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Summary
Summary
When the war ends, how do you leave your best friend behind? After losing his young family in a tragic accident, Fletcher Carson joins the flagging war effort in Vietnam. Deeply depressed, he plans to die in the war. But during one of his early missions, Fletcher rescues a critically wounded yellow Lab whom he nurses back to health and names Jack. As Fletcher and Jack patrol and survive the forests of Vietnam, Fletcher slowly regains the will to live.At the end of the war, the U.S. Government announces that due to the cost of withdrawal, all U.S. dogs serving in the war have been declared "surplus military equipment" and will not be transported home. For the hundreds of dog handlers throughout Vietnam, whose dogs had saved countless lives, the news is greeted with shock and disbelief. For Fletcher, he knows that if he abandons Jack, then he too will be lost. Ordered to leave Jack behind, he refuses--and so begins their journey.Based on the actual existence and abandonment of canine units in Vietnam, Gareth Crocker's Finding Jack is a novel of friendship and love under desperate circumstances that will grab your heart and won't let go.
Author Notes
GARETH CROCKER has worked as a journalist, copywriter, news editor, public relations manager, publishing editor and, most recently, head of communications and spokesperson for a multinational corporation. Finding Jack is his first novel.
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
This debut is undone by improbable action scenes and glaring errors of fact, resulting in a sappy and unbelievable story. In 1972, 29-year-old Fletcher Carson enlists to fight in Vietnam after his family is killed in a plane crash. With the war nearly over, Fletcher and his platoon gripe about the futility of the conflict as they embark on reconnaissance patrols and impossible secret missions. During one patrol, the men find a wounded trained scout dog that they name Jack, nurse back to health, and adopt as their mascot. Jack repays them by sniffing out mines, booby traps, and ambushes, saving many lives. When it's time for Fletcher to head home, he can't bear the thought of leaving Jack to die in Vietnam, so he deserts and attempts to walk with Jack the 350 miles to Thailand, with Jack proving his mettle yet again after they encounter trouble en route. Unfortunately, unconvincing scenarios (sending relatively inexperienced troops on a special-ops type mission) and military inaccuracies (there is no such thing as a Phantom helicopter, for instance) dilute and distract from what could be an evocative story. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
Soldier finds dog. Soldier loses dog. Soldier finds dog.After his wife and daughter die in a plane crash, writer Fletcher Carson finds little to live for. After trying, but failing, to take his own life, he becomes inspired to enlist as a soldier and in the waning days of the war goes to Vietnam. There he's with a platoon called the Fat Lady (because the opera/war won't be over till she sings). On a dangerous reconnaissance mission deep in the jungle, the platoon unexpectedly (and somewhat unaccountably) comes across a badly wounded Labrador Retriever. Lt. Rogan, the platoon leader, orders Carson to shoot it, for he knows that sometimes dogs are cunningly wired to detonate and kill American troops, but Carson feels an immediate connection to the dog and refuses to obey Rogan's direct order, endangering the men and enraging the lieutenant. Carson rescues the dog and takes it back to the base, enlisting the help of a veterinary-school dropout to bring the dog back to some semblance of health. Although Carson suspects the dog, whom he names Jack, has been trained by Americans to sniff out trip wires and booby traps, he's unable to find the canine unit to which it had been attached, so he keeps it to protect his own platoon. Naturally, Jack responds by saving Rogan's life. When a truce is declared and the troops are scheduled to return to the United States, Carson finds to his horror that Army dogs are regarded as "surplus military equipment" too expensive to ship home. He finds the order to abandon the dog unacceptable, so he remains behind with Jack, promising to get him out by tromping 350 miles through Vietnam, Laos and eventually into Thailand. Along the way, Carson gets captured, Jack disappears, Carson escapes, Jack reappears and Carson (with Rogan's help) eventually makes it back.A predictable plot with a sentimental streak a mile wide.]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In 1972, Fletcher Carson, still reeling from the deaths of his wife and young daughter, enlists in the army and ships out to Vietnam, where he becomes a sniper. On a mission, his unit comes upon a wounded dog, a yellow Lab, one of the many dogs used by American troops as scouts. Fletcher nurses the dog, whom he calls Jack, back to health, and when he learns that the army intends to leave its scouting dogs behind when they pull out of Vietnam, he does the unthinkable. He stays behind with Jack, intending to walk both of them out of Vietnam and into Thailand. While the plot is a bit melodramatic (Fletcher defends the dog at gunpoint, and later, he winds up in a Vietnamese prison camp), the story has undeniable power, and Crocker does a nice job of exploring Fletcher's guilt about the deaths of his loved ones. The end of the novel packs an emotional punch that is likely to send some readers reaching for the tissues.--Pitt, David Copyright 2010 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In 1972, a despondent Fletcher Carlson joins the U.S. Army after the deaths of his wife and daughter. Despite his almost-suicidal depression, he bonds with the men in his platoon and becomes a good soldier in the final days of the Vietnam War. While on patrol, Carlson and his unit are approached by a stray dog. Wounded and ill, Jack is nursed back to health by Carlson and his buddies and trained to help them on missions by detecting mines and snipers. When the cease-fire ends combat, Carlson discovers that the military considers dogs surplus equipment to be left behind. Distraught at the thought of yet another loss, Carlson decides to do what any dedicated dog owner would do: walk with Jack to the safety of Thailand, hundreds of miles to the west. VERDICT Loosely based on the actual canine units that served with the American troops in Vietnam, this first novel should appeal to fans of both dog and military fiction. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 9/15/10.]-Dan Forrest, Western Kentucky Univ., Bowling Green (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
