Friday, October 17, 2014

Book Review: The Dance of the Spirits By Catherine Aerie






















The Dance of the Spirits
Catherine Aerie
Genre: Historical Fiction

Synopsis:

Spring 1951: it is the fiery zenith of the Korean War, a war that the youthful US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm and his men thought that they had won … until the Chinese swept across the Yalu River. Traveling with the million-man army bent on driving back the march of “American imperialism” is Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon who has volunteered herself into the war for unspoken, grave reasons. Through a chronicle of merciless battles, freezing winter, and the brutality and hypocrisy of human nature, the two will find themselves weaving through the twist and turns of fate and destiny, where an unquenchable passion, a resilient pursuit of liberty, and an inherent dignity light the darkness against the vast sky of a warring world and of nation and cultures that stand shattered and divided by the same forces that unify them.

My Review:


The Dance of the Spirits is a text heavy historical book based around the Korean War. Author Catherine Aerie was incredibly descriptive with the gruesome environment. While I am a fan of wartime stories, I’m new to reading about the Korean War and learned quite a bit.

I enjoyed the complex background of protagonist Jasmine Young, a Chinese surgeon, and the emotional relationship with US Army lieutenant Wesley Palm. I feel the author was successful in maintaining an intense plot and giving us an equally intense ending.


About The Author: 

Catherine Aerie, a graduate from the University of California, Irvine with a master degree in finance. She was inspired to write “The Dance of the Spirits” while researching a family member’s role in the Korean War, deciding to revive an often neglected and overlooked setting in fiction and heighten the universality of resilient pursuit of love and liberty. Her debut novel was finished after about two years of research. She currently resides in southern California.



2 comments:

reeca said...

I enjoyed this book. It stays with you!

Sage Adderley-Knox said...

Most definitely :)

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