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liberrydude's review against another edition
3.0
Not for everyone this account melds Turner's experience at war with his ancestors who also went to war. It has a dreamlike quality to it and it jumps around all over the place-time, place, reality vs dreams. It has a lot of profound thoughts in it and you could almost consider it a narrative poem. I wasn't surprised by the style and format of this memoir. I'm still trying to figure out whether if he could do it all over again, would he? War is a transformative experience and he is proud of his service but it comes at a price. Turner lays out the price in a magical and mystical journey into his psyche and soul.
estromdotcom's review against another edition
4.0
I had the great fortune of meeting Brian Turner at a writers' conference back in May, where he read selections from both this and his poetry collection Here, Bullet . What's beautiful about this book is that he really speaks like this. This book is really and truly him.
I don't want to say much about this book here, I really can't. This is something that needs processing, digesting, very slow and thoughtful consideration. But it's incredible. Read this.
I don't want to say much about this book here, I really can't. This is something that needs processing, digesting, very slow and thoughtful consideration. But it's incredible. Read this.
marycollie16's review against another edition
4.0
Really beautiful language. That's what sold me. His telling of the story, zooming in and zooming out, was well done and so easy to follow. Beautiful images and insights into the realities of war.
cherisong's review against another edition
5.0
"War shares it's deep reserves of trauma with those searching for it or not"
This memoir certainly shared the trauma of war with me. If you are looking for a stereotypical war memoir then this is not likely to give you what you are looking for.
The imagery Turner creates through the use of poetic prose in no way romanticises his experiences, rather it helps to understand how surreal the war and his experiences of that war were. Visits to cinemas, buying items in the local market, endless boredom followed by high adrenaline raids are just some of the everyday life of a soldier brought into sharp focus. The inability to switch off when home on leave for fear of being unable to be effective when returning is something that he describes so eloquently I finally understand the torment that ex veterans that I know go through on a daily basis.
In describing why 'I said Infantry' he unearths generations of service and demonstrates an ingrained sense of duty and expectation to follow in their footsteps. The silence of those predecessors about their experiences leave only the romantic notion of heroes returning from war and slotting right back into daily life.
Interspersing dream sequences with reality drew me in and kept me there. Sometimes it became a little disorienting but that only helped me to understand further how a veterans mind works given the trauma that they are dealing with.
Weaving his own story and experiences in with those of his great grandfather, grandfather and father alongside the 'known and suspected enemy' such as the Kamikaze pilot preparing for his last moments and the men that he himself confronted ('I'd seen him shiver in fear as I did my job') Turner brings into sharp focus the similarities that bind all of us as humans regardless of which 'side' we may be on.
I read the book in two sittings. I will be reading it again and I am sure that I will unearth deeper meaning. This book should be essential reading for anybody thinking of becoming a soldier.
This memoir certainly shared the trauma of war with me. If you are looking for a stereotypical war memoir then this is not likely to give you what you are looking for.
The imagery Turner creates through the use of poetic prose in no way romanticises his experiences, rather it helps to understand how surreal the war and his experiences of that war were. Visits to cinemas, buying items in the local market, endless boredom followed by high adrenaline raids are just some of the everyday life of a soldier brought into sharp focus. The inability to switch off when home on leave for fear of being unable to be effective when returning is something that he describes so eloquently I finally understand the torment that ex veterans that I know go through on a daily basis.
In describing why 'I said Infantry' he unearths generations of service and demonstrates an ingrained sense of duty and expectation to follow in their footsteps. The silence of those predecessors about their experiences leave only the romantic notion of heroes returning from war and slotting right back into daily life.
Interspersing dream sequences with reality drew me in and kept me there. Sometimes it became a little disorienting but that only helped me to understand further how a veterans mind works given the trauma that they are dealing with.
Weaving his own story and experiences in with those of his great grandfather, grandfather and father alongside the 'known and suspected enemy' such as the Kamikaze pilot preparing for his last moments and the men that he himself confronted ('I'd seen him shiver in fear as I did my job') Turner brings into sharp focus the similarities that bind all of us as humans regardless of which 'side' we may be on.
I read the book in two sittings. I will be reading it again and I am sure that I will unearth deeper meaning. This book should be essential reading for anybody thinking of becoming a soldier.
levanmatthew's review against another edition
2.0
This is not my genre of choice, or one I have a lot of experience with, so take this with a grain of salt. The structure and a lot of the early sections felt contrived and overwrought, like Turner is trying too hard to be clever. I'm not sure if it settled down or if I just got used to it, but the second half seemed to flow a lot smoother.
That said, this was a very approachable book, and I'm definitely in favor of exposing the vast, under-informed American public about what their armed forces are going through.
That said, this was a very approachable book, and I'm definitely in favor of exposing the vast, under-informed American public about what their armed forces are going through.
eileenguo's review against another edition
4.0
Tim O'Brien's successor for the Global War on Terror
I've read a number of books about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a number of very good ones, but this book blew it out of the water. Beautiful, poignant, haunting, and wry, it explores the themes of the ghosts from war that haunt us all, warrior or civilian; homecoming and home-leaving, and what "home" even means after war; ideas of manhood; and the invisible links between all words -- all woven into a deeply poetic, non-linear narrative about one man's experiences in Iraq, in America, and in many places in between.
I've read a number of books about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a number of very good ones, but this book blew it out of the water. Beautiful, poignant, haunting, and wry, it explores the themes of the ghosts from war that haunt us all, warrior or civilian; homecoming and home-leaving, and what "home" even means after war; ideas of manhood; and the invisible links between all words -- all woven into a deeply poetic, non-linear narrative about one man's experiences in Iraq, in America, and in many places in between.
acwong86's review
3.0
"Maybe it isn't that it's so difficult coming home, but that home isn't a big enough space for all that I must bring to it. America, vast and laid out from one ocean to another, is not a large enough space to contain the war each soldier brings home. And even if it could-it doesn't want to."
My very favorite vignette of this book. While I enjoyed most of the fragmented stories, this one sucker punched me.
My very favorite vignette of this book. While I enjoyed most of the fragmented stories, this one sucker punched me.
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