Finnegan Found

I really have no idea why I kept this book in my “to be read” list and then waited so long to read it. I found this book to be absolutely fascinating. It covers a period of time and a subject that we really don’t hear much about. This book was truly an eye opener for me. I’m planning to find more on this subject. Kudos to the author.

Paul Larson, a young man who grew up on a farm in Minnesota. He was captured on his second day in Korea. He never gave up-helping other soldiers, trying to escape. This story tells how POWs were treated in the Camps, the brutal conditions and what they were forced to endure! It was well written yet brutal for me to read!
I gave it 4 1/2 stars and highly recommend this book!
Thank you NetGalley for the privilege of reading this book and giving my review~

Finnegan Found tells the story of the American servicemen captured and held as POWs during the Korean War (1950-53). The novel focuses on a young Private, Paul Larson, known as ‘Swede’. Swede is a fictional character but his experiences are based on actual events, locations and accounts. Although the narrative is rooted in non-fiction, the book is essentially a story combining elements of espionage, thriller and suspense.

I thought Finnegan Found was a towering novel. I knew very little of this war and it’s obvious the POWs were abandoned collateral in a near-forgotten conflict. To have simply decided to recount their story would have been testament enough but the narrative that Mr Powers weaves in order that we may understand, self-educate and empathise is outstanding. Personally, Finnegan Found takes its place alongside the great war novels such as All Quiet on the Western Front. It is immediately readable; Swede is an enduring main character so brilliantly written that he effortlessly carries the book which is no mean feat as it is a long read. He is written with such authenticity, integrity and completeness that within his characterisation a small part of each one of those men captured is embedded. However, this is a story and Mr Powers employs every writing technique to ensure that it’s a gripping must-read from start to finish. We are pitched headlong into the fighting that leads to the initial capture of Swede. The battle scene is short and blisteringly visceral. There is a fairly large cast but focus remains on approximately ten major characters; all of whom are credible, well-crafted and provide conflict, twists, side-plots, humour and, at times, unimaginable suffering. Perspective often shifts between Swede and the other columns of men imprisoned elsewhere. It’s a good tactic, keeping the narrative fresh because the story is one of relentless degradation, adversity and brutality but Swede will not, does not, give up. From attempting the smallest of disruptions to camp life to all out assaults on camp routine, he digs (literally at times) into every reserve of mental and physical strength he possesses to keep himself and his colleagues alive.

It was a thoughtful strategy to humanise the Chinese Colonel Li and towards the end, we have a chapter from the perspective of a Chinese guard, Jiao. I also liked the vignettes on other POWs such as Charlie and Earl Stoneman; the little touches such as Stoneman’s song were heartbreakingly poignant. It would have been tempting for the conclusion to have descended into a good guys/bad guys fight with everyone liberated and living happily ever after. Mr Powers’ ending is thought-provokingly realistic and the connection to the title (a re-occurring theme) was wryly clever.

I feel honoured to have read this book and privileged to have read it from the pen of Mr Powers. Not only from the education it has given me but for the simple fact it’s a brilliant novel; the quality of the writing and story-telling is second to none. I have no doubt that ‘Swede’ would have been proud his story was finally told by such a gifted and dedicated writer. Highly recommended.

Paul Larson, a young man who grew up on a farm in Minnesota and was soon drafted in to the US army. No real training for what was ahead and going abroad for the first time, he was captured on his second day in Korea!

The story is told from the fictional 'Swede' character but all was true. Swede never gave up-helping other soldiers, and trying to escape. The brutal conditions were well described, and can be confirmed in the many UK books concerning the 'Forgotten Army' in Burmah and Japan. Always worth a read.

A well written view, with no punches pulled. The title was strange though?

Paul Larson 'Swede' grew up as an honest, hard working farm boy. At age 19 he enlists in the army to gain some life experience and is sent to Vietnam during the Vietnam War. He is captured on his second day there and begins life as a POW in North Korea where the Geneva Conventions regarding the health and welfare of POWs mean nothing. Instead he and his fellow prisoners are force-marched, starved, and not given essential medical treatment. Those unable to keep up are shot on the roadside. The camp they eventually reach is unsanitary and brutal. And this is only the first of several camps that Swede is sent to, varying in degrees of brutality and neglect.

Over the following two years Swede meets and works with a close-knit group of other POWs to bolster morale, throw as many obstacles in the way of their captors as possible, and help other POWs to survive - often risking severe punishment and possible death.

This was not an easy book to read in places. The POWs in this war have not had fair coverage of the hardships they faced, and the author has told their story perfectly. In the end notes the author mentions that most of what happens in the book is based on real accounts from POWs, and their different stories have been coalesced into this book - fiction based heavily on factual accounts.

I feel as though I have been educated by reading Finnegan Found. It's a sad and sobering read and gave me my first real understanding of why so many American POWs in the Vietnam War either didn't come home, or came home psychologically damaged - in some cases irreparably. And also why they didn't receive the same welcome and support on their return as the POWs from previous wars.

A very solid 4.5 stars.

Free ARC from NET GALLEY

Fiction that reads like history, lots of great research here.

A good primer on who we face next!

A young American soldier known as 'Swede' is a fictional character whose story is based on real accounts. Captured on his second day in Korea, Swede, along with his companions, suffers horrific treatment by his captors, but he never gives up. This is the story of his determination, against all odds, to survive and enable many of his companions to survive. This story will stay with me for a long time. It is as compelling as it is brutal, difficult to read yet so gripping. The writing is superb and Swede could not be more well drawn. Thank you to John N. Powers, Net Galley and Books Go Social for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.