The Bridges at Toko-Ri by James Michener

A war novella, the Bridges at Toko-Ri is based on the US-North Korea war in the 1950s. It focuses on the US naval efforts to destroy the said Bridge Toko-Ri so as to debilitate the enemy forces. The central theme of the story deals with the many moods of the soldiers involved in the war as well as the civilians affected by it.

The story revolves around an American lawyer who has signed up with the US navy to fight against the North Koreans. He is reluctant, afraid and worried about his family and how the war will impact his choices. Yet, when faced with the do-or-die situation, he is brave and fights to win. There are many characters - war heroes - who are larger than life and stay that way and then there are people who make fighting a war a personal issue, justifying the means and the loss of lives.

Overall, it is a well-written story; certain portions did affect me emotionally. The writing is crisp in most places – many of the jargons though difficult to understand, do not really come in the way of understanding the story. The writer was a soldier himself with first experience of war during his tenure.

This is an old story (published during 1953 talking about the 1950 US war with N. Korea) but it also reminded me how far removed we are from such situations. We are indeed blessed to have that safety from the cruelties of war.