Three Ships to Moji

OUT OF PRINT

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Three Ships to Moji recreates the Japanese relocation of the American prisoners of war from the Philippines to Japan. Confronted not only with the imminent threat of starvation and disease, the prisoners also face their potential demise from their fellow air-bound countrymen who relentlessly pummel and torpedo the Japanese navy. In the midst of all this, Goodson creates a coming-of-age story about Lonnie Rae, the novel’s central character, whose innocence is immediately challenged by an environment that would just as well see him dead. In Three Ships to Moji, Lonnie soon learns the truly brave are those who maintain their sense of humanity in spite of their desperation. Afflicted with the overabundance of time, the characters of Three Ships to Moji argue the value of religion and philosophy, while about them the bombs of American aircraft explode, the food supply becomes increasingly meager, and the weather grows colder the further north they travel. In this voyage, all are victims, whether captor or captive, as each person comes in contact with their own looming mortality. Nevertheless, Lonnie and his fellow prisoners continue to retell past memories to at least liberate their senses.