
While I appreciated the subdued art of this book, at times I found the prose to be mildly unfocused and at other times too figurative. It was occasionally bothersome to lose the narrative to the lyricism and poetic language that the author chose to place amidst the story. The shift in language was sometimes abrupt, and followed no discernible pattern. And while I thought the plot of the story was handled very well, illustrating the changes that force their way into the psyche during adversity, I thought that the book would have been slightly more compelling had the author chose to focus more on the external aspects of the war rather than his intense focus on the inner struggle of the soldier's foray into apathy and disillusionment. There was much page space devoted to reminiscence, which I think undermined the power and flow of the story. In fact, only a few of the scenes contained descriptions of battle and its aftermath. I take it that this was meant to be more of a myopic story focused mostly on the reactions and emotions of its narrator, rather than an account of specific actions of war. I also found it a bit hard to relate to the soldier, as even in the opening scenes he seemed subdued and distant, a situation that only became more pronounced as time moved forward. I never really saw him evince strong emotion or react with the characteristic trepidation that a soldier naturally feels in the uncertainty of war.
On the other hand, I liked the structure of the story and felt that the episodic way of arranging the chapters and narrative were extremely well done. This technique gave the feel of smoothness and flow to the story, and the short chapters encompassed all the activity of the plot brilliantly. Despite the problems that I had with the shift of language style and the slight character portrayal, I found the book to be tremendously moving and thought provoking. In essence it was like poetry, albeit a poetry of the savage and dark variety. I actually think I will be re-reading this book as a way to glean more understanding of it, and also to experience the language in a different mindset. As a short work of fiction on the life-altering aspects of war, this book was both edifying and illuminating, and as time passes, its message has began to take a deeper root in my consciousness. This story is one of gravity and importance, and despite the problems I had with the book, I found it to be a work of an intelligent and sympathetic author.
Regardless of my opinion, I believe that this book should be read by anyone attempting to understand the impact of war on man's fragile spirit. The book is not only timely in regards to the current political situation, but in the way that it captures the ambiguities and fragility of mans existence. This is also a must read for those who are interested in war literature. Although it was not what I was expecting, I did ultimately find this an interesting book. A short and cerebral read.
7 comments:
My boyfriend's father fought in the Vietnam War, so I wonder if this might be a book he (my boyfriend) would appreciate and find interesting. I'll have to mention it to him!
Steph,
I would be happy to send him my copy if you think he would be interested in reading it. Let me know!
I've never been much of a fan of war stories, but I might try and pick this one up. I recently finished The Things They Carried, which I loved, and so now I'm kind of looking around for more to read about Vietnam. This one will go on the list!
Sounds intriguing. Books like this can be very compelling reading. Thanks for the great review.
What a beautifully written review, Zibilee. You can express yourself so well. I need lessons.
Booklogged,
Thanks very much! I love your blog as well and think you have a great style.
Great review. This is certainly a powerful novel. My review is posting this weekend - I'm going to link to yours on my blog. Hope that's okay! =)
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