Killer Angels, which is essentially a novelized version of what happened at Gettysburg. It shows both sides of the coin, the Union and the Confederacy and presents things to like and dislike about both sides, not reducing it to 'the North was right and the South was wrong.' By not preaching about the causes of the war and focusing on the various leaders and generals, I think we see the human side of the thing a lot better, and we also get to see the moves and mistakes that turned the tide and put the Union on the course to win the war.
While you may think I was going to say "Slaughter-House Five," I'd have to argue for "Mother Night" (another Vonnegut) instead. It focuses more on the destruction and deterioration of the human mind post-combat, and gives a very psychological perspective to the aftermath of war. I know mine isn't going to get picked because Ray will probably chose whoever writes "The Things they Carried," or something about a Greek battle, but whatever, "Mother Night" is definitely my pick.
Catch-22. One of my all-time favorite novels, it's an excellent example of the power of black humor to describe the ridiculousness of war, and especially the beurocracy surrounding it. It's an amazing novel period, and my choice for best war novel ever.
Hiroshima. Cried like a baby all the way through. It was also quite short, which made me happy since I was reading it for my high school English class.
The Things They Carried. I would have posted this ontime yesterday, but someone (Matty) has been hogging my laptop.
It is a wonderful book from a grunts point of view about the Vietnam war. There is no romanticizing about war and O'Brien writes about himself and his fellow soldiers in a very poetic but fatalistic sense.
If I Die In A Combat Zone is another very good O'Brien Vietnam-era book but that is more autobiography.
...Basically anything O'Brien writes about the Vietnam was is better than anything other fictional account of the war.
Here's how this works: Every day around midnight, I'll post a stupid question. You have all day to post equally stupid responses, and then at the end of the day, I'll arbitrarily select my favorite answer(s) and feature it/them on the next day's post. "Winners" will be chosen based upon quality of answer and my own personal biases regarding what constitutes the "right" opinion, not necessarily in that order. All you have to do is press the comment button, post your answer there, and pray that I'm in good spirits when I read it. Let the games begin.
6 comments:
Killer Angels, which is essentially a novelized version of what happened at Gettysburg. It shows both sides of the coin, the Union and the Confederacy and presents things to like and dislike about both sides, not reducing it to 'the North was right and the South was wrong.' By not preaching about the causes of the war and focusing on the various leaders and generals, I think we see the human side of the thing a lot better, and we also get to see the moves and mistakes that turned the tide and put the Union on the course to win the war.
While you may think I was going to say "Slaughter-House Five," I'd have to argue for "Mother Night" (another Vonnegut) instead. It focuses more on the destruction and deterioration of the human mind post-combat, and gives a very psychological perspective to the aftermath of war. I know mine isn't going to get picked because Ray will probably chose whoever writes "The Things they Carried," or something about a Greek battle, but whatever, "Mother Night" is definitely my pick.
Catch-22. One of my all-time favorite novels, it's an excellent example of the power of black humor to describe the ridiculousness of war, and especially the beurocracy surrounding it. It's an amazing novel period, and my choice for best war novel ever.
"War man... wow" (Ray, you should know what that's from)
I haven't read many war novels so I cannot contribute. But I wanted to leave those memorable words because they really speak to me.
Hiroshima. Cried like a baby all the way through. It was also quite short, which made me happy since I was reading it for my high school English class.
The Things They Carried. I would have posted this ontime yesterday, but someone (Matty) has been hogging my laptop.
It is a wonderful book from a grunts point of view about the Vietnam war. There is no romanticizing about war and O'Brien writes about himself and his fellow soldiers in a very poetic but fatalistic sense.
If I Die In A Combat Zone is another very good O'Brien Vietnam-era book but that is more autobiography.
...Basically anything O'Brien writes about the Vietnam was is better than anything other fictional account of the war.
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