Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption
By: Laura Hillenbrand / Narrated By: Edward Hermann
Length: 13 hrs and 56 mins
Oh gosh! I can’t tell you enough just how GREAT this is!!!
FIrst, let’s just get out of the way what a FANTASTIC writer Laura Hillenbrand is! Magnificent way with words, captures descriptions of nature well, brings horrifying situations to a head with mounting tension. And that woman was NOT there; she didn’t experience any of it at all, but Unbroken is sooooo well-written, it feels like you, the listener, are experiencing things just as they occur.
And let me tell you, tho’ I can’t say it’s so intense that the tender of heart might give it a pass, one does indeed need a sense of courage and steadfastness to listen to this. Louis Zamperini’s experiences are such that they’ll give you nightmares.
It’s separated into Parts, each Part inviting the listener into some new fresh Hell. But along with that goes courage, sacrifice, friendship, loyalty and even faith.
The first time I listened to Unbroken, I wasn’t sure I’d like it as Zamperini as a child and very young man comes off as a near sociopath, completely lacking in empathy for the pain he causes his family with his headstrong and wayward ways. But those are exactly the things that give him courage and resilience in the face of the horrors that WWII has in store for him. The ability to bounce back after a beating? Check. The ability to look “authority” in the eye in the first place? Oh, double check.
Please forgive me, I just reviewed The Railway Man, and I had to apologize for not feeling as terrorized by the torture that Eric Lomax endured as I did since I’d listened to Louis Zamperini’s story already. I feel I MUST apologize to Mr. Lomax again because, really, Unbroken is like no other Hell you’ve ever listened to. I honor what EVERY veteran has gone through, but I can only say that Hillenbrand is a professional writer—it’s what she does, so every word rings through with a resounding shriek. Still, I’m glad I listened to both, especially as both audiobooks follow the men through their post-war difficulties. With Lomax, it was finding a supportive woman who assisted him to get help; with Zamperini, it’s Billy Graham and a long walk living the Word.
Edward Hermann’s performance is something I dinged a star in my initial review over on Audible. I felt his tones were a bit flat and kinda sorta added to that whole lack of empathy essence I picked up from the young Zamperini; and I thought the flatness of tones hampered some of the emotional impact that could’ve been felt.
I didn’t feel anything of the kind this go-round. I think Hermann does a find job. There are some bits where the humor is quite wry, quite black and gallows-ish indeed, and I think he did really well conveying that bleak and sometimes rather hysterical whimsy. Starving men suffering torture can be very twisted when it comes to surviving through humor!
Do yourself a favor and listen to this audiobook, especially as Memorial Day is coming up, and we’ve lost the great Zamperini. Start to finish, it’s a wonder of a work!
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