The Monk and the Marines

by Philip Kingry

Like the hero of All Quiet on the Western Front, the narrator of this bitter, honest account lives the agony of the common soldier. Blood . . . C rations . . . disease . . . courage . . . whores . . . marijuana . . . battle . . . boredom . . . and fear. The confusions of his monk’s cell traded for the harsh truths of a country with villages known as “Dogpatch” and villagers as “dogs.” A slice of hell where nearly new boots are always available outside the surgery door. To survive, a man must first kill the terror within—or he hasn’t a prayer. Not since Johnny Got His Gun has a book so clawed at the reader’s senses, screaming from the page—this is it . . . war . . . This is real

First published January 1, 1974

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I was 14 I had a paper route and I loved Wednesdays because that was trash day and that meant the streets were lined with gifts just for me. Suburbanites seemed to love to empty their bookshelves on a weekly basis. I collected all of the James Bond novels, "The Sensuous Man" (A frickin' killer manual for a clueless horny teen, though the "act like your choking on a hot dog to meet a woman" trick reeked of LOSER even at 14), "I Am Legend" and "North Dallas Forty" to name a few. The one book from my paperboy days that I still have is Philip Kingry's Vietnam War novel, "The Monk And The Marines". This novel, written by a former volunteer medic for the Marines, along with "Slaughter-House Five" and "Dispatches" opened my teenage eyes to what war really is.

The book is long out of print, but you can still find a banged up copy here and there on the internet and I don't think Kingry wrote another novel.... a shame.

[Carlos Vazquez · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best books I have ever red.
If you have no clue about the Vietnam war, you must read "The Monk and the Marines" by Philip Kingry