This is why I don’t give up on books halfway through. Even though this was an easy read, the first half felt like a waste of time - too-short sentences, abbreviations that made no sense to me, tiny anecdotes mixed in with jokes and plays-on-words, all over the shop, in need of an editor or two. I thought about people who say, “Life is short, and there are gazillions of books to choose from; if you aren’t loving the book you’re reading, put it down and move on!” and considered throwing this book out of the window.

But something in me… just can’t do it… and so I plodded along. And it got better! I’m not sure that the writing was any better, but I’d become accustomed to his conversational tone and the muddle of anecdotes and jokes and heartfelt sincere moments. In the end, it’s probably a more truthful snapshot of a conscripted soldier’s life during WWII than other similar memoirs, because he’s so cheeky and rebellious, he writes abut taboos like sex, stealing things during the war, selling stolen property, and other illegal shenanigans. The real stuff. So yes, I’m glad I stuck this book out. (Never mind that it’s only the first book of three, and I don’t have the other two.)