Without Remorse, Week 2

Welcome to Week 2 of the Online Book Club discussion of Without Remorse.

Did you enjoy the beginning of the book? I found it a little hard to actually get into the story. The first few chapters were a little confusing to me. Once Kelly met Pam, the story made more sense, but at the beginning, I wasn't really sure what was going on. I'm not sure that I've ever read a book quite like this one, so it's been interesting to read. 

What do you think of John Kelly? I thought it was really surprising that he took to Pam so quickly and was so loving with her. I wonder what drew him to her. Were you surprised that he was willing to stay with her, even after he learned about her past? Their relationship moved so fast. Do you think that was because both of them had experienced so much trauma? I was surprised that their relationship seemed to be so deep after only a couple of days. 

What did you think of the Rosens? I don't think Pam would have survived the few chapters she was in without them. It was really lucky that they all met each other. John definitely would not have survived the shooting if it hadn't been for Sam. What do you think of Sandy O' Toole? She seems like she will continue to be an important character as the book progresses. 

The main problem that I had with the beginning of this book was that I felt like there were too many characters and too many storylines. When I was reading about John and Pam and the Rosens, I was really engaged, and I enjoyed the story. But, I had a really hard time when the story moved to Vietnam or when it followed the drug ring. There were too many characters that I didn't know enough about to really remember. Did you feel that way? Did you struggle to keep track of everything that was going on? I'm also not sure why the Vietnam element had to be in the story at all. I think the narrative would have been full enough with John Kelly and the drug story that entered the story through Pam. Don't you feel like that is enough action for one book? 

Were you surprised when Pam was killed? I'm not sure why John thought it was wise to go back to Pam's stomping grounds so soon after she had escaped. I feel like Kelly thought he was invincible, but he obviously wasn't. I was surprised when they were shot at the end of that chapter. I thought for sure that they had escaped. Did that surprise you? 

What is Kelly training for? He's getting back in really good shape, and he has rented an apartment in a different part of town. Do you think he's getting ready to exact revenge? What would he even think would be an appropriate thing to do to the people who killed Pam? How do you think the Vietnam story with the captured prisoners going to come more into the story? Do you have any ideas about how the rest of the book is going to go? 

The movie version of this book seems to be completely different than the book. Check out the video below to see if you agree with my assessment of the movie. Can you imagine doing the kinds of stunts the actors mention in the video clip? 

I hope you're excited to keep going through the book! Make sure to read through chapter 24 before joining us again next week. I can't wait to hear your thoughts about the first section in the comments!