The Gnashing of Teeth

About the Book

A young American infantryman finds himself in a Korean troop train hurrying north to the front early in 1953. Thus begins a story of humor, pathos, horror, bitterness, and a chilling look at the class discrimination–whether intended or accidental–that created a warrior class of poor, uneducated men to fight a vicious enemy in a forlorn, inhospitable country.

Later, this soldier’s epiphany comes from the lips of one of his beloved comrades, and creates the metaphor for much of the harrowing journey that is The Gnashing of Teeth. You will be witness to his growth, agonizing choices and painful search for redemption where little was forthcoming.

Love also finds its way into this novel, beginning and ending in unlikely and sometimes heart-rending circumstances. Whether or not this soldier survives his journey is a growing concern readers will not satisfy until the very last words of this epic. This is a fresh, powerful glimpse of the war many have called forgotten, but which the author convinces us, is well worth not doing so!

About the Author

After military service, James C. Raymond studied writing at Ohio State. He worked with Frank Seidel and William Ellis at Storycraft. Later, Raymond worked in advertising with McCann-Marschalk and D'Arcy. He moved to Vermont in 1973 and founded an antiques business. In 1986, he moved to Arizona to write fiction. This is his first novel. He has three adult children.