The Long March by William Styron

The Long March is a short novel that tells the story of a forced march through the South Carolina countryside by a group of Marines. World War II has been over for several years and many of the Marines are in the Reserves. They’ve grown accustomed to civilian life but have been called back because of the situation in Korea. The officers in charge of the march are career officers. The two central characters in the novel are Reserve officers who hate being in the Marines again and especially hate the idea of marching 36 miles back to their base. The story is suspenseful, since it’s not clear who will be able to finish the march. Most of the Marines don’t. Some decide that they have to.  (12/26/12)

• 2012
• Fiction