Book Review: The Last War by Ana Menendez

Title: The Last War
Author: Ana Menendez
Publisher: Harper Perennial; 1 Reprint edition
Publication Date: June 29, 2010
Paperback: 256 pages
ISBN: 978-0061724770
Genre: Fiction

From the Publisher:

Photojournalist Flash chases conflicts around the globe with her war correspondent husband, Brando. Now Brando is in Iraq awaiting her arrival, but instead of racing to join him, Flash idles in Istanbul, vaguely aware that her marriage is faltering. Her malaise is compounded by the arrival of a mysterious letter revealing Brando’s infidelity—and by the sudden appearance of Alexandra, a fierce and captivating colleague who shared dangerous days with the couple in Afghanistan. As Flash spirals deeper into regret, anger, and indecision, she wonders if she and Brando were ever really happy—as she’s forced to confront long-buried secrets and hard truths about her world, her marriage, her husband, and herself.

My Review:

Beautifully written, spellbinding, and astonishingly detailed, The Last War by Ana Menendez is a compelling literary novel. Menendez takes the reader on an introspective journey through the last ten years of her life, taking the reader back to Afghanistan, Pakistan, India and where she currently resides in Istanbul.  Margarita Anastasia Morales, known as Flash, is a photographer who has been traveling around the world with her journalist husband, Brando Price Phillips. The couple currently resides in Istanbul where Flash is still awaiting the proper paperwork to join Brando in Iraq to cover the war.  While waiting for the appropriate paperwork, a mysterious letter arrives making Flash question the last ten years of her life with Brando.  Menendez smoothly takes the reader through Flash’s memories, covering various wars in numerous cities around the world, and with fluid and vivid imagery, it is not difficult for the reader to experience the sights through Flash’s memory.  I truly enjoyed this beautifully rich, detailed and deeply introspective novel of love, war and identity.  I would not hesitate to recommend The Last War to anyone and believe that The Last War, with the inter-relationships between Alexandra, Flash, Brando and Nadia, would make for an exceptional discussion group pick.

About the Author:

Ana Menendez, the daughter of Cuban exiles, was born in Los Angeles. She is the author of three books of fiction: the novel Loving Che; the short story collection In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, which was a 2001 New York Times Notable book of the year and the title story of which won a Pushcart Prize; and her second novel, The Last War, which was published in May 2009 by HarperCollins.

Since 1991, Menendez has worked as a journalist in the United States and abroad, and has spent the last three years as a prize-winning columnist for The Miami Herald. As a reporter, she has written about Cuba, Kashmir, Afghanistan, and India, where she was based for three years. Her work has appeared in a variety of publications, including The New Republic, The New York Times, and Gourmet magazine, and has been included in several anthologies, including, Cubanisimo!, edited by Cristina Garcia; and American Food Writing, a Library of America anthology edited by Molly O’Neill.

Menendez has a BA in English from Florida International University and an MFA from New York University. She is currently teaching at The American University in Cairo, Egypt, as a 2008–09 Fulbright Scholar.

For more reviews of the book, please follow the book tour.

I received a complimentary copy of The Last War by Ana Menendez from TLC Book Tours to be a part of this tour and offer my honest review of the book. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned book.

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