By Karl Marlantes
Adult Fiction Shelves-Main Level –
MARLANTES
Having never been in combat, nor
even visited Vietnam as a tourist, it will always be trite to claim that I feel as
though I understand what it was like to be in the jungles of South Vietnam with
the men of Bravo Company and second lieutenant Mellas – but that is precisely
how good Karl Marlantes’s novel, Matterhorn
truly is. The poignancy and gripping
realism of Marlantes’s first novel is informed and enlightened by his background
as a combat-decorated veteran of the Marine Corps (awarded the Navy Cross for
his heroism in Vietnam) as well as a Rhodes Scholar and Yale graduate. “Pager-turner” clichés are much too worn for
a novel as well-executed and absorbing as Matterhorn. Every Vietnam War archetype is present here
without ever feeling tired or forced.
Politics, class, and race all play a vital role in the novel, just as
they did during the war and still do to this day. If you haven’t yet, please do yourself the
favor of reading what has quickly become the
novel of the Vietnam War. It is
enriching, engrossing, and utterly moving – you will be well-rewarded for your
efforts here.
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