The next story in my Hitchcock reread was 'I'd Know You Anywhere' by Edward D. Hoch. This one felt vaguely familiar, particularly the opening scene. But I didn't have any strong feeling of it coming rushing back to me as I read on.
It's a thoughtful little tale about war, or rather the cycle of war in the second half of the twentieth century. It starts in North Africa in WWII, travels to Korea, and then to the building of the Berlin Wall in 1961, before ending in 1969. The story follows a series of encounters between two soldiers - Contrell and Grove - who serve together in WWII, but who have different ideas about their purpose (and the purpose of the military more broadly).
What I like about it is that, although the reader is generally seeing things from Contrell's perspective, the ending isn't unambiguous. It doesn't definitively state that Contrell's view is the correct one. Unsettling though it might be, Grove might be right about war and the purpose of military action. After all, other characters in the story openly agree with him (and disagree with Contrell's view). So I'm glad I read this one, even if I can't quite remember reading it the first time round. It's a good use of the short story form, and it leaves you with some lingering questions.
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