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4.18 AVERAGE
4.18 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
LET THESE QUOTES SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES:
"He was fighting too hard and he knew it. A man can't fight always. If he's drowning or suffocating he's got to be smart and hold back some of his strength for the last the final the death struggle." — pg. 50.
"... he was all mixed up again. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing. But he was cooling off. He wasn't burning up any more. He was just light headed and confused and he couldn't figure things out. Everything was a mess but at least he was cool." — pg. 77.
"He had to stop this. He had to stop things from fading away and then rushing back at him. He had to stop the smotherings and the sinkings and the risings. He had to stop the fear that made him want to yell and holler and laugh and claw himself to death..." — pg. 102.
"When you have so little left why should you care if part of it is dying? You lie back. The darkness changes to another shade of darkness. Starless twilight and starless night. Like at home." — pg. 111.
"You had plenty of time to think. You had time to figure things out. Things you'd never thought of before." — pg. 128.
"There's no word worth your life.... Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death." — pg. 137.
"He understood insanity he knew all about it now." — pg. 192.
literally, dying, death, all in between, HOLY SHIT.
"He was fighting too hard and he knew it. A man can't fight always. If he's drowning or suffocating he's got to be smart and hold back some of his strength for the last the final the death struggle." — pg. 50.
"... he was all mixed up again. He didn't know where he was or what he was doing. But he was cooling off. He wasn't burning up any more. He was just light headed and confused and he couldn't figure things out. Everything was a mess but at least he was cool." — pg. 77.
"He had to stop this. He had to stop things from fading away and then rushing back at him. He had to stop the smotherings and the sinkings and the risings. He had to stop the fear that made him want to yell and holler and laugh and claw himself to death..." — pg. 102.
"When you have so little left why should you care if part of it is dying? You lie back. The darkness changes to another shade of darkness. Starless twilight and starless night. Like at home." — pg. 111.
"You had plenty of time to think. You had time to figure things out. Things you'd never thought of before." — pg. 128.
"There's no word worth your life.... Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death." — pg. 137.
"He understood insanity he knew all about it now." — pg. 192.
literally, dying, death, all in between, HOLY SHIT.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A deeply moving descent into madness, showing human ingenuity in the face of untold adversity, though ultimately grim in the way it wraps up. I'm not sure it's the kind of book you'd read over and over again, but definitely the kind of book you want to read before you go off to war for glory.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Medical trauma, War
Minor: Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
slow-paced
Woah. Wow. This one stays with you. Visceral details and quick storytelling. Hard to put down due to a level of heightened anxiety throughout the book.
Johnny Got His Gun is as horrible as it is excellent, and as masterful as it is frantic.
If they talk about dying for principles that are bigger than life you say mister you're a liar. Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death. What's noble about lying in the ground and rotting? What's noble about never seeing the sunshine again?
A few weeks ago I was in a weird mood and decided to peruse a Goodreads list called The Most Disturbing Books Ever Written. I then went on to read [b:Push|71332|Push|Sapphire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414633395l/71332._SY75_.jpg|69081] (a truly horrific, revolting book that I cannot unsee for the life of me) and this one.
The people who voted on that list were right-- this book is disturbing. But not in the way [b:Push|71332|Push|Sapphire|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1414633395l/71332._SY75_.jpg|69081] was, or some of the other books on the list were. Not crass, or overly gross or repulsive. No monsters. No weird sex. No murderous psychopaths. But it is absolutely terrifying.
This book feels like being buried alive. It feels like screaming at the top of your lungs but no sound coming out. And chapter 10 contains some of the most powerful writing I have ever read.
Everybody said America was fighting a war for the triumph of decency. But whose idea of decency? And decency for who? Speak up and tell us what decency is. Tell us how much better a decent dead man feels than an indecent live one.
It is about an American soldier called Joe who awakes in a military hospital and begins to take inventory of his injuries, gradually learning the horrifying extent of what has happened to him. This is interspersed with flashbacks to his life before he went to war, painting in a picture of how he came to be where he is.
It's just a truly distressing concept. I can see why this works as an antiwar text, but also why it might enrage those from a military background. I do think Trumbo's depiction of soldiers as mindlessly buying into propaganda is reductive and somewhat insulting. Like any sane person, I detest war, and I understand the sentiments expressed in Buffy Sainte Marie's Universal Soldier, but I also recognise that throwing down your weapon when faced with an enemy that wishes to harm you is pretty naive.
So I have mixed feelings about the message, but zero complaints about the power of this devastating story.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes