The american soldier, Richard Perry, the protagonist of this novel, has been dispatched to Vietnam, where the last years of the war are going on. Richard describes from a first person point-of-view the monotonous and tedious army life. The reader experiences the fear of the soldiers, the horrible combat situations, and the daily fight to survive. Besides that, the author emphasizes the moral values of brotherhood between Richard and his younger brother, Kenny, and the strong bonds of friendship that relates the protagonist with Peewee, another soldier.
The language of the different characters is often raw and coarse.
The offensive language is, besides being racist and violent, one of the most critiqued points.
I understand that this kind of speech can be shocking for some people. However, we have to consider that we are confronting the point-of-view of a young soldier who is completely over strained by the situation he lives. In such cases, functionality of human beings is reduced to the most basic level. I think that is what the author wants to show us in his book. I recommend that, if this book is read as a class lecture, the teacher should pick out the language as a central theme and focus on it.

"Somebody must have told them suckers I was coming."
"Told what?" I asked.
"The Congs, man. Who you think I'm talking 'bout?"
"Why you think somebody told them you were coming?"
"'Cause I don't see non of 'em around here. They don't want their butts kicked."

"Perry, wake the fuck up!"
I looked at Sergeant Simpson and saw that he looked genuinely pissed.

Hi, Manuela,

Great review! I moved this discussion to the general fiction section because the Book Club discussion is for the books we read together. Thanks!

Kelly