Matterhorn
By Karl Marlantes
I first picked
up this novel soon after reading Hearts in Atlantis, when I was on a Vietnam
War kick. I had also recently read “The
Things They Carried,” and I broke open my copy of Matterhorn ready to devour
it. I soon felt somewhat overwhelmed by
terminology, foreign locations, and military procedure. I had heard wonderful things about this book,
and began to recognize that I was not ready to put in the necessary effort for
this book. Thankfully, a European
vacation presented a great opportunity to give this book a second go.
My second endeavor
into the book was much smoother. I
didn’t feel so bogged down by military terms or procedural stuff, and was able
to really get into the story. For those
who are not familiar with a lot of military terminology, I have a tip for
you. It wasn’t until I finished the book
that I realized there is a glossary of important terms in the back. This certainly would have helped to clarify
some parts of the story, since I often found myself trying to decipher the
acronyms on my own. Now you won’t have
to decipher what an “e-tool” is from context, or guess what TAOR means. You’re welcome.
Now, for
the meat of the review. The main
character of the book is Lieutenant Mellas. Mellas is a Second Lieutenant and platoon
commander of a group of Marines. We meet Mellas when he is very green, and
insecure about his inexperience. We
follow the day to day activities of the soldiers, including patrols through the
jungle. We are also given insight into
the behind the scenes activities by the Generals, and how missions were often
mishandled due to misinformation or technical problems. The expectations of the Generals were often
not feasible, but they felt that their orders should be followed anyways. It was also evident that pride and reputation
was often a big factor in how the troops were ordered to proceed in
combat. Instead of concern for the men,
the Generals were motivated by checking boxes and statistics. By the end of the novel, Mellas is “one of
the guys,” and we understand how this full transformation has occurred. Between developing connections with the men,
suffering through physical and emotional pain caused by the war, Mellas has
become a different man than he was at the beginning of the book.
This book
provided terrific insight into the atmosphere and tension of the Vietnam War. It gave a view into the inner workings of the
military, and some of the ways in which operations were bungled due to the
disconnect between the desires of higher ups and the actuality of war in the
jungle. The racial undertones of the war
were also addressed: conflicts between black soldiers and whites, as well as among
black soldiers. What I was most
impressed with in this story is how easily the author brought the reader into
the story. His descriptions of the
physical toll the war had taken on the soldiers: be it the jungle rot of their
hands, the physical exhaustion, the confusion of battle, or the loss of a
fellow soldier. One particular scene had
a profound impact on me, and really brought home what death in the field of
battle is like. This story was an
absolutely riveting novel about the Vietnam War. This book is appropriate for the history
buff, as well as the new to historical fiction reader like myself. Pick this book up, you will love it.
Rating: 4.5 out of 5 Bunsen Burners
Up Next: Everything’s Eventual
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