Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - Johnny Got His Gun

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo

8 reviews

the_birk's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I would not expect more from an anti war book than this book gave me, and the story of Joe makes suck a powerful symbolism of the horrors of war.
I bought the book out og curiosity and also to face my fears a little bit. The song called “One” written by Metallica is based on this book.

It is haunting and dark I I kind of wanted to know the whole story behind the soldier who lost his legs, arms, mouth, eyes, hearing etc.

In some aspects I was expecting more horrors happen in this book, and I’m not saying I was not horrified now and then.

I was expected more torment from Joe in his time in the womb, I sometimes felt like he took things too lightly on his situation, like come on, he soendnsix years during this book doing absolutely nothing but being a piece of meat with a brain. I was also surprised that he didn’t show any sign of wanting to die. I know it makes a major part in the movie adaption, and I guess there would probably not be much reflection to read in the book if his only goal was to make someone end his misery.

Regarding the war, the big picture. I really felt the feelings going directly from the author onto the story. The pointlessness of war from the perspective of the individual American, the cruelty towards the wounded soldiers and the dead soldiers with no voice.

Joe is dead and Joe is alive and his voice is denied even though he at the end finds a way to communicate. It is not because we can’t her then, it’s because we won’t hear them.

Some sections really felt like preaching with poetic wordings describing the disgusting nature of powerful individuals sending innocent people into wars and the harsh reality revealing that no person would actually accept their death for the sake of democracy.

Content Warnings

inica's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad

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

5.0

Foundational anti-war book that kind of destroys you from the inside out. Lovely read and my favorite book ever.

Content Warnings

fizzymicro's review against another edition

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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.

Content Warnings

xvicesx's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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.

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bkmckown's review against another edition

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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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