My War: A Love Story in Letters and Drawings

""War is a social disease bred on the filth of bigotry and stupidity."" Written in the aftermath of D-Day, these words convey the author's world-weariness during the summer of 1944, when, as a naval ensign, he commanded a small landing craft on Utah Beach. Arranged in this poignant memoir are many of the letters, drawings, photos and watercolors that Sugarman, an award-winning illustrator and filmmaker, sent home to his young wife, June, who had seen him off to war with a gift of art supplies, as well as with the one letter from her that he managed to keep. As a newly married man in his mid-20s, the author wrote his wife not only of the life they would share when the war ended but also of his thoughts on larger issues, such as the import of marriage (""It means our joys are multiplied, our problems shared. We can proceed with the blessings of family, church, and state into a full-time partnership of love, aspirations, and work""), which add a depth and universal appeal to his work. His 80 b&w illustrations of comrades, military life and scenes of England convey the loneliness, tedium and horror of war (with stark drawings of solitary sailors lost in thought, eyes empty and averted, and haunting watercolors of ships among choppy seas that evoke a sense of dread) counterbalanced by a few glimpses of humanity (illustrations of smiling British children). Sugarman's intimate tour of his war experience will appeal to those who remember WWII. With its collage-like approach and old-fashioned charm, it will stand out among other memoirs for readers of the genre. 7-city author tour. (Oct.)