Scan barcode
caitcoy's review against another edition
3.0
I will admit that I've read very little Vietnam War fiction but Fallen Angels was every bit as chaotic, intense and brutal as I expected. The story follows Richie Perry, a kid from Harlem who joins the Army after graduating high school because he knows he can't afford to go to college and he wants to see the world. His squad is a cast of characters, each with their own flaws that make them entirely human and believable. I liked how honest they were with each other and that they didn't all love each other. By the end, there's a basic respect between them because of the hell they've been through together but they don't all get along. Myers nails the uncertainty of never knowing who the enemy is, if the villager you're talking to is going to turn around and kill you as soon as they get a chance. And the constant concern that Perry and the others have that it's worth it are compounded by a superior who is clearly using them for advancement opportunities. There's nothing heroic about the war for anyone in Perry's group, they're all just trying to survive and get back home. Perry's transition from a naive kid to a tired, battle weary soldier is quick, brutal and difficult but the relationships he forges form a bright spot in an otherwise hellish situation. It's a rough read but a good one.
cosmiccutie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Racism
sasha_in_a_box's review against another edition
4.0
I'm wary of war books, books about the 60s, and books about Harlem. A lot of them are written in a very inaccessible way to someone like me. I do try to expand my horizons to those kinds of books and I have been rewarded greatly by [b:The Things They Carried|133518|The Things They Carried|Tim O'Brien|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1297915473s/133518.jpg|1235619]. This book is another one of those books that escape their genre constraints and make you believe in book magic. There is no glory in this book of war, and there is no downtrodden gloom and hyperviolence of Harlem stories - not to say that story is watered down in any way. Just more accessible.
Our protagonist Richie Perry graduated from Stuy (which reminds me again of [a:Ned Vizzini|11672|Ned Vizzini|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1341737392p2/11672.jpg] and I want to cry a little because he was amazing), which is already atypical. He wants to be a writer and a philosopher, but he keeps quiet about that since he got ridiculed for it. He's a really well-done character; his pervasive fear and humor are real. I suspected that Walter Dean Myers knew exactly what he was talking about with the war experience, and I was right - both him and his brother had served in Vietnam, the brother tragically losing his life in 1968. The mindless out of body experience of being in a war is really well done, and oh god that one scene with the mother and her child is terrifying. Every single person is humanized, so their race/background/age stops being their identifier. This novel is about people, and it's really good.
It's not the perfect 5 stars because I can't help but compare it to Things They Carried and this book was emotionally colder and more distant that that one. Maybe it was intended that way, but it made everything less immediate. I may have given this one 5 stars if Tim O'Brien hadn't spoiled me with his scary brilliance.
Our protagonist Richie Perry graduated from Stuy (which reminds me again of [a:Ned Vizzini|11672|Ned Vizzini|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1341737392p2/11672.jpg] and I want to cry a little because he was amazing), which is already atypical. He wants to be a writer and a philosopher, but he keeps quiet about that since he got ridiculed for it. He's a really well-done character; his pervasive fear and humor are real. I suspected that Walter Dean Myers knew exactly what he was talking about with the war experience, and I was right - both him and his brother had served in Vietnam, the brother tragically losing his life in 1968. The mindless out of body experience of being in a war is really well done, and oh god that one scene with the mother and her child is terrifying. Every single person is humanized, so their race/background/age stops being their identifier. This novel is about people, and it's really good.
It's not the perfect 5 stars because I can't help but compare it to Things They Carried and this book was emotionally colder and more distant that that one. Maybe it was intended that way, but it made everything less immediate. I may have given this one 5 stars if Tim O'Brien hadn't spoiled me with his scary brilliance.
saeverra's review against another edition
4.0
This book hurts the heart. I like how gritty it is an anti-war. Definitely not a demonstration of heroics during times of conflict.
julie_responsibly's review against another edition
3.0
I haven't really fallen in love with any Walter Dean Myers books-I chalk that up to a mismatch of writer and reader. I find him to be a very male writer and I love all the emotions and reflections and internal life that aren't really his thing. But this is my favorite book I've read from him so far - Perry and his friendships felt fully formed and real to me and while there's no way I'd read a Vietnam War novel without it being assigned, it was immersive and perspective shifting.
sallydonnelly's review against another edition
4.0
A tough read but glad I kept at it and finished. I did need to read some NF on Vietnam War as this was a time period I knew nothing about. It is hard to read about war. Wish it was something we didn’t have.
roadriot's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
kindlereads's review against another edition
4.0
It was like MASH but nothing funny about it. It was very well written and very accessible for the reader. But this book was not the type of novel I would normally read. It was about a war that feels too close, too real, to raw. I would recommend it as a book to someone interested about war and the realities of the hardship and effects of combat, but otherwise would avoid suggesting it.