Book Review: We Go Again, Michael Cargill

Title: We Go Again
Author: Michael Cargill
Published: 20/01/2015
Pages: 129
Source: Review copy received from author
Format: Ebook

Rating: 3/5

"Not long after surviving the horrors of D-Day, Corporal James Bowden finds himself as part of a small group of soldiers marching through Nazi-occupied France.  Supplied with orders that are vague and unspecific and surrounded by men he doesn't know, will James survive society's desire for justice and revenge?"

We Go Again is about a small group of soldiers and begins when they arrive in a French town that was previously occupied by Nazis.  It follows their week spent there and also some flashbacks to life at home.  It is mainly told from the point of view of James Bowden, but there is also some of David and Piper in there too.

So, I did like We Go Again.  It was a nice insight into the lives of those caught up in WWII.  It follows what I would presume would be a normal week (without the fighting) of a soldier of the time.  It is also quite apparent that Cargill undertook a lot of research to ensure that what he wrote was accurate.

I also quite liked the characters.  Especially James and David.  The way in which they are portrayed made them seem real and their stories could have been any ones.  I also enjoyed hearing about the female characters and how they struggled through the war.  I especially felt for Nancy even though she is a very minor character.  The one character I didn't like as much was Captain Jones.  He seemed to be a bit too full of himself.

I felt the flashbacks were quite nice as they gave an extra insight into the lives of those staying behind at home, especially the dangerous jobs that the women had to do.  However, the flashbacks did make me slightly confused as there was very little warning when entering and leaving each one.  Especially as they were still written in the present tense.

I also felt that the book dragged a bit, particularly the first half.  I think this was probably due to the massive second chapter.  By the end of chapter 2, the book was 38% complete.  I also felt that not much happened during the first half other than the flashbacks.  The second half of the book went by much quicker.  The chapters were much smaller and it really felt that I was whizzing through the rest of the story.  A lot more happened during the second half too.

Overall, I liked We Go Again and I'm glad that I had the chance to read it.  I probably won't read it again though.  However, it was a nice insight into WWII and I would recommend it to anyone who likes war stories.

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