In 2010, nine years after her first bestselling novel, Laura Hillenbrand wrote “Unbroken,” which tells the fascinating story of Louis Zamperini: a runner turned World War II bombardier. It is a beautifully written story that is unlike anything else I have read.

I adore how Instead of just focusing on Zamperini’s time as a bombardier, Hillenbrand writes about what lead up to that part of his life, and what happens afterwards. She is able to show the beginning of his story without foreshadowing the tragedy that is about to happen. She also beautifully shows the effect the war has on his brain. And shows the struggles he endures after he is rescued.

Hillenbrand manages to perfectly capture a story that shows the struggle of someone on the brink of insanity. It is a true tribute to our ability to endure and preserver in almost unimaginably awful circumstances. By including all of the different nicknames and occasional stories about the guards in the prisoner of war camps she allows the reader to in some ways feel as though they are there hearing the stories from the other inmates. It also helps to cement the hatred the reader develops for the guards.

Even though we know what is going to happen when the story starts Hillenbrand keeps us on the edge of our seat with every line. She is able to keep us invested in the story even through the parts of his story that could have very easily been boring. Such as the multitude of pages describing running techniques. Yet she manages to use outstanding imagery and well developed secondary characters to keep it interesting. She is able to make even the plane seem alive in her writing. By the end of the book you are not only invested in Zamperini’s story, you want to know about all of them.

Everyone should read this fantastic book at some point in their life. It help to give perspective on how much worse life could be, and instills a new appreciation in the reader for how amazing humans really are.

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