Johnny Got His Gun

by Dalton Trumbo

published

August 1st 2000 (first published 1939) by Citadel

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binding

Paperback, 336 pages

literary awards

National Book Award

isbn

0806512814 (isbn13: 9780806512815)

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Stephanie rated it:

10/23/07

bookshelves: greatfnwriting, roughstuff

Read in January, 1998

recommends it for: anyone feeling sorry for themselves

I read this book during my lunch breaks at the cafe of Barnes & Noble in Chelsea, NYC. I think I finished it in five sittings, with great big tears rolling down my face. While everybody around me was busy quaffing scalding hot lattes, I was trying to muffle the sounds of my agonized weeping into my scarf. Luckily, this is not seen as strange behavior in Manhattan, so I was able to finish the book unmolested.

Johnny Got His Gun sounds like it was written during the early stages of ...more

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Andy rated it:

(review of isbn 0553274325)

02/27/08

Read in February, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

“But it wasn't a dream” (Trumbo 63).

Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release or e...more “But it wasn't a dream” (Trumbo 63).

Since it's publication during World War II, through various wars and political movements, Johnny Got His Gun has been a book in the spotlight. Of course, Trumbo was a member of the Hollywood Ten, and the book was banned, but it has always found it's way into the hands of pacifists, and is still considered among the best anti-war novels to ever be published. Is there truth to this statement? Is the book still as relevant as it was upon it's release or even during the Vietnam war? In a word: absolutely.

In his introduction to Johnny Got His Gun, Dalton Trumbo describes World War I as the last of the “romantic wars.” While I have just discussed how war is far from romantic, I believe that Trumbo has a point with his statement. What he is saying is that World War I was the big war that served to open up the eyes of the world and cause the general public to finally understand that they were being lied to. This is not to say there wasn't dissenters and pacifists prior to World War I, but it is saying that they were being silenced and that the general public didn't want to listen to them. After the countless injuries and deaths incurred from World War I, including a most extreme (and fictional) case detailed in this book, the public began to take a stand and speak out against war. Johnny Got His Gun has been a massively popular book for the harsh story that it tells, showing the pain that the massively crippled can endure. It's a reality that no one wants to face, and it's not the only book of it's kind, but it was one of the first landmark, much-read books to tell this story. Following 9/11, the United States of America went into a flag waving frenzy. This carried over for many years, and is still prevalent today, in 2008. Patriotism was bred out of catastrophe, an unjust and unrelated war stemmed from this sense of patriotism, and 5 years later is still going on as planned, with people turning their shoulders rather than participating in continuous protests. We are still lied to. The amount of money that goes into the war is glossed over, while nationwide, programs are cut, and people don't realize the correlation. Our soldiers are not dying, that's a good thing right? We have less casualties than any other war we have participated in. Yet, we also have more serious, life-altering injuries than ever before as well. They're alive, but are they functional? It's opening up a wave of jobs to cater to this veterans, that's a good thing, but at what cost? “When armies move and flags wave and slogans pop up watch out little guy because it's somebody else's chestnuts in the fire, not yours” (114).

Over time, Johnny Got His Gun has become the book most synonymous with the anti-war sentiment around the world. The brutal imagery coupled with an alarmingly real portrayal of what a victim might be going through internally is what gives this novel an edge over similar texts. The stream-of-consciousness prose, the near-insane jumping back and forth between the present and the past and the details of the pain that Joe Bonham is going through can turn the the stomach and hearts of even the hardest of us all. When comparing his situation to that of an American slave who had gone through unheard of torture and beatings, Joe says one of the most revelatory and arresting things I've ever read, “...the slaves could always die but he couldn't and he was mutilated far beyond any slave who ever live” (183). In this scene, the reality that Joe is truly powerless finally hits the reader. Thrust into this war, blown to smithereens, immobile, incommunicable, we have felt the pain that Joe is going through up until this point. But when we realize he hasn't even the power to end his own life, his only wish at this point. That's something that is hard to stomach. But it was all for “freedom and democracy.”

Certainly Dalton Trumbo was an extraordinary writer in many mediums, even the government knew that. However it is the reading of this book and the effect it has on people that can be a catalyst for those to stand up for what they believe and speak out against war. Joe was an ordinary guy, but it is through his struggles that we, the reader, connect. The societal change is ours for the changing, and we only need to push harder. Trumbo, the author and Joe Bonham, the brain both know and they tell us, “People wouldn't learn much about anatomy from him but they would learn all there was to know about war” (224). No matter how hard others try to deny us the truth and no matter how hard we try to ignore it, it's real.

So you're right Joe, you're right Mr. Trumbo. It wasn't a dream....less

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Eccentric Muse rated it:

(review of isbn 0553274325)

10/05/08

Read in October, 2008

Infinite Jest has beaten me, again.

Instead, I picked this up. The new edition I got has a new Foreword by a woman named ~~Carol~~Cindy Sheehan, who lost her son Casey in Iraq in 2004. This is on top of the old new Foreword by Ron Kovic -- does that name ring a bell? It should, if you are a reader of war or anti-war novels. He is the writer of the book, and the individual on whom the lead character was based, of Born On The 4th Of July, which was of course about Vietnam....more

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4 comments

Mme. Bookling rated it:

(review of isbn 0553274325)

09/04/07

Read in August, 2007

recommends it for: anyone with breath

Every time I read a book, I feel committed to it as if to a relationship. That relationship can be an infatuational fling, a carnal attraction, a passionate love, a committed best friend, a life partner...whatever form it takes will depend on how much I will remember it. Johnny Got His Gun got completely under my skin.

I was finishing the last page on an airplane and an 80 year old yoga teacher looked at me and quietly summed up this book. "I remember reading that. It blew my mind...&q...more

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2 comments

Peter rock added it

10/21/08

this is a book about the need for some military action. the need for a strong military. a military that has an emphasis on the troops.... we are the leader among civilized nations in the belief that our military personal are valuable, our people are an asset, a credit, they are our troops and they are not bullet catchers or worthless or stupid irregardless of their individual A.S.V.A.B. score or personality type alpha, beta, "delta", echo, gamma. xray the "coca-cola generation&quo...more this is a book about the need for some military action. the need for a strong military. a military that has an emphasis on the troops.... we are the leader among civilized nations in the belief that our military personal are valuable, our people are an asset, a credit, they are our troops and they are not bullet catchers or worthless or stupid irregardless of their individual A.S.V.A.B. score or personality type alpha, beta, "delta", echo, gamma. xray the "coca-cola generation" the "13th generation" or x generation, "the 14th generation" "y generation","the 15th generation" or "zeta generation" or "z generation" or the "Pepsi Generation". i call people people mostly i did not make up any of the terms above think tanks for the social security administration did like retards they thought that they should label me my entire generation and not protect us from identity theft. dear social security you are an asshole yours truely Peter rock Campbell. Johnny got his gunn was a profound book because it discusses the trauma of war. the injury the cripples that come home. the man in the book is lying in a hospital bed with no face no ears no legs no arms tubes in him but he still has his cock abnd balls. i did not write this gem of a novel. but it is like a nurse's twisted sex fantasy in certai n parts. "X-generation wrote a song abgout it called "one" by "Metallica" dear metallica if i hear you whine about music property writes one more time i will have all of you wacked i saw you assholes, Guns and Rozez, and "Faith no More". At secaucus in N.J. years ago. youy bitches do not have enough money that is all artists all actors you mutherfuckers wanna act like "Die hard tough guys" well my answer is "tears of the Sun" fine bruce willis movie also gives quite abit to charity.... Bruce willis Demi moore and ashton kutcher are cool the rest of ya blow me... "would a man give his only begotten son for his country" james robard the movie "Johnny got his gun"... My father Vincent flannon Campbell and my mother Catherine mary treacy did I peter Rock Campbell am the only son of their union... that union that is recogtnized by the holy Roman Catholic and by the irish catholic church it supercedes "Amerika" fuck ups... george W. bush only your marriage counts you nigger are a faggit little boy. bitch........ ...less

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Matthew rated it:

05/15/07

Read in June, 1998

The narrator is blind, deaf, mute and quadriplegic. Stuck inside his own head, with no way to communicate his agony, all he has left is to revisit his childhood and the events that led him to the battlefield. Heavy stuff.

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Joseph rated it:

(review of isbn 0806528478)

02/29/08

Read in January, 1997

recommended to Joseph by: Metallica

Don't be turned off that this book was the basis of the song "One" by Metallica. It's an amazing book, but intensely dark. War sucks but makes for great books.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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Reggie rated it:

(review of isbn 0553237772)

10/14/08

Read in October, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

It is not difficult to understand why this book was so controversial at the time of its original publication. As one of the review excerpts on the inside cover states, it is "an extraordinarily agitating book." After reading this book it also is not difficult to understand why Mr. Trumbo was included on the McCarthy era Hollywood blacklist.

I don't claim to be a peacenik, but the world would almost certainly be a better place if such an agitating message delivered within the co...more

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Tyler rated it:

09/12/08

bookshelves: 20th-century

Read in August, 2008

recommended to Tyler by: National Book Award
recommends it for: Stout-hearted Humanists

A trenchant, suspenseful work of modernism, this book is perfectly suited to stream of consciousness. The vulnerability to criticism of the spare prose and short sentences of 20th century writing doesn’t apply to this story’s variegated narrative, its shocking intensity and its Orwellian ending.

Although this is an antiwar story by a controversial author, I don’t recommend it to all the war fiends out there because little military action takes place. But neither can I suggest the stor...more

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Suzanne rated it:

04/09/08

Read in April, 2008

This is the book our bookclub is currently reading. Wow - it's a heavy, heavy book and hard to read at times.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

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Natalie rated it:

05/05/07

bookshelves: give-peace-a-chance

Perhaps the best, most depressing, most effective anti-war novel ever written.

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Mike rated it:

10/28/08

This is a difficult review to write because the book was simply difficult to read. I don't mean the prose, which did have the tendency to meander at times. I think this could possibly be one of the heaviest books that I have ever read. This anti-war novel, set in WW I, was possibly one of the most ambitious, unique books that I have ever read. I don't want to give anything away, but if anybody actually ever reads my reviews, mark this one to read. I would say pick a macabre Sunday to read it, bu...more

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Matt rated it:

05/20/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in May, 2008

I've known the general plot of this book when I heard the song 'One' by Metallica. Eighteen odd years later I've gotten around to reading this book. The concept is a soldier that survived war, but had both legs and arms amputed, also the loss of sight, and smell. As it unfolds Trumbo creates an intense world of isolation and lonliness. The only thing the character has left is his memory. It starts with memory of his father's death, then more family memories, and covers work experiences and young...more

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Will rated it:

(review of isbn 0806528478)

07/21/08

I read this book my junior year of high school, researching for a thesis paper on anti-war novels. At the time, I was only mildly interested in literature, and hadn't done much reading, really. But this book hit me harder than any I had read thus far, and for a long time I claimed it as "my favorite book." It was one of the primary books I read during that time that jump-started my interest in literature, and I feel, for that reason, that I owe it a good amount of praise. It is written...more

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Steve rated it:

01/08/08

This is one of the most awful, horrifying, and personally gratifying works i have ever read. Watership down, Picture of Dorian Gray and this would have to be my top 3 books. Too often citizens, politicians and armchair generals rush to send our troops into combat for no reason, and just as easily forget that the militay is not just some abstract concept. it is made up of real people who had hopes and dreams and things that they were going to do tomorrow. This novel is like having a heavy boot of...more

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tami lynn rated it:

01/28/08

Read in January, 2008

recommended to tami lynn by: my mom!
recommends it for: anyone who believes that just one human life is worth ending war

This book is tough for me to evaluate.
In one sentence, here is why:
it babbles on and on and I found myself skimming over and trailing off during the parts that aren't etched in my brain for the entire rest of my life.

In a few more sentences:
I'm really not a big war-related reader/ watcher/ etc so I can't say this for sure, but I'm pretty sure this is probably THE most persuasive anti-war book ever.
The writing style is not the best; it rambles, and during the flashbacks it's sort of b...more

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Varmint rated it:

10/23/07

recommends it for: tools

A well written and heartbreaking book. More so because people don't know the truth behind it.

Poland was ground under, and Trumbo remained silent. Finland fought for survival, silence. Czechoslovakia, silence, France conquered and the Bitish standing alone, through all of this he was against America entering the war. Because Hitler and Stalin were allies. And Dalton Trumbo did whatever the communist party told him to do.

In 1940 Hitler betrayed his friend, and invaded Russia. Overnigh...more

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Naomi rated it:

07/24/08

Read in July, 2008

I was expecting so much more from this book. It had the potential to be a truly poignant and moving story, but it just wasn't carried out well. I think I would've been much more affected if Trumbo hadn't felt the need to repeatedly tell me exactly how I was supposed to be affected. A conversation I had with a friend sums this up perfectly. When he saw what I was reading, he asked about it. I told him it was about the horrors of war and had gained a reputation since its publishing of being synony...more

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Suzy rated it:

(review of isbn 0553274325)

06/05/07

bookshelves: suzysshelf

recommends it for: Alexis Randell

I don't know who I would recommend reading this book, it is pretty hard to take. It should be read by anyone who thinks war is an answer to all problems.

I read this years ago but the images are still stark in my mind. It takes place just after WWI in an Army Hospital. Johnny, a soldier, lies in his hospital bed with only his mind left. He has lost his limbs, his sight, even his face. He recalls his former life and the war as he lies there desperately injured with no means of communicating ex...more

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Eric rated it:

08/21/08

bookshelves: fiction

Read in August, 2008

The last couple paragraphs of this book could not be any better. I would argue they are some of the most painful, pertinent, and truthful words ever written in an antiwar novel. The sentences are short and lucid, but the book elucidates the inhumane nature of systems of institutions and the policies that emanate from them. Even when a person is stripped of any characteristic of humanity by war, there is still the possibility for creative thought...and most importantly for hope. Unfortunately, hu...more

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avg rating (all editions): 4.32 (1691 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 4.34 (1316 ratings)
number of reviews: 282

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trivia question

The Blue Max, Johnny Got His Gun, The Guns of August are all books that deal with characters or situations arising from which war?
a. The Crimean War
b. World War One
c. World War Two
d. The Korean War
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Johnny Got His Gun

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