In A Gathering of Men, Rona Simmons uses vivid imagery to create a memorable historical fiction novel. There is no way to walk away from this book without being more informed about flying during WWII.
Good historical fiction is a plausible story in a known historical era. Great historical fiction puts the reader in that time and space, so they feel like they are experiencing it with the characters.
This book falls a bit beyond great historical fiction. It is obvious that extensive research has gone into crafting this story. The smallest of details are in sharp focus.
You know you are reading someone’s memory – not what the author imagines might have happened.
Of course, there is a good dose of that too. The story does need to have a shape. Otherwise, it is just a memoir. But the author weaves the fictional parts with the obvious “real” parts into a compelling narrative.
I would like to add here that anyone who had parents or grandparents who served in WWII knows that many men refused to talk about their experiences. My mom has often said that her father was a different man when he returned from the South Pacific.
He never elaborated, and she learned not to ask, but it is not an unusual story. He was gone before I was born so I never saw it for myself. But this is a story I hear often from friends.
What Rona Simmons has done is create a story that answers at least some questions for people who can no longer ask their relatives. It is raw, emotional, and sometimes difficult to read – and that is because of the “real” memories used as a base for the story.
I like how she separated the narrative into five parts. It makes for an easy trajectory of the friendship, especially between Lake and Roger. I don’t mind admitting that I teared up more than a few times.
The aftermath of a particular flight is especially emotional (they didn’t know about PTSD then). But sometimes it feels like the emotions of the men flow from the pages, reaching out, begging to be recognized and validated.
I am a huge historical fiction reader, and I cannot think of a more realistic “in the moment” story than A Gathering of Men. I highly recommend it.
