We Pierce
A Novel
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- $13.99
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- $13.99
Publisher Description
We Pierce is the story of two brothers: one brother, Smith, goes to war. A true believer, he leads a tank company into battle in Iraq during the Gulf War. There he learns about the true nature of patriotism, camaraderie, modern warfare and, finally, the soldiers' secret that some things learned over there are better not brought back home. Meanwhile Sam, an aspiring writer, as much a rebel as his older brother is a natural leader, is busy protesting against the war in Times Square in New York and on the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C. But he questions the strength of his own beliefs, while losing his own battle with alcohol and narcotics. Both brothers are haunted by the depth of the sacrifice at home incurred by their family's commitment to honor and duty on battlefields abroad.
As he did with his first novel, American by Blood, acclaimed novelist Andrew Huebner draws on his family's long experience with violence and military service and renders a haunting novel of war. From the desert of Iraq to the Lower East Side of New York, We Pierce is about fighting for what you believe in, no matter what the cost to yourself or your brother.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Drawn from the real-life experiences of the author and his brother, this starkly realistic and timely novel unfolds from the perspectives of two siblings, members of the blue-collar family first seen in the praised American by Blood. Both characters share their true surname; the author changes only their first names. Smith Huebner is a sergeant in the army, gunner of an Abrams tank leading the way into Iraq in the first Gulf War, a competent, trustworthy soldier, married and expecting a baby. His younger brother, Sam, is trying to make it as a writer and teacher in Manhattan, but he drinks too much, takes drugs and soon is broke, addicted and desperate. The past has shaped both brothers' characters. Ironically, it is Sam who forgives their abusive father for driving their mother away; Smith can cope with war but not with family history. The author's punchy style is well suited to scenes in the Kuwaiti desert and Iraq, which are eerily familiar. The emotional impact builds even when the events being described are somewhat predictable, and the characters are richly individualized not only the brothers, their father and Smith's crewmates, but also minor players like an NYPD detective and an Iraqi sniper. Huebner's blunt, unvarnished prose lends impact to the questions he poses about the necessity and morality of the Gulf War. Sam says: "I'm not against the soldiers. I am against the war." Whatever their personal views about the current war in Iraq, readers will be struck by the ironies implicit in the two brothers' opposed positions and strained convictions.
