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Matterhorn is a marvel--a living, breathing book with Lieutenant Waino Mellas and the men of Bravo Company at its raw and battered heart. Karl Marlantes doesn't introduce you to Vietnam in his brilliant war epic--he unceremoniously drops you into the jungle, disoriented and dripping with leeches, with only the newbie lieutenant as your guide. Mellas is a bundle of anxiety and ambition, a college kid who never imagined being part of a "war that none of his friends thought was worth fighting," who realized too late that "because of his desire to look good coming home from a war, he might never come home at all." A highly decorated Vietnam veteran himself, Marlantes brings the horrors and heroism of war to life with the finesse of a seasoned writer, exposing not just the things they carry, but the fears they bury, the friends they lose, and the men they follow. Matterhorn is as much about the development of Mellas from boy to man, from the kind of man you fight beside to man you fight for, as it is about the war itself. Through his untrained eyes, readers gain a new perspective on the ravages of war, the politics and bureaucracy of the military, and the peculiar beauty of brotherhood. --Daphne Durham
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
"Visceral . . . Evocative . . . We feel the Marines' exhaustion as they dig gun pits, carry dead and wounded comrades, and nearly die from hunger. . . . We hear the scream of the M-16s, the thunk of mortar shells, the hammering of AK-47s and the crack of bullets. We smell the stink of fear, blood and unwashed bodies. . . . [Marlantes] pitches us into a harrowing narrative we won't soon forget." --USA Today
"I've laughed at Catch-22 and wept at The Thin Red Line, but I've never encountered a war novel as stark, honest and wrenching as Matterhorn. . . . By turns, this book horrified me, crushed me and beat me up, but I found it nearly impossible to stop reading. More than any living American novelist I've read, Marlantes made me feel what I already must have known: that war is worse than hell." --NPR
"Matterhorn is a novel of great authority and humanity. It builds inexorably to a devastating and magnificent final movement." --Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
"I've laughed at Catch-22 and wept at The Thin Red Line, but I've never encountered a war novel as stark, honest and wrenching as Matterhorn. . . . By turns, this book horrified me, crushed me and beat me up, but I found it nearly impossible to stop reading. More than any living American novelist I've read, Marlantes made me feel what I already must have known: that war is worse than hell." --NPR
"Matterhorn is a novel of great authority and humanity. It builds inexorably to a devastating and magnificent final movement." --Charles Frazier, author of Cold Mountain
--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best Vietnam book hands down,
This review is from: Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War (Paperback)
This book was incredible from beginning to end. At the end of the book I had to give it to my Dad who also was a Marine Corps infantryman in Vietnam. He echoed my views that said Marlantes hit the nail on the head with this one.
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
One Exhausting Read,
By
This review is from: Matterhorn: A Novel Of the Vietnam War (Hardcover)
A novel of the Vietnam WarThis is a time when U.S. political tensions are at a boiling point, campuses erupt in violence and protesters take to the streets, racial agendas dominate the enlisted ranks and young Americans are embroiled in brutal combat at the other end of the world. A conflict that will divide the population like never seen before. The author's astonishing writing immerses his readers deep in the thick of the action: they quickly feel they are part of the story, witnessing the fighting side by side with the courageous soldiers.....Before setting out in this spellbinding novel, make sure you have plenty of repellent, do not forget to keep dry, leave your fears behind and lets go forward....a mission is awaiting..... Emotions will be so real you will soon understand what I mean. The year is 1969 during the monsoon season deep in the jungles and the sweltering mountains of Quang Tri province, Vietnam. Bravo Company First Platoon lead by a green Lieutenant Waino Mellas and his seasoned officers Fitch, Hawke and Kendall are given the orders to claim and establish a strategic point (the Matterhorn) , an advance fire-support base. The reader quickly learns that a simple sounding plan presents more than one enemy to the soldiers: Mother nature, the unfamiliar and unforgiving terrain, the fear of being isolated and the very capable opponents are just some of the life threatening hostilities they are bombarded with. Just when the Lieutenant and his men think they have time to catch their breath and count their loses new orders hit them almost as hard as any enemy. Higher command orders them to abandon everything and embark on another dangerous but crucial mission: sever N.V. supply lines at all cost. The men that are still standing are more and more concerned, will the final cost be worth it. Totally exhausted and feeling demoralized they wonder if new technology and long range communications have left command insensitive to their plight. Chapter after chapter, the author immerses his readers through one intense battle after another, it is a very exhausting read. The story is told from the point of view of lieutenant Mellas and with extensive dialogue between the soldiers in a language that is dense in slang, jargon and technical terms. The author has provided a detailed glossary, I found it hard to refer back and forth at first but the price of knowing and understanding the terms early on paid dividends, patience enhanced my reading pleasure. The author himself a decorated veteran of the time has written a complex novel (sometimes difficult to read) of what " Tour of duty" meant to those who served and hopefully to those who will take the time to read this gruesome account of trying times. Will mankind ever learn....... This is one outstanding novel filled with emotions and lasting impressions. Very well done Mr Marlantes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Documentary and Fiction are United,
By Kevin MacLellan "read more guy" (Kingston ON, Can) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
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This review is from: Matterhorn: A Novel Of the Vietnam War (Hardcover)
I had just finished Sabastien Junger's book "War" prior to reading Matterhorn. It is interesting to compare the books as one was written by an embedded reporter in an Afghanistan regiment writing a factual account. The other is from the war in Viet Nam written as a novel by an author who was involved in that war. The book War is a great read and should be read by anyone contemplating the armed forces. What is most interesting is that when you get down to the nitty-gritty of feet on the ground both books emphasis the comradeship among the soldiers. Truly wars are fought in the trenches where mean are motivated by their fellow soldiers not a political idea. Documentary and fiction are essentially the same.Matterhorn should be a great book and is a great book. Karl Mariantes has hit the nail on the head about the feel and sense of any war. He shows due respect to the NVA that were often demeaned in other books. Honour is among fellow soldiers is surely the greatest motivator of men in dire circumstances.
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