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4.21 AVERAGE
4.21 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Writing: solid
Plot/characters: it starts slowly, but it picks up and you get very interested
and care about Chester and all the Marines he fought with. It is the memories of a very old man, so it does not include every little historical detail, but I enjoyed that. And I enjoyed learning about Chester‘s family and the culture of the Navajo people.
Profundity: it never quits sucking how badly we treated the night of Americans another minorities in this country. I don’t know why I’m still surprised. However, the
Armed Forces did treat them well so
that was a nice surprise. I just wish things could’ve been better for all of them when they came back.
Plot/characters: it starts slowly, but it picks up and you get very interested
and care about Chester and all the Marines he fought with. It is the memories of a very old man, so it does not include every little historical detail, but I enjoyed that. And I enjoyed learning about Chester‘s family and the culture of the Navajo people.
Profundity: it never quits sucking how badly we treated the night of Americans another minorities in this country. I don’t know why I’m still surprised. However, the
Armed Forces did treat them well so
that was a nice surprise. I just wish things could’ve been better for all of them when they came back.
emotional
informative
reflective
fast-paced
It's a memoir of a Navajo Code Talker. Extremely tough dudes. Easy read from humble guys who gave it their all.
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
I always feel bad about rating someone's bafflingly interesting life story less than 5 stars, so let me just say this: everyone should read this book for the facts. I mean, holey moley, what a life did Chester Nez lead! From being placed in schools where teachers pretty much tried to beat the Navajo out of him to becoming an incredibly valued asset for the US military during WWII because he spoke Navajo, to returning back home to the country he had risked his life for to find out that he was barely granted citizenship rights and certainly not looked kindly at.
Absolutely fascinating.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I didn't feel this... hard-to-describe joy of reading, which happens regardless of the topic, when something has been written in a certain narrative style or a way. Like many memoirs or autobiographical accounts that are written with a certain urgency (Chester Nez was getting old!), the memoir falls into the safe tracks of chronology, of the "then we did this, and then we did that, and when that was over, it was time to..." It almost does not give Chester Nez's story the pregnant pause it deserves every now and then to really digest it, although the chapters do end in a common cliffhanger trick from the memoir tool box. (The "...but little did I know that everything would change" turn the page type.)
Absolutely fascinating.
The reason I didn't give it 5 stars was because I didn't feel this... hard-to-describe joy of reading, which happens regardless of the topic, when something has been written in a certain narrative style or a way. Like many memoirs or autobiographical accounts that are written with a certain urgency (Chester Nez was getting old!), the memoir falls into the safe tracks of chronology, of the "then we did this, and then we did that, and when that was over, it was time to..." It almost does not give Chester Nez's story the pregnant pause it deserves every now and then to really digest it, although the chapters do end in a common cliffhanger trick from the memoir tool box. (The "...but little did I know that everything would change" turn the page type.)
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
informative
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Finished reading: November 30th 2024
“Torn between two cultures, we were unable to fully embrace either one. We didn't know where we fit.”
I confess that the main reason I added Code Talker to my TBR was because I needed it for one of the more difficult prompts for the POPSUGAR challenge... Not that I wasn't interested in the topic, and I've been looking forward to learn more about the role of Navajo code talkers during WWII. It's not something you often hear about, and as a result this memoir was a true goldmine of information for me. The author found a way to really make Chester Nez's voice come through, and this memoir is a story of his life in general as well as his code talker years. Code Talker shows us what it was like for the Navajo growing up in the 1920s-1930s, and the many difficulties they had to face. Chester Nez didn't have an easy childhood, and the chapters show his strength as he is able to overcome many obstacles. I especially loved the part about the code talkers though; how the the Navajo code was first created and afterwards how it was used during battle. The descriptions of the different South Pacific settings and the battles that took place were particularly vivid and made it feel as if you were right there along with Chester and the other code talkers. It shows just how important they were in the fight against Japan... And I love how this memoir gave us a WWII perspective that isn't often seen. Code Talker also gives us insight in what happens to Chester in the years after he returns from the war, ending with the code talkers finally getting the recognition they deserve. A very powerful and well written memoir indeed!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Incredible memoir of Navajo code talker of his life herding sheep in rural New Mexico to the horrors of war and finally being able to reveal to his family the work he did to end WW2 on the Pacific front.