The Rundown
Public Information: Coming of Age During the Korean War by Rolf Margenau is the story of Wylie Cypher, a twenty-something infantryman who arrives in war torn Korea in 1952. Wylie is assigned to the Public Information Office, and spends much of his sixteen-month tour writing stories about the war, taking us through the last six months of the conflict and the ten months following.
Public Information is exquisitely written and rich with detail with regard to the Korean war and the lives of the soldiers who fought in it. The battle scenes and interactions of the soldiers are extremely realistic and the myriad of characters that populate the book bring the war to life in a very satisfying way, incorporating both wry and sad observations as well as a nice touch of humor. Margenau fought in the Korean War and this is evident in the degree of realism and background presented. Everything in Public Information has the ring of truth and the details are fascinating.
Told almost in vignette style with wide variety of other colorful characters stepping into the main point of view role throughout the book, for short almost self-contained stories, Wylie is nonetheless the primary character on whom the narrative is focused. All of the characters are well developed with quirks and backstories and Wylie makes for a sympathetic main character with fears and doubts, but moments of heroism as well.
Jumping from character to character allows Margenau to share a wide variety of perspectives on the war, including that of a North Korean combatant and characters engaged more directly in the fighting than Wylie. The style is almost omniscient. This overall approach works, but just, and makes the narrative disjointed at times as we move from one to another character’s story without having a clear plot line to pull us through and keep the reader turning pages. Wylie appears throughout the novel, but there are many other side stories presented as well.
Overall, Public Information is very long, and some of the side stories could have been cut to keep it tighter and more compelling, with greater focus on Wylie’s experiences. It drags a bit in the middle. The stores are all interesting and well presented, but at some point there are just too many of them.
The Recommendation
Public Information was a highly enjoyable, detailed read on the Korean War. It gives the reader a real sense of what it was like in the war with lovable characters to root for and a great feeling of years gone by. History buffs and fans of war fiction will love this novel, but the war scenes are not very graphic and the novel incorporates enough humor to make it accessible for a wider audience. A very solid, albeit long, read.
The Rating
4 Stars (out of 5): Recommended. For the right audience, this book is a great read. It can hold its own against any traditionally published novel in its genre.
The Pros & Cons
Pros: Believable, Characterization, Dialogue, Emotional, Humor, ProseCons: Plotline, Slow in Places, Starts slow, Very Long
The Links
The Reviewer
Jennifer Ellis
Visit Jennifer Ellis‘s website.The story of Wylie Cypher, a twenty-something infantryman who arrives in war torn Korea in 1952, Public Information is a highly enjoyable, detailed read It gives the reader a real sense of what it was like in the war with lovable characters to root for and a great feeling of years gone by.
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