Joe Bonham, a young American soldier serving in World War I, wakes up in a hospital bed to discover he is a victim of a massive artillery shell explosion. The blast has claimed his arms, legs, and face, leaving him a total amputee without the ability to see, hear, speak, or smell. Trapped within his own mind, Joe struggles to distinguish between drifting memories of his past and the rhythmic vibrations of his present medical environment. He eventually develops a method of communication by tapping his head in Morse code against his pillow, pleading with his doctors to be displayed in a glass box as a living testimonial to the physical reality of combat.
This book serves readers interested in the visceral consequences of state-mandated violence and the psychological endurance of the human consciousness. It attracts those seeking a stark internal narrative that rejects patriotic abstraction in favor of anatomical facts. Readers walk away with a clinical understanding of how modern technology can preserve a life that has lost all agency. The text provides a permanent mental image of the isolation created by catastrophic injury and a grim perspective on the political decisions that lead to such outcomes.
Deep, inward-looking, contemplative and thought-provoking; a moderate read.
Best for readers like The Wisdom Collector. Which reader are you?
- Published
- 1939
- Language
- EN
