Book Review: War in October
War in October. Nicholas Hochstedler. CreateSpace Independent Publishing, January 5, 2016, Trade Paperback and Kindle, 257 pages.
Reviewed by Michelle M. Burwell.
Walter is an aging veteran suffering from debilitating and escalating paranoia. While he has spent years on a strict regimen that includes taking several medications, maintaining a rigid daily schedule, and attending therapy sessions, he continues to remain haunted by his war experience. Even though psychologists and his own daughter have constantly monitored Walter, that constant attention seems to have only served to exacerbate his paranoia and teach him all the right things to say to manipulate and mitigate any real progress.
While Walter is struggling to reconcile his combat experience, he is also struggling to confront the mundanity of everyday life in rural Indiana: consumerism, combined with the apparent futility of civilian life and war, compounded by a constant supply of beer he has surreptitiously stashed in his closet, have all fueled Walter’s delusions.
In his debut novel, War in October, Nicholas Hochstedler has artfully portrayed a character who is deep in the throes of constant internal turmoil and yet has somehow managed to maintain a sense of humor. Hochstedler grabs the reader’s attention in the very first chapter and doesn’t let up until the final page.
The reader is taken into the depths of Walter’s persistent paranoia and led to almost wonder whether there’s some truth in his delusions. Because Walter has learned to manipulate his team, everything that is said is construed through a lens of delusion and probable depression. Thus, the reader is left to also question the motives of those trying to help him. Maybe Walter is right? Maybe he’s part of some greater conspiracy in which everyone around him—his doctors and his daughter—is part of something bigger, something more malicious.
Hochstedler has woven a story that takes the reader into the far corners of Walter’s paranoia, reminiscent of Knut Hamsun’s Hunger, in which Hamsun demonstrates the powerful affect of hunger on the mind. Similarly, in War in October, one can sense the powerful affect of war on a soldier acclimating to civilian life. Walter’s mind is his own worst enemy, and the more Walter is encouraged and regulated, the more he ostensibly complies, all the while internally plotting his own ending.
War in October is a phenomenal debut novel that obviously demonstrates Hochstedler’s grasp of storytelling. I was impressed with his ability to depict just how conflicted Walter was through his thoughts and actions, without trying to impress on the reader his own personal feelings. Walter is an immensely complex character navigating the ordinary and common experience of a veteran.
Some people just understand the crux of storytelling and that’s exactly the feeling I got reading War in October. If Hochstedler struggled in any way to write his first novel, it was never apparent to me. The story progressed seamlessly in a captivating and authentic voice. I would recommend this novel to any reader who appreciates the art of character development.
Nicolas Hochstedler grew up in Pleasant Lake, Indiana before moving to Indianapolis for college. He currently lives in Denver, Colorado. His second novel, The Huntress, is due out in 2017.