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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I listened to the audiobook. It is well narrated and the story is as fun and interesting as the TV show. Overall, it was very enjoyable. If you liked the TV show or the movie, you will enjoy this book or audiobook where it all started.
I just found it kinda boring. The writing is painfully simplistic. There is no challenge to this material. I didn't find their antics all that humorous and their sexual escapades were...were their sexual escapades?
The story is told almost entirely with sparse dialogue and plot descriptions. They did this, then they did this, then this character said this to that character, then he's a plot description of this event. There is no nuance. No explanation. None of these characters express any feelings about the ravages of war going on around them. Not once are we let into their heads. The "action" is described with the passionless detail of a routine tonsillectomy in a Stateside hospital.
I was able to get through this book in a day. That's not a good thing. There was nothing to pour over, to mull over, to think about.
I gave it two stars because a one-star is reviewed for books which are either terrible or offensive. This was just meh.
The story is told almost entirely with sparse dialogue and plot descriptions. They did this, then they did this, then this character said this to that character, then he's a plot description of this event. There is no nuance. No explanation. None of these characters express any feelings about the ravages of war going on around them. Not once are we let into their heads. The "action" is described with the passionless detail of a routine tonsillectomy in a Stateside hospital.
I was able to get through this book in a day. That's not a good thing. There was nothing to pour over, to mull over, to think about.
I gave it two stars because a one-star is reviewed for books which are either terrible or offensive. This was just meh.
Short Review: I picked this up on an audiobook sale. It was only $3 so I figured it was worth it. I am a big fan of the show and movie MASH. And this is the book that inspired both. What I like about it was that it was clear that the characters from the movie and TV show were well characterized here and because of that they characters carried well to the other format.
What I didn't like about it was that it was more of a series of short stories than a novel. There was very little holding it all together. And virtually all of these short stories were used in either the TV show or the movie. And while I was interested for the sake of my love of the show, it really wasn't great writing, good but not great. So if you are a fan of the TV/Movie you might be interested because of the history. But otherwise I would skip it.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/mash/
What I didn't like about it was that it was more of a series of short stories than a novel. There was very little holding it all together. And virtually all of these short stories were used in either the TV show or the movie. And while I was interested for the sake of my love of the show, it really wasn't great writing, good but not great. So if you are a fan of the TV/Movie you might be interested because of the history. But otherwise I would skip it.
My full review is on my blog at http://bookwi.se/mash/
This was so fun. I'm a big fan of the show and I am so excited to have found the book.
This felt very akin to Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, in that day to day life was just chaos and things that didn't make sense.
I'd definitely recommend this one before I'd recommend Catch 22 because it feels easier to read than Catch 22.
This felt very akin to Catch 22 by Joseph Heller, in that day to day life was just chaos and things that didn't make sense.
I'd definitely recommend this one before I'd recommend Catch 22 because it feels easier to read than Catch 22.
I never really saw the TV series and I didn't even know there was a movie, but my immediate family has a thing for M*A*S*H so when I saw this for sale I figured I'd check it out.
I was surprised to discover that this was actually about the Korean War of the 1950's, not the Vietnam War of the 1960's, which I (and several others that I polled) had incorrectly assumed it was based on. This was nicely topical (what with North Korea threatening to blow everything up) and incidentally educational as it led me to do a little research on why there was a Korean War in the first place ("it's terribly messy and complicated" is the short story). None of this has any impact on the book itself.
The book falls into the "dated light-humour" category. It get's the "dated" tag because there's a *lot* of casual racism and sexism. For the most part though, it's the "light humour" that wins out. The story, well, actually, there isn't really a story, it's kind of a story arc encompassing the arrival of two doctors (Hawkeye and The Duke) in Korea, their 18-month assignment to the 4077 MASH and their subsequent departure, as told via a number of vignettes featuring a cast of colourful characters. It's quite reminiscent of Spike Milligan's [b:War Memoirs|330919|Adolf Hitler My Part in His Downfall (War Memoirs, #1)|Spike Milligan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352807942s/330919.jpg|321492] actually! I think there's more than a kernel of truth to a lot of what is described in MASH, and some level of embellishment.
There's a lot of fun to be had here, I'd recommend it for light holiday reading or a general pick-me-up with a side of food-for-thought.
I listened to the Tantor Audio version of this book, narrated by [a:Johnny Heller|748253|Johnny Heller|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360611544p2/748253.jpg]. Mr Heller had a great accent for the people in this story but I found the speech/accents kind of fast and had to play the audio at 90% in order to catch everything!
I was surprised to discover that this was actually about the Korean War of the 1950's, not the Vietnam War of the 1960's, which I (and several others that I polled) had incorrectly assumed it was based on. This was nicely topical (what with North Korea threatening to blow everything up) and incidentally educational as it led me to do a little research on why there was a Korean War in the first place ("it's terribly messy and complicated" is the short story). None of this has any impact on the book itself.
The book falls into the "dated light-humour" category. It get's the "dated" tag because there's a *lot* of casual racism and sexism. For the most part though, it's the "light humour" that wins out. The story, well, actually, there isn't really a story, it's kind of a story arc encompassing the arrival of two doctors (Hawkeye and The Duke) in Korea, their 18-month assignment to the 4077 MASH and their subsequent departure, as told via a number of vignettes featuring a cast of colourful characters. It's quite reminiscent of Spike Milligan's [b:War Memoirs|330919|Adolf Hitler My Part in His Downfall (War Memoirs, #1)|Spike Milligan|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1352807942s/330919.jpg|321492] actually! I think there's more than a kernel of truth to a lot of what is described in MASH, and some level of embellishment.
There's a lot of fun to be had here, I'd recommend it for light holiday reading or a general pick-me-up with a side of food-for-thought.
I listened to the Tantor Audio version of this book, narrated by [a:Johnny Heller|748253|Johnny Heller|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1360611544p2/748253.jpg]. Mr Heller had a great accent for the people in this story but I found the speech/accents kind of fast and had to play the audio at 90% in order to catch everything!
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Never did I think to see, a book so crazy as M*A*S*H* no siree! For within these fables pages goes, a tale of doctors, friends and foes. Of military duty, and military doody, the sort to make one chuckle and say "oh please take these mad fools away".
Richard Hooker did just fine, and poured out words like imported wine. But watch out for dear old Dago Red (and if you've read then know I don't say this with dread). For Hawkeye is as we have always known, thanks to Alan Alda being in our homes.
So let me conclude this verse, with simple words, and nary a curse. The 4077 is as a grand a gang as ever was, even with all their hangups, bangups and duds. So give a cheer and sit down here and give M*A*S*H* a whirl you silly dears.
Richard Hooker did just fine, and poured out words like imported wine. But watch out for dear old Dago Red (and if you've read then know I don't say this with dread). For Hawkeye is as we have always known, thanks to Alan Alda being in our homes.
So let me conclude this verse, with simple words, and nary a curse. The 4077 is as a grand a gang as ever was, even with all their hangups, bangups and duds. So give a cheer and sit down here and give M*A*S*H* a whirl you silly dears.
Been a while since I read a book in one sitting. It's about white men in the army, but I think it's (sorta, halfway) aware of that. At times it's what we would now consider grossly racist, sexist, and ableist. It has really detailed descriptions of surgery, which I didn't expect, so I found it funny (the fact that they were so detailed, not the descriptions themselves).
I did kind of read this so I could watch the show after, which is supposedly better. We'll see.
I did kind of read this so I could watch the show after, which is supposedly better. We'll see.
I have always loved M.A.S.H the TV show, ever since my parents first introduced me to it. It took me a while to get my hands on a copy of the book and get around to reading it, since I was in high school at the time.
From the moment I read it, I loved it. It's just like the TV show, only better. I could imagine them all, with the help of the fabulous TV portrayal of the little quirks of characters and mannerisms.
I'll definitely be revisiting this in the future. Many, many times.
From the moment I read it, I loved it. It's just like the TV show, only better. I could imagine them all, with the help of the fabulous TV portrayal of the little quirks of characters and mannerisms.
I'll definitely be revisiting this in the future. Many, many times.