Title: A Hard Decision
Author: Westley Thomas
Publisher: AuthorHouse
ISBN: 978-1468550450
Pages: 136
Genre: Literature & Fiction, Suspense Thriller
Reviewed by: Ephantus M.
Pacific Book Review
A Hard Decision by author Westley Thomas is a terrific play that pays tribute to the enthusiasm and resilience of every human being, as well as what makes people do the things they do after coming face-to-face with challenging elements of life such as battle, failure, breakup, illness, and death.
The play sets off with William and Zera, two newlyweds, who are having a conversation regarding their unforgettable honeymoon experience in Atlantic City. Zera is visibly elated about her pregnancy but the thoughts of her husband going to war in Vietnam with his fellow Air Force colleagues keep threatening her newly found exhilaration. Surprisingly, it doesn’t take long after his dispatch when two uniformed men who identify themselves as representatives from the Air Force Casualty Services show up at her door with an envelope, to deliver unexpected tragic news.
Elsewhere, in a Vietnamese underground cave, a captured American soldier is brought in for interrogation only to be met by the familiar face of his longtime friend and personal barber. “How could you? You who has cut my hair so many times and given me shaves as my barber and house boy?” is the question the soldier asks as he confronts his friend now turned enemy, who responds by revealing shocking details that leave the soldier tongue-tied and stunned at the level of treachery and deception one can execute, unnoticed. However, things get more dreadful for him when the interrogator reveals something of interest that is in his possession.
This is an incredible story from a decorated Vietnam Vet, and it deepens with calamitous twists that intensely arrest a reader’s senses right from the opening scene to the last. A unique perspective is bound to be born as one follows the main character’s activities where she confronts exceedingly arduous conditions that would be equally tricky to handle for anyone out there. From this book, readers can superbly comprehend what war veterans sometimes come back to, with issues of PTSD and family breakups taking center stage.
In conclusion, Westley Thomas’ new literature A Hard Decision is a comforting and heartening read that many readers will adore due to its beguiling insight regarding self-purpose as well as the gifts of life and loved ones. Its well-developed characters depict the importance of coping with adversity and making it through tough times by fostering qualities of persistence and endurance. It is a highly-praised play that will leave you longing for more from the author!
