Saturday, January 15, 2011

Matterhorn

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam WarMatterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War by Karl Marlantes

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Matterhorn is a first hand account of the Vietnam war written from the perspective of a boot Second Lieutenant. With Second Lieutenant Mellas, the reader embarks on a journey through initial confusion, to a basic orientation on how to do the job of platoon commander, to the more nuanced understanding of the Marine Corps culture and politics and the nature of war and suffering.

The book is engrossing and fascinating. While it is definitely a 'man's book' in its attention to the details of combat tactics and male camaraderie, there is much here that would be of interest to women too. The author's sensitivity captures the nuances of personal relationships, back channel communication, and other aspects of social interaction. In addition to being a novel about war, Matterhorn is also a novel of manners, class, race, ambition, and maturity. It is also absolutely engrossing and more than a bit of a page turner.

So why only four stars? I have two small critiques of the novel. First, it could be a good 200 pages shorter. Mind you, I am not complaining as I enjoyed the extra detail and I did not want the novel to end. Still the additional sections (mostly the return to Matterhorn) while entertaining are a bit superfluous and stand in the way of this book being a timeless great.

Second, the author was able to make the book as engrossing as it is by focusing on an aspect of the war, the engagement with the North Vietnamese Army along the DMZ, that was most like a conventional war. This is a fascinating aspect of the war to experience through literature but is possibly not typical of what most soldiers experienced in Vietnam. I would have been interested to also read at least a little about the chaos and corruption of the rear, or about the confusion created by the engagements in the south.

However, these are both very minor criticisms. Matterhorn is a terrific read, and portions of it, such as its treatment of the internal thoughts of an ambitious but raw young officer at the time of Vietnam are unsurpassed.



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