Had to go back and copy some of the goodreads fury for you:
From John: Where to start with this POS. It's war fast food for the elite literati that need their stereotypes reinforced.
This is NOT a novel. It's a long rambling poem with separate scenes. There are 5 characters in the whole thing. Seriously. Only 3 that matter. There is no character journey, barely any plot. Both of those things take a backwards seat to pretty, pretty words that may or may not connect and form a coherent sentence.
Pretty words about the desert, about the mountains, about a vase, about any object really. And yeah, literary writing needs pretty words. But the author's words, especially his analogies, are often off. Something that sounds nice at first, a pleasing image, good rhythm, but with critical thought, it doesn't make sense. Just one example, clouds are like soiled linens. Huh? This isn't a haiku.
The advance copy I got includes a letter from Little Brown's PR lady saying this is what it's really like to go to war. BS. It's NOTHING like this. This is tailor-made for a civilian crowd that doesn't know any better. The "conclusion" is unrealistic drivel that preys upon civilian ignorance and guilt and is lifted straight from the movie Hurt Locker. Hurt Locker was also garbage that preyed upon civilian ignorance, but at least it was original. This isn't new or even thought provoking. But the New Yorker crowd it's being marketed to won't know any better. They'll just know that war is bad and American soldiers are dumb and ignorant fools, like they already believe and need reinforced, because their kids would never join up. Maybe the author will have a pet-the-author day at their schools. It would probably move some units.
Another reviewer said it best, these are all "archetypes" from previous wars and previous war literature. Iraq was a different war with different factors and different characters. This is nothing but a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox. Whether you're looking for war literature or just literature, avoid this terrible, terrible book. Nothing but a big giant charade. If this is even close to the best literature to come out of Iraq, we're all doomed.
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Date: 2012-10-17 06:04 pm (UTC)From John:
Where to start with this POS. It's war fast food for the elite literati that need their stereotypes reinforced.
This is NOT a novel. It's a long rambling poem with separate scenes. There are 5 characters in the whole thing. Seriously. Only 3 that matter. There is no character journey, barely any plot. Both of those things take a backwards seat to pretty, pretty words that may or may not connect and form a coherent sentence.
Pretty words about the desert, about the mountains, about a vase, about any object really. And yeah, literary writing needs pretty words. But the author's words, especially his analogies, are often off. Something that sounds nice at first, a pleasing image, good rhythm, but with critical thought, it doesn't make sense. Just one example, clouds are like soiled linens. Huh? This isn't a haiku.
The advance copy I got includes a letter from Little Brown's PR lady saying this is what it's really like to go to war. BS. It's NOTHING like this. This is tailor-made for a civilian crowd that doesn't know any better. The "conclusion" is unrealistic drivel that preys upon civilian ignorance and guilt and is lifted straight from the movie Hurt Locker. Hurt Locker was also garbage that preyed upon civilian ignorance, but at least it was original. This isn't new or even thought provoking. But the New Yorker crowd it's being marketed to won't know any better. They'll just know that war is bad and American soldiers are dumb and ignorant fools, like they already believe and need reinforced, because their kids would never join up. Maybe the author will have a pet-the-author day at their schools. It would probably move some units.
Another reviewer said it best, these are all "archetypes" from previous wars and previous war literature. Iraq was a different war with different factors and different characters. This is nothing but a Xerox of a Xerox of a Xerox. Whether you're looking for war literature or just literature, avoid this terrible, terrible book. Nothing but a big giant charade. If this is even close to the best literature to come out of Iraq, we're all doomed.