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moulvalerie's review against another edition
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
katykelly's review against another edition
5.0
For me, the best books about war are either deeply tragic or deeply funny. Birdsong, All Quiet on the Western Front, Schindler's List - can move you to tears and leave you feeling the horrors of battle, of victims, of the waste.
On the flip side, Catch 22, Slaughterhouse Five and now Fobbit all show us the absurdities of war, as well as the atrocities. You feel that you are granted the right to laugh, but it doesn't make the situation itself any less tragic.
Fobbit is great. I really liked Catch-22 and as I was reading, felt this could be called the modern equivalent. We have several narrators, each with their own take on the Iraq conflict. The Fobbit of the title is Gooding, a desk jockey. Fobbits are thus called because, like Hobbits, they keep their heads down in their Hobbit/Fobbit holes in Headquarters, doing paperwork in Forward Operating Base (FOB) and not venturing out into the field, earning condemnation from their battle-hardened fellows. Gooding writes press releases after soldiers are killed. He wants to keep his head down and get back home.
As does Abe Shrinkle - out in the field but a terrible company commander. Shrinkle hoards care packages and is an accident waiting to happen. No respect, no leadership ability.
Other narrators tell their stories, in the field, in the relative safety of the FOB, adding to the picture of barely disguised, organised chaos and PR trickery.
It should be a tragic tale but is frequently laugh-out-loud funny and very well composed. I loved Abrams' witty use of language and character to convey the vivid impression of the Fobbits in their air-conditioned trailers and the 'grunts' out in the field, as well as the piranha-like media constantly after an appetising story of death and destruction.
Definitely should be considered as part of the canon of blackly humorous modern war novels.
On the flip side, Catch 22, Slaughterhouse Five and now Fobbit all show us the absurdities of war, as well as the atrocities. You feel that you are granted the right to laugh, but it doesn't make the situation itself any less tragic.
Fobbit is great. I really liked Catch-22 and as I was reading, felt this could be called the modern equivalent. We have several narrators, each with their own take on the Iraq conflict. The Fobbit of the title is Gooding, a desk jockey. Fobbits are thus called because, like Hobbits, they keep their heads down in their Hobbit/Fobbit holes in Headquarters, doing paperwork in Forward Operating Base (FOB) and not venturing out into the field, earning condemnation from their battle-hardened fellows. Gooding writes press releases after soldiers are killed. He wants to keep his head down and get back home.
As does Abe Shrinkle - out in the field but a terrible company commander. Shrinkle hoards care packages and is an accident waiting to happen. No respect, no leadership ability.
Other narrators tell their stories, in the field, in the relative safety of the FOB, adding to the picture of barely disguised, organised chaos and PR trickery.
It should be a tragic tale but is frequently laugh-out-loud funny and very well composed. I loved Abrams' witty use of language and character to convey the vivid impression of the Fobbits in their air-conditioned trailers and the 'grunts' out in the field, as well as the piranha-like media constantly after an appetising story of death and destruction.
Definitely should be considered as part of the canon of blackly humorous modern war novels.
liberrydude's review against another edition
4.0
Absolutely the Catch-22 of OIF. Hilarious. LMAO. It's disconcerting to be laughing and chuckling so much in the midst of so much death and destruction. All the stereotypes are here with the staff guys hiding on the FOB and the hard chargers who patrol the mean streets and can barely maintain their disdain for those outside their tribe. We have four principal characters: three officers and one enlisted; two public affairs types and two infantry types. Any one who has served/deployed can relate to these characters who are daily assaulted by the heat, bullshit, and never-ending stream of illogical and nonsensical whims of those in charge. So many happy to glad moments in the constant editing of press releases to hide the truth. The only thing I didn't like was the ending.
meowmediareads's review against another edition
3.0
Ignatius J. Reilly goes to war. If I was using the stars based on ease of reading and concept, I would have given it four. Overall it just felt like a draft or three away from brilliant. It takes a little sentiment (or ask a friend) to understand why some of the details were included/amusing/not quite satire.
gjmaupin's review against another edition
4.0
Solid anti-war satire in the Heller mold. Read for work.
dashadashahi's review against another edition
3.0
Well, Abrams really has a thing for milky breasts I guess as it’s the most consistent descriptor for women in this book.
moogen's review against another edition
3.0
Well written and beautifully (terrifyingly) observed but the narrative didn’t drive forward and reading became a chore (2.5 stars)
tonythep's review against another edition
2.0
I really wanted to like this book. And it did start out promising. Abrams painted a wonderful backdrop for the story. The atmosphere of the FOB was great. But I have to agree with another reader who referred to the participants as caricatures rather than characters. Ultimately, I just didn't care that much what happened to them.
mschlat's review against another edition
3.0
I liked the commentary on modern war (the cell phone calls home, the gift packages from strangers, and the need to handle the media), but overall the book didn't do much for me. I already knew war could be stupid, boring, and darkly funny --- this didn't really add anything to that.
readerxxx's review against another edition
2.0
This started out pretty good and then continued with less story and more internal dialog. I got really bored with it 2/3 of the way in and just stopped because I didnt care any more.