Ecco Press
432 Pages
I love books that take a specific period of time, twist it a bit to give the author some discretion to weave a story around the spine of the actual events, and give the audience something to enjoy. Sometimes this alternate history turns out really well, like the television show, “For All Mankind.” Sometimes, these stories are really bad. And other times, the story is so bland that you can barely make it through the story without falling asleep. Unfortunately, America Was Hard to Find by Kathleen Alcott was one of those bland stories that didn’t live up to its potential.
From the earliest days of the space program into the 1980s, this novel follows real events slightly altered to allow the narrative to progress into the author’s imaginative take on the subjects. Much like The Right Stuff, it follows test pilots in the California desert. This was what initially drew me to this book in addition to the great reviews that it got.
Pilot Vincent Kahn has an affair with a California local, Fay Fern. When he returns to his wife and is transferred away from that base, he has no idea what he has left behind. His future is to walk on the moon. Fay’s future is to raise a son amid the protests of the sixties, teaching him to distrust “the man.”
This book takes historical moments in our country’s history and places a new narrative against the backdrop of this truth. Unfortunately, it is not well done. The characters are thin, simply ghostly whispers against the history. They never really evolve and have no major impact on anything that happens, even if it was Kahn who took Armstrong’s place on the moon. It just didn’t sell. None of the characters evoke any response from the reader. They are so lackluster and boring that it’s hard to get through this book.
I really wanted to like this book. Based on the reviews that I read about it and the history that it was set against, it seemed like this would be a book that I would absolutely love. I was sorely disappointed at how poorly this narrative was carried out. I felt empty at the end of this book, hoping there was more to fill my reading appetite. I’m not sure what the other reviewers were reading, but I cannot agree with any of them.
I always try to find something positive about a book that I read. This one is difficult to find. The potential was there, but there’s not much else I can say. I cannot, in good conscience, recommend this book to anyone. I could tell that it was supposed to deliver a social commentary, but it was incomplete at best. What little message the author tried to bring to the fore was mixed and unclear.
America Was Hard to Find by Kathleen Alcott was hard to finish. It was hard to find anything I liked about it. If you want to read something somewhat similar, try Tom Wolfe’s The Right Stuff or James Michener’s Space. They are both far superior books and a better use of your time. I apologize to the author for this review, but I have to stand by my convictions when it comes to the books I read.
Craig Bacon would love to write an alternative history book. What if a field goal attempt hadn’t been wide right, or someone’s skate in the crease was properly called?