Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

16 reviews

fizzymicro's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Unlike other anti-war books, Johnny Got His Gun focuses less on the happenings of war but rather on the logistics of it, on life before and after, and it seeks to humanize soldiers by bringing light to their individual experience in a haunting, staggering way. As American people, this glorified image of fighting for honor and patriotism is shoved down our throats. Trumbo tears these ideas away from the reader in turn for a reality, in which is glaring and gory and brutal and unforgettable. That reality is simply war.

I've seen this book face criticism for being, in every sense, a ramble. I think that's what makes it so real. With the minimal punctuation, you run through sentence after sentence and naturally they begin to take on this great sense of urgency and panic. It's a genius way to place the reader in Joe Bonham's shoes (or lack thereof). I'm amazed at Dalton Trumbo's ability to somehow write 250 pages of nothing but the inner thoughts of the protagonist, and for a wide span of the book, with little to no action except his memories. You're supposed to get bored. You're supposed to fumble. You're supposed to feel what Joe feels, trapped in this something that is nothing. All he has are his thoughts, and you get no further insight than he does. It's intimate and chillingly personal.

Taking it as it is, the morbid theme of this book is what makes it so striking. You're forced to imagine the unimaginable. Unlike other books which I'd say are not worth their shock factor, Johnny Got His Gun is. I want to force it into the hands of men who dream of going to war for glory, for patriotism, for a fight they know nothing of, for rhetorics no one can grasp. 

 "There's no word worth your life.... Nothing is bigger than life. There's nothing noble in death." — pg. 137. 

TL;DR - read this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

maevekilcarr's review against another edition

challenging dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

An emotionally taxing read, but a necessary one. Truly a classic in the sense of remaining painfully relevant as each passing year brings more examples of war, violence, and innocent victims unjustly harmed

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

goemonxiii's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Surprisingly clever for its seemingly narrow premise. The plot goes far beyond its premise of a man with no arms, legs, ears, nose, eyes, or mouth and excels at its purpose of being an anti-war novel. It's perfectly timeless and especially important to read considering the current political tensions in the United States and abroad.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent

not a happy ending, feels graphic and suffocating at times

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This book was mentioned by one of my film professors in our class about the Hollywood blacklist era and I'm so glad I remembered it. You can see why HUAC hated his ass he was a genius!

The audiobook was performed so well but also the intro from the mom really made me emotional. Then I was like fuck this book is gonna fuck me up too isn't it? And then it did. I didn't cry but you really feel every emotion. A book that can truly be universally understood.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, and Slavery

draven_deathcrush's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is now one of my favorite books of all time. It's so good, and everyone should read it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, and War

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Death of parent

Minor: Infidelity

bear_oskar's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs and Xenophobia

danimacuk's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail

bkmckown's review against another edition

5.0

This book was an emotional ride! This author was well beyond his time and struck every nerve and left them raw. The writing was amazing, the story was tragic and heartbreaking and it made the reader feel such strong empathy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, War, and Injury/Injury detail

spooderman's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Slavery, Xenophobia, Vomit, and Alcohol

corruptednatz's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

It’s a sad book, we witness a man slowly go insane being trapped within his own body with no way of communication. The book does a good job of evoking the sense of dread as the man comes to terms with his missing limbs, blindness and deafness. I gave the book a 2 star for the concept. It’s a scary concept that can happen to anyone but the book was mostly the man reminiscing about his past life (some points felt like filler) which made the book very slow. The bits and pieces about him in the hospital bed could only fill up a couple of chapters.

 It would’ve been more interesting if the author expanded on the last part of the book when he was able to communicate through Morse code. Rather than the doctor giving him sedatives to shut him up and silence him forever (I understand why, because the government doesn’t want the world to see what war does to a man); he could’ve actually asked questions about his platoon and got more Info on his family or what happened in the war, then shut him up once his questions were too much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs