Book Review: De facto Pathfinder

Reviewed by Jadidsa Perez

A story of loss and redemption, De facto Pathfinder shows the hope in rising from the ashes of former glory.

De facto Pathfinder is a heartwarming tale about Chris, a veteran who sets out on a quest to connect and help those like himself. He’s assigned to different veterans with specific, deliberating needs that require compassionate and active assistance, which Chris provides. Each veteran teaches Chris more about life, love, and the personal cost of sacrifice. In turn, he spends time with them to understand their feelings. Throughout his journey, he also reflects deeply on his failed marriage and strained relationship with his teenage daughter Sara. He and his clients ultimately realize the importance of a bond forged in strife, one that becomes as hard and valued as a diamond.

Something that immediately jumps out at me here is the smoothly flowing dialogue. Since Chris’s job is mainly to be a listener, each veteran is able to fill the pages with tragic, plaintive stories from their time serving. The reader also gets a lot of context from relatives and friends of each veteran, allowing us to get a complete picture of the difficulties faced by each of them. 

Chris’s first client, Til, is the most memorable illustration of how passionate the dialogue can be. As Chris is about to leave Til to work with his next client, Til says that Chris reminds him of the son he wishes he had. This is particularly significant due to the level of difficulty Chris has with Til in the beginning, so that comment adds a tremendous finale to their excursion. 

Chris travels far and wide for this job. By having him arrive in a different state to help a new client, it keeps the text fresh and exciting. There’s an interesting parallel between the location and the client’s personal struggle. Til and his iciness in Alaska and Kyle’s artistic cataclysm in a beautiful landscape. These two elements work really well together throughout the text, all the way to the end. 

I did have a bit of a hard time warming up to Chris as a protagonist though. His relationship with women, particularly his ex-wife, is peculiar at times. His thoughts regarding most of the women that are introduced are mostly centered around their appearance, even though one of them is a client of his. He also has a thought about Tashana and her father’s skin tone that doesn’t feel appropriate for someone whose job is to help Tashana. He claims early on to care for her, but it can be hard to get that sense, unlike with the other veterans. 

A book like this would certainly be a great fit for those involved in military servicing. It has a lot of empowering stories that many can connect to and help them feel less alone.

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