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3.7 AVERAGE
3.7 AVERAGE
I'm having a hard time figuring out how to rate this book, especially since I've been reading it for class under the expectation that I'll be writing a paper about it in the near future (so I've been mining it for motifs, themes, weighted language, etc.). The prose was frequently lovely, but maybe needed to be trimmed down in places so it could truly shine where it needed to; the story was moving but often confusing due to the language; the characters played against one another well, but female side characters flashed in and out for the benefit of the male main characters in a way that was ultimately pretty uncomfortable.
3/5 stars
Spoiler
I'm thinking of the sex worker in Germany, and the nurse in Tal Afar3/5 stars
Popsugar reading challenge 2022 categoría 10. Un libro ganador del premio Anisfield-Wolf.
While I was reading this short novel, I got caught up in the lovely prose and the vaguely stream-of-consciousness style. There is a lot of emotion here, if not a ton of story.
After finishing it and thinking about it a lot, though, I'm a left a little wanting. The three main characters--Bartle, Murph and Sterling--end up as vague sketches. Though, I guess, in a way, that's the point. Bartle reflects on how little he really knew Murph and how Sterling has certain traits he projects, but seems to be something else entirely. Saving Private Ryan comes to mind--how the crew would have never guessed that Tom Hanks was a schoolteacher in his "real" life. But Iraq is not WWII, and the circumstances surrounding why we as a country and they, as enlisted men with their own reasons for joining up, are even there, are staggering in their contrast an impossible not to consider, though the book is not overtly political.
The author is a poet, and I don't really get poetry. While I appreciated his ability to place me into the fog of modern war, I can't help but feel like so much could have been clarified for the sake of an understandable plot. What did Sterling do to the body in the orchard that they left behind? What was the deal with Bartle's letter to Murph's mom? Did he explain at the prison what happened with Murph, and why he and Sterling did what they did? It seemed to me that what they did was a mercy. Well, they did also murder a guy to cover up what they did, and that was absolutely reprehensible, but in the story Bartle seems less worried about that than the Murph issue. In the scene with Sterling at the bar/brothel it seemed they were talking about Murph rather than the hermit. And WTF DID happen with Murph?
The verdict, I guess... A quick and effecting if not very satisfying read.
After finishing it and thinking about it a lot, though, I'm a left a little wanting. The three main characters--Bartle, Murph and Sterling--end up as vague sketches. Though, I guess, in a way, that's the point. Bartle reflects on how little he really knew Murph and how Sterling has certain traits he projects, but seems to be something else entirely. Saving Private Ryan comes to mind--how the crew would have never guessed that Tom Hanks was a schoolteacher in his "real" life. But Iraq is not WWII, and the circumstances surrounding why we as a country and they, as enlisted men with their own reasons for joining up, are even there, are staggering in their contrast an impossible not to consider, though the book is not overtly political.
The author is a poet, and I don't really get poetry. While I appreciated his ability to place me into the fog of modern war, I can't help but feel like so much could have been clarified for the sake of an understandable plot. What did Sterling do to the body in the orchard that they left behind? What was the deal with Bartle's letter to Murph's mom? Did he explain at the prison what happened with Murph, and why he and Sterling did what they did? It seemed to me that what they did was a mercy. Well, they did also murder a guy to cover up what they did, and that was absolutely reprehensible, but in the story Bartle seems less worried about that than the Murph issue. In the scene with Sterling at the bar/brothel it seemed they were talking about Murph rather than the hermit. And WTF DID happen with Murph?
The verdict, I guess... A quick and effecting if not very satisfying read.
Really just not my kind of genre. Reminded me a lot of the Long Walk Home
this was an extremely powerful book. its a slim, quick read...with so much content and emotion. i don't have much more to say. it's not really a book that i need to review. it's the story of a boy in a war. it's the story of families of boys in the war. it's the story of the relationships between soldiers.
it's devastating, emotional, breathtaking, awful, and extremely poetic.
it's devastating, emotional, breathtaking, awful, and extremely poetic.
Though this is classified as fiction, it seems to have relied heavily on the author's own experiences in Iraq, adding further weight to an already substancial story.
Powers has a very flowing, elegant style that made me think he is possibly a poet, and which sets this book apart from other similar accounts I am familiar with. It centers around a young soldier, John Bartle, and his time in Iraq, as well as the aftermath of it, in terms of his own psyche, and readjusting to being part of the 'normal' world again when he returns home.
This is a short book, and one I sped through over the course of two days, all the same, it is one that will linger with me for some time to come. Powers writes poetically, but does not romanticize or glorify war. Of course, his account is only one of many, and everyone will have somewhat different opinions and experiences, but I found his story deeply engaging and moving, and am curious to see what he will write next.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
Powers has a very flowing, elegant style that made me think he is possibly a poet, and which sets this book apart from other similar accounts I am familiar with. It centers around a young soldier, John Bartle, and his time in Iraq, as well as the aftermath of it, in terms of his own psyche, and readjusting to being part of the 'normal' world again when he returns home.
This is a short book, and one I sped through over the course of two days, all the same, it is one that will linger with me for some time to come. Powers writes poetically, but does not romanticize or glorify war. Of course, his account is only one of many, and everyone will have somewhat different opinions and experiences, but I found his story deeply engaging and moving, and am curious to see what he will write next.
Find more reviews and bookish fun at http://www.princessandpen.com
The Yellow Birds is my favorite book I've read this year, so far. Kevin Powers extraordinary writing ability shines throughout the entire novel. His descriptions of settings, mindsets, ideas, and feelings are unsurpassed by almost any other writer I have ever read. This was a book that I had to put down several times in order to wrap my head around the virtuosity and depth of feeling. Highly, highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a master class in writing.
Although it hasn't been intentional, I've been consuming a lot of media on the horrors of war (American Experience: Death and the Civil War, A Very Long Engagement, Human Smoke, and now Yellow Birds) The common theme throughout is the casual brutality of war and what it does to individuals, both those who survive and those who don't survive. The Yellow Birds makes it clear that despite advances in medicine and technology--what happens and what one has to do in combat never changes. This novel takes the Iraqi action up close and personal. The author is an Iraqi war veteran and a poet which results in a short, well-expressed novel that gets the reader into the narrator's head in a way not possible in any movie. The themes of promises and loss have been addressed many times before but what happens in this novel is ummm...different. (I'm still thinking about it but don't want to include any spoilers.)