- Paperback: 256 pages
- Publisher: Touchstone; Original edition (Sep 17 2002)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0743227840
- ISBN-13: 978-0743227841
- Product Dimensions: 20.2 x 13.6 x 1.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 82 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,641,354 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
This sterling first novel offers a study in quiet tension and contemporary social malaise through the prism of postmodern military life. Ben Jones, a disillusioned fry-cook, impulsively leaves his wife and child and enlists in the U.S. Army. After a hellish stint in boot camp at Fort Knox, he is transported to Somalia, where he is assigned to the Army's Waterborne unit and becomes part of a boat crew guarding the U.N. effort to feed and stabilize that volatile nation. Jones teams up with boot camp buddy Trevor Anuscewitz, called "Alphabet," and continues his conflicted relationship with another fellow soldier, Liz Ross, who seems to return his affections, although there is more camaraderie than romance between them. In the course of their duty, Jones and Alphabet become involved in a tragic incident the substance of which has become commonplace for Western troops sent to remote and unstable corners of the globe. After the incident is "hushed up," Jones and Alphabet return to the States, where Jones drifts around the country and Trevor attempts to exorcise the demons that haunt his nightmares. Bauman's style is terse, candid and on target with both language and circumstances. His close analysis of character motivation lends extra tension to an already suspenseful account of soldiers caught up in a confused struggle for survival, a game in which the rules constantly change and where the world seems distant and, for the most part, insane. Too many shifts back and forth in time muddle the novel's effect rather than contributing to the sense of dislocation, but this is in almost every respect a fine first effort, a war story for the new millennium. Agent, Diana Finch, Ellen Levine Agency. (Oct.)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
Hubert Selby, Jr. author of Last Exit to Brooklyn and Requiem for a Dream Beautifully crafted, structured, and simple...It is a pleasure to read the work of a real writer. Thank you Mr. Bauman.
Richard Wertime author of Citadel on the Mountain A remarkable debut...a tense, razor-edged, powerful effort...This is a book that will hold you.
Don De Grazia author of American Skin An important book -- a profound meditation on the stark realities of the American male experience. The truths of soldiering are brilliantly examined here from angles previously unexplored, but this is not so much a war novel as it is an exploration of the human heart. The writing is beautiful and deft, and displays an almost religious devotion to unwavering honesty.
Scott Anderson author of Triage and The Man Who Tried to Save the World Bauman renders the true spirit of men at war -- not just the frustrations and fear that come with operating over a dangerous landscape but also the deep bonds that tie men and women together through such experiences. With both humor and compassion, he captures well the deeper wounds that such places can inflict.
Richard Wertime author of Citadel on the Mountain A remarkable debut...a tense, razor-edged, powerful effort...This is a book that will hold you.
Don De Grazia author of American Skin An important book -- a profound meditation on the stark realities of the American male experience. The truths of soldiering are brilliantly examined here from angles previously unexplored, but this is not so much a war novel as it is an exploration of the human heart. The writing is beautiful and deft, and displays an almost religious devotion to unwavering honesty.
Scott Anderson author of Triage and The Man Who Tried to Save the World Bauman renders the true spirit of men at war -- not just the frustrations and fear that come with operating over a dangerous landscape but also the deep bonds that tie men and women together through such experiences. With both humor and compassion, he captures well the deeper wounds that such places can inflict.
Inside This Book
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First Sentence
Payphone, he's got a few minutes before the bus pulls out. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
Payphone, he's got a few minutes before the bus pulls out. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt
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Customer Reviews
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Gripping storyteller,
By Laura Gerry (Cambridge, MA, USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ice Beneath You: A Novel (Paperback)
I came to this book out of curiosity after hearing a few of Bauman's essays on the radio on "All Things Considered." (He's great on there, if you ever get a chance to hear him).The novel sucked me in from page 1 and wouldn't let go. And every time I thought I'd decided what the book was "about," I was wrong. On the surface, it's about a group of soldiers in Somalia, and about one in particular, Ben Jones. You quickly realize the Somalia stuff is a flashback, though (confusing at first, but once you figured it out the rhythm was good), and that Jones is out of the army now, and suffering emotionally from something that happened over there. His travels put him on a bus to San Francisco, then finally up to Washington State. Both narratives (with the army in Somalia, and as a civilian in America) come together as the book nears its end, both in an absorbing, page-turning way. I already knew from the radio stuff that Bauman's writing was beautiful. It was inspiring to see he could sustain it for the length of a novel. Looking forward to his next book!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ice Beneath You,
By Alice T. (Bowling Green, KY USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Ice Beneath You: A Novel (Paperback)
A beautiful, tragic read. Easily one of my favorite books of the last year.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Our modern US soldiers,
By
This review is from: The Ice Beneath You: A Novel (Paperback)
After reading some of the reviews I will admit straight out that I have no military experience. I respect those that have come from military background as their impressions of this novel will certainly be more acute and critical.So, speaking purely as a reasonable educated person in world events, I admit my knowledge of the military operations in Somalia is inadequate. In the attempt to learn more about Somalia, and being attracted to the book trailer, I purchased the book. It just so happened that Desert Storm was at it's climax when I started the book and the events furthur impressed me with the author's story. Here, on one hand you have America's big war in Iraq happening, and in Somalia, the efforts of our young soldiers was just as important, but oh, so overlooked. Christian Bauman offers a well written, gritty, sarcastically relevant book. He offers that it takes more to just being a soldier... there are facets of their characters that are in constant change. I appreciated his ability to allow this perception in each of his characters to develope, and to develope randomly. It kept the story line fresh, unanticipated and sharp. The story is about Benjamin Jones and his tour of duty in Somalia with the US Army (gunboat unit). It is a reflection of what happened in Somalia and how it is impacting him now and with the decisions he tries to make. In his story, you will meet his best friend, Trevor, and heart throb, Liz. As Benjamin tries to assimilate into civilian life, it becomes clear that no one is going to make this easy for him, and for most people they don't even acknowledge what he did for his country. Coming from this mindframe, his experiences make for a rich insight into the modern military heroes of today.
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