My brother handed me the book Unbroken and told me that it's his new obsession; that in a world where everyone knows the names Tiger Woods and Lindsay Lohan, it's unbelievable to him that we don't all know the name Louis Zamperini, and to the extent that he should be at least as famous as Seabiscuit, the author's more famous biographical subject, I would have to agree-- and am happy to hear that this story is being made into a movie, if only to make the tale even more accessible.
I started this book, therefore, with great hopes and really enjoyed the story of his juvenile delinquency and redemption through track; his Olympic journey; his Air Force training days, deployment, and exciting crash; and, especially, the stranding on the raft. As the story went on, however, it just became too much-- it felt like Forrest Gump's unbelievable place in history. How many people have shaken hands with Adolf Hitler and Pappy Boyington and Billy Graham? The American POW in Japan experience is one I've never heard before and is truly horrifying, but I was already mentally checking out at that point-- it had just become too much. The Bird seemed like the final over the top detail in a cheap thriller-- and I know he existed and I know he was sadistic and I know that Louis suffered, but I couldn't take in any more. And then the rescue and the PTSD and the beautiful socialite wife and the drinking and the broken dreams of, finally, Olympic glory...too much happened to Louis Zimperini to keep reminding me that it was nonfiction. When he went to the Billy Graham revival meeting and remembered his promise to God while on the raft, then turned his life around, poured out his booze and dedicated the rest of his life to good-- the story was just too good to be true.
Since the story itself is remarkable and inspirational and potentially riveting, I think I need to blame the author for my disengagement; it was just. too. much. The pages and pages of footnotes attest to the incredible amount of research that went into this biography, but maybe not every detail needed to make it in. I see reviews here that laud Laura Hillenbrand for the novel-like narrative she wrung from this research, but it just didn't work for me the way it did for my brother.
