Stained Glass (1978) but is unlikely to duplicate that feat with this predictable, if glitzy, offering. Long flashbacks fill in the past up to the Arno incident; through these and subsequent passages, it becomes clear that Danny will manipulate people and events whenever he can turn them to his advantage. In adulthood, this blueblood becomes a crooked hotelier and worse, while Henry makes his mark as a journalist, especially during the Vietnam War. Eventually, Henry gets the goods on Danny and must make a difficult decision. Numerous cameos by the real-life rich and powerful enliven the proceedings (Georges Simenon plays a vital role); underneath all the provocative names and places, however, this is just a potboiler, deftly stirred but no match for Buckley's best. Major ad/promo; author tour.
