They Called Him Marvin Reviewed by Bee Lindy of Bookpleasures.com
Bee Lindy
Bee Lindy has been writing book reviews since she was a child. Her notebooks are full of reviews that she wrote before she had her first personal computer.
Before the advent of the Internet, Bee had her first personal computer, and has been saving reviews on computer files ever since.
Her first reviews appeared in her high school and college news papers many moons ago.
More recently she has written reviews as a guest reviewer on various book blogs.
Professionally, she is a fundraiser for various non-profit organizations which entails a great deal of writing. Bee lives with her husband and two dogs.
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Author: Roger Stark
Publisher: Silver Star
ISBN: 978-0578855288
“Those
first few moments of introduction ventured toward the unearthly.
Their initial eye contact held for them an intimacy neither had
heretofore experienced. They didn't feel like strangers. They held an
odd curiosity about one another, as if they had come upon some lost
part of themselves.”
There is nothing quite like true love to bring two people together and change them forever. In this case, the people are Dean Sherman and Constance (“Connie”) Baldwin. The two met when they were mere teenagers and fell in love right away. Soon they were married, and Connie discovered that she was pregnant.
These happy days were unfortunately cut too short by the onset of World War II and Dean being called away to pilot a B-29 airplane into the Pacific Theater. This was, of course, the story of many newlyweds in the early 1940's, but this story is made all the more tragic by Dean's eventual imprisonment and death in Japan only a few years later.
Roger Stark wrote this book with help from Marvin, the son of Dean and Connie, the real letters between the couple, and by doing exhaustive research in the National Archives. Throughout the book, Stark also weaves in a narrative about a 12-year-old Japanese boy named Riku Kiyoshi. This added perspective gives a unique look at the experience of the average Japanese citizen during the war, and provides a vehicle for Stark to impart a great deal of valuable factual information that elevates the entire book.
Stark's writing is both moving and hopeful, while still staying truthful to the real narrative of events. 'They Called Him Marvin,' is a richly told story. I rarely re-read a book because I have so many I want to read however; this is one I am sure I will read several times. I have already started reading it for the second time. This was definitely one of the most memorable books that I have read in the last few years!
About Roger Stark
Roger Stark, by his own admission, is a reluctant writer. But there are stories that demand to be told. When we hear them, we must pick up our pen, lest we forget and the stories be lost. Six years ago, in a quiet conversation with his friend, Marvin, he learned the tragic story of his father, a WW2 B-29 Airplane Commander, shot down over Nagoya, Japan, just months before the end of the war.
The telling of the story that evening by this half orphan was so moving and full of emotion, it compelled Roger to ask if he could write the story. The result being “They Called Him Marvin.”
Roger Stark’s life has been profoundly touched in so many ways by being part of documenting this sacred story. He prays that we never forget, as a people, the depth of sacrifice that was made by ordinary people like Marvin and his father and mother on our behalf.