Title: Gimme Shelter Part Three
Author: Kevin O’Neal
Publisher: Westwood Books Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-64361-977-4
Pages: 178
Genre: Fiction
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent
Hollywood Book Reviews
Gimme Shelter Part Three is a heartfelt play about a family’s survival through the turbulent 1960’s and 1970’s. Kevin O’Neal has written a text that will easily engage readers. This book tells the story of Jack Bordowski, a police officer who goes to serve in the Vietnam War. When he comes home to his growing family, he turns to his wife for comfort and a way to stabilize his life when he returns to the force. While he reconnects with his wife and his children, other family tragedies impact Jack in unimaginable ways.
Gimme Shelter has complex and well-developed characters that are compelling. Jack is a dedicated police officer, but he’s conflicted about his brothers who are involved in the criminal underground. He also has to find a way to adjust to civilian life after serving in war. Mary is a dedicated wife, devoted mother, and devout Catholic. However, her sex addiction and dependence on Jack are part of an underlying emotional problem that she struggles with in her life. Jack and Mary’s children are also characters who add depth to Gimme Shelter with their navigation through adolescence in the time of sexual revolution.
O’Neal’s writing is very straightforward, but also very emotional. He contrasts the graphic violence and sexual situations in the text with gentle interactions between Jack and his family. The setting in this story adds to the complexity of the text. The grittiness of New York in the 1970’s matches the turmoil that Jack experiences once he returns home. The title of the text, Gimme Shelter, is a haunting Rolling Stones song that matches the turbulence of the Vietnam War era.
The book would be best for readers who like plays about soldiers adapting to life after serving in the Vietnam War. Even though the book is the third in a series, readers will have no trouble following the book. The text is similar to Medal of Honor Rag by Tom Cole, another play about a Vietnam veteran who has trouble adjusting to civilian life. Since the book is structured like a play with stage directions throughout the text, Gimme Shelter could be a play that could be produced in theaters. This book would also be best for readers who want to read about family drama.
Gimme Shelter is an engaging and provocative text that will teach readers about the complications of duty, love, and family. Readers will want to know more about the Bordowski family.