A review by nickjonesreadsbooks
MASH by Richard Hooker

4.0

Some of my earliest memories are of my parents watching M*A*S*H on TV. Apparently I used to bound out of my little bed and run around the coffee table to the tune of "Suicide is Painless." As a kid, I knew little about the movie and nothing about the book.

When I was in my teens or early twenties, I saw the movie and didn't really like it. I think that it was largely due to the fact that none of the actors were the same. It's interesting how that you can become so attached to fictional characters. However, I was able to ignore Hooker's descriptions of Hawkeye and Radar O'Reilly and the rest of the crew and just picture them as I have always done. I'm a booger I guess.

There were little differences to be sure.

Spoiler

In the book Hawkeye is married and Trapper John is single. There is a character absent from the show altogether--Dr. Augustus Beford Forrest a.k.a. the Duke. Major Margaret Houlihan is about the same but plays a minor role. Major Frank Burns is short-lived. Spearchucker Jones and Ugly John play larger roles, etc. etc. A lot of the antics were the same as those in the TV series and there was a large focus on the surgery.

I really enjoyed it, but I'm not sure if it would have really grabbed me if I didn't have an attachment to the show in the first place. I guess I'll never know. It is a good book in it's own right, but maybe not something I would have considered. The first twelve of so chapters are largely episodic and could almost work as short stories. Towards the end, however, it becomes less so and has a solid finish.