The Flanagans’ War by Robert Randall
FreeYoung Marty Flanagan has been at odds with his father as long as he can remember. Prominent Texas defense attorney, Joe Flanagan is a ‘hale fellow, well met’ kind of man who loves to hunt and fish and drink whiskey.
And Marty’s year older brother, Pat is just like him. When the Japanese bomb Pearl Harbor and the US enters World War II, the Flanagans’ disparities become even more pronounced.
While 18-year-old Pat can’t wait to ‘fight for his country,’ the violence-loathing Marty is appalled at the prospect.Marty finds respite from the family conflict—and his own struggles with guilt and integrity—in the unconditional love of his mother, Rose and in the arms of his sweetheart, Katy.Set in the wildly decadent 'Free State of Galveston' of the 1940s, The Flanagans’ War is a coming-of-age tale that questions conventional religion, man’s attraction to violence and even whether our powerful human conditioning allows for the possibility of ‘free will.’ It is, by turns, poignant, provocative and funny as hell.