(The Wallie Chronicles – Book 1 of 3)
Review by Rox Burkey
W. J. Kreeger relates a touching biography of life, from birth to fifteen, just after the end of World War II. The circumstances from his birth place of Norway to his early life in Germany is explained in detail highlighting the lives of survivors and refuges in Germany. For you historians, you’ll find post WWII life fascinating as told by someone who lived it. Wallie, shuttled between different homes, parents, and even foster care, learns how to adjust to many different situations with curiosity and persistence. His foundational questions of life, family and faith are formed and reformed as he grows.
Living conditions in post-war Germany were challenging and filled with potential dangers. Each of the incidents were related in a blatant vividness, resulting in some chuckles as well as some desperate sadness. One such example was when he was in a Catholic Kindergarten and a school mate closed the lid of the toy box severing the end of his finger, known as the pinky incident.
“Mein Finger!” he screamed as blood was oozing from the clean cut across the fifth digit of his upheld left hand. Sister Karla had witnessed the incident and was on the scene in an instant. She raised the malevolent lid and retrieved the severed piece of fleshy tissue, placed it approximately where it belonged, then secured it with cellophane tape.”
Youngsters on their own and left to their own devices sometimes have accidents. Wallie was lucky in many ways that he had this experience as I suspect it provides the resiliency, he demonstrates today. Recollections of a child and the photographs to help emphasize the memories are certainly part of the charm of this book. I would recommend this to any young person who thinks they have it tough. A well-written story that explains history in realistic terms and reminds the reader to be grateful for what they have.
About the Author
W.J. Kreeger is an IT professional who has authored a myriad of technical publications. Since his retirement he has taken up non-technical writing as well; including poetry, short stories, and biographical works. SKAGERRAK is the first in The Wallie Chronicles trilogy.
Wolf and his wife live in North Texas. You can purchase his book https://amzn.to/36oqqD4 in Ebook or Paperback format. Stay tuned to see the next installment in this fascinating trililogy.
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6 replies to "SKAGERRAK"
Hi Rox Your are obviously a great lover of books!
When I first say the Title SKAGERRAK it brought back some very distant memories of sailing with Shell tankers in 1963 when we paid a visit to Larvik.
More to the point I really liked your review and the way you encouraged people to read about post WWII conditions and events. We all need to read some history particularly the way the world is heading at the moment. I was born on D Day 1944 in the NE of England so WWII has some real significance to me.
I’m keen on books too and, while they have their place, no eReader can replace the enjoyment of turning the pages on a good printed book.
Keep up the good work.
Ian thank you. There is another book in the works that is in my backlog and it looks so promising as well. Glad you enjoyed it and feel free to share with your friends. Rox
Thanks for the review, and the point about resiliency touched home. I think we and all our kids need to be resilient, and 2020 has shown us that in abundance
Hi Matt, thank you for stopping by and reading my review. Please return often!
HI Rox, this is a very good review and a story that certainly interests me. Thanks for sharing.
This aurthor is facinating. I met him a couple of years ago. This story and the pictures included were stunning.