Review of LIKE THE APPEARANCE OF HORSES by Andrew Krivak (New Release)

3 Stars

This is the third of the Dardan Trilogy.  The first book, The Sojourn, tells the story of the formative years of Jozef Vinich; the second, The Signal Flame, begins in 1972 after Jozef’s death and focuses on his widowed daughter Hannah and her son Bo.  This installment returns to 1933 while Jozef is still alive. 

Bexhet Konar arrives in Dardan, Pennsylvania, looking for Jozef, the man who saved his life at the end of World War I.  Jozef welcomes Bexhet (Becks) into his family; eventually he marries Hannah and they have two sons, Bo and Samuel.  The second part of the novel is about Samuel who has served two tours of duty in Vietnam where he becomes a prisoner of war. 

The unifying theme of the trilogy is the effects of war on those who serve and those who are left behind.  Jozef fought in World War II, Becks serves in World War II, Samuel serves two tours in Vietnam, and Jozef’s great-grandson Burne is mentioned as being in both Afghanistan and Iraq.  Men return from battle changed people, unable to reconnect with their families – if they return at all.  The family members left behind worry and grieve.  There is heartbreak for everyone.  And there seems no end to war:  the last chapter is from Hannah’s perspective and she thinks, “Yes.  There is a war there.  Another one the boy has gone to.  Isn’t there always a war?”

There are some sections which are problematic.  Becks’ wartime experiences, especially his trek from France to Hungary, are described in too much detail.  Then his arrival at the kampania site stretches credulity; not only does he manage to find it, but the timing seems contrived.  The episode involving Sam and Kira is strange.  She takes him to a place that “is not a good place, but it is the only place I know”?  Mystical elements seldom appeal to me, and the ones in this novel don’t.  Certainly, the mythology that the Romani create around Becks also seems incredible.  Sam’s meeting with Doc Moore is so coincidental as to be “astounding.” 

The style is similar to that found in the previous two books.  The author has several very long sentences whose meaning is sometimes lost in verbosity.   100+-word sentences are not unusual.  Though grammatically correct, these convoluted sentences require the reader to stop and re-read.  Readers must also be prepared for some challenging vocabulary like fossorial and obliquity.

This is not my favourite of the trilogy, but now that it is complete, it might be interesting to re-read all three books in order.

See my review of The Sojourn at https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2017/01/review-of-sojourn-by-andrew-krivak.html and my review of The Signal Flame at https://schatjesshelves.blogspot.com/2017/01/review-of-sojourn-by-andrew-krivak.html.

Note:  I received a digital galley from the publisher via NetGalley.