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A Quiet Cadence
Sometimes it takes years for a combat vet to understand what war did to him when he was nineteen. With the perception and reflection of a man on the cusp of retirement from a career teaching high school kids, Marty McClure recalls the relentless intensity of prolonged combat as a teenaged Marine machine gunner facing booby traps and battles in a war with few boundaries. Family and friends know Marty as a kind, peaceful man. They aren't aware that when he was young, he plumbed the depths of terror, hatred, and despair with no assurance he'd ever surface again.
Now he needs to reveal what happened in Vietnam and how, with the help of Patti, his wife, Corrie Corrigan, a disabled vet, and Doc Matheson, a corpsman turned trauma surgeon, he works to become a good husband, father, and teacher while he fights to bury the war. Only if he accepts help from his wife and his friends will he find real peace.
Now he needs to reveal what happened in Vietnam and how, with the help of Patti, his wife, Corrie Corrigan, a disabled vet, and Doc Matheson, a corpsman turned trauma surgeon, he works to become a good husband, father, and teacher while he fights to bury the war. Only if he accepts help from his wife and his friends will he find real peace.
392 pages, Hardcover
First published May 15, 2021
32 people are currently reading
2843 people want to read
About the author
Mark Treanor
1 book28 followersMark Treanor’s first novel, A Quiet Cadence, the story of a young Marine in combat and dealing with its aftermath over the years since his war, won the 2021 William E. Colby Award as best solo work of fiction or nonfiction to make a major contribution to military history, intelligence operations or international affairs, and the American Library Association’s W. Y. Boyd award for the best military fiction of 2020, and has been enthusiastically endorsed by former Secretary of Defense Gen. Jim Mattis, USMC (Ret.), Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), CENTCOM Commander Gen. David Petraeus, USA (Ret.), NATO Supreme Allied Commander Adm. James Stavridis, USN (Ret), Commandant of Marines Gen. Mike Hagee, USMC (Ret.), and author Karl Marlantes, among others.
A Naval Academy graduate, Mark was a Marine rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, an artillery battery commander, and leadership instructor who later served on the boards of the National Defense University and the Naval Academy. A lawyer, corporate executive, and leadership coach, he has participated in national security fact-finding missions in Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and the Caucasus.
A Naval Academy graduate, Mark was a Marine rifle platoon leader in Vietnam, an artillery battery commander, and leadership instructor who later served on the boards of the National Defense University and the Naval Academy. A lawyer, corporate executive, and leadership coach, he has participated in national security fact-finding missions in Iraq, Yemen, Africa, and the Caucasus.
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Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews
August 5, 2020
As a Marine Officer who served in Vietnam I can attest that this is a must-read book for Americans who want to understand both what combat is like and how memories of that combat are carried forever.
The vast majority of people who go to war are never completely safe, but also aren’t routinely exposed to enemy fire. For the small percentage who are, some come home physically and mentally battered for life. For others, often bruised not battered but with strong memories, they have a different view of life which they carry forever.
This book has been endorsed by America’s most respected military leaders of the past generation because it tells the story of this different view of life which is rarely understood by the majority of Americans.
The vast majority of people who go to war are never completely safe, but also aren’t routinely exposed to enemy fire. For the small percentage who are, some come home physically and mentally battered for life. For others, often bruised not battered but with strong memories, they have a different view of life which they carry forever.
This book has been endorsed by America’s most respected military leaders of the past generation because it tells the story of this different view of life which is rarely understood by the majority of Americans.
July 3, 2021
Having read dozens of works about combat, both memoirs and fiction, I can honestly say that few have moved me as much as Mark Treanor's A QUIET CADENCE.
The story follows a young Marine grunt on his tour of duty in Vietnam, from his first baptism by fire through a truly hellacious operation that costs his platoon serious casualties. Most similar books fall into one of the two categories I introduced earlier; either a cathartic memoir by the author who lacks true literary skills, or else a fictitious romp with a decent story but with characters and details that lack authenticity. What I found so remarkable about this book was that it covers all those bases.
It is a riveting story, told in first person, that could only be told by one who has walked the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, smelled the cordite, and seen the blood. At the same time, even though the author's experience as a platoon commander differs from the main character's (an enlisted machine gunner) I am almost certain that the incidents described were inspired by the author's time in the bush.
The writing is some of the most vivid I've ever read, and the character development is superb. It is overused in reviews that the author "put the reader in the middle of the action," but that is exactly what happens in this book.
Beyond the combat and the camaraderie, the story continues after the main character comes home. Through his experience meeting fellow veterans and dealing with the families of those he saw wounded and killed, the reader gets a true sense of what challenges returning combat veterans face after they step off the battlefield, and that experience was delivered as poignantly and emotionally as any I have ever read.
I read dozens of books every year. I save very few. This one goes up on my shelf of honor with Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific , A Rumor of War, and Echo in Ramadi: The Firsthand Story of US Marines in Iraq's Deadliest City.
The story follows a young Marine grunt on his tour of duty in Vietnam, from his first baptism by fire through a truly hellacious operation that costs his platoon serious casualties. Most similar books fall into one of the two categories I introduced earlier; either a cathartic memoir by the author who lacks true literary skills, or else a fictitious romp with a decent story but with characters and details that lack authenticity. What I found so remarkable about this book was that it covers all those bases.
It is a riveting story, told in first person, that could only be told by one who has walked the jungles and rice paddies of Vietnam, smelled the cordite, and seen the blood. At the same time, even though the author's experience as a platoon commander differs from the main character's (an enlisted machine gunner) I am almost certain that the incidents described were inspired by the author's time in the bush.
The writing is some of the most vivid I've ever read, and the character development is superb. It is overused in reviews that the author "put the reader in the middle of the action," but that is exactly what happens in this book.
Beyond the combat and the camaraderie, the story continues after the main character comes home. Through his experience meeting fellow veterans and dealing with the families of those he saw wounded and killed, the reader gets a true sense of what challenges returning combat veterans face after they step off the battlefield, and that experience was delivered as poignantly and emotionally as any I have ever read.
I read dozens of books every year. I save very few. This one goes up on my shelf of honor with Helmet for My Pillow: From Parris Island to the Pacific , A Rumor of War, and Echo in Ramadi: The Firsthand Story of US Marines in Iraq's Deadliest City.
March 15, 2021
I read this book because the author was a classmate of a brother (RIP) who would have been first in line to purchase this book. It was a book that I normally would have passed by due to subject matter but I am thankful that I put genre preferences aside. It was a very difficult read but the writing was outstanding. So, if you think you can get past some very graphic descriptions of the horrors of war, your time with this book will be well spent.
May 6, 2022
I'm clearly in the minority here, but I'm not a big fan of A Quiet Cadence: A Novel by Mark Treanor. Don't get me wrong, I think the topic – the lifelong effects of war on warriors and their families – is an important and (unfortunately still) timely one. And I mean no disrespect to the warriors, it's just that this book got tedious.
The first ¾ of the book recounts a fictional grunt’s war odyssey. I can only assume that this parallels the author’s experience, although the author was an officer, and the main character was an enlisted man. The in-country Vietnam section just started to feel like a horror movie because once a character was named, it was almost assured that he would be killed or maimed in the most gruesome manner. After so many of these incidents it became repetitive and tedious, challenging the reader’s ability to continue caring. This platoon must have had a 99.9% casualty rate! The slaughter fest even bled into the postwar portion of the book.
The postwar part of the story endlessly recounted the main character’s dream of his dead war buddies marching quietly by, often with a look of accusation. This section danced around important topics, but I didn’t feel like it hit them head on. I understand this could be because there were a lot of feelings to consider (the author’s friends and family, the men in his unit, etc.). Or perhaps the author had not yet come to grips with his own feelings on the war. Maybe it was the personal distance introduced by an officer writing through an enlisted man? In any event, this book just fell flat to me even though I was rooting for it the whole way through.
As the son of a Vietnam Marine veteran, I just had such high hopes for this book, but am left feeling a bit hollow. I will not be recommending this one to my father.
3 stars
The first ¾ of the book recounts a fictional grunt’s war odyssey. I can only assume that this parallels the author’s experience, although the author was an officer, and the main character was an enlisted man. The in-country Vietnam section just started to feel like a horror movie because once a character was named, it was almost assured that he would be killed or maimed in the most gruesome manner. After so many of these incidents it became repetitive and tedious, challenging the reader’s ability to continue caring. This platoon must have had a 99.9% casualty rate! The slaughter fest even bled into the postwar portion of the book.
The postwar part of the story endlessly recounted the main character’s dream of his dead war buddies marching quietly by, often with a look of accusation. This section danced around important topics, but I didn’t feel like it hit them head on. I understand this could be because there were a lot of feelings to consider (the author’s friends and family, the men in his unit, etc.). Or perhaps the author had not yet come to grips with his own feelings on the war. Maybe it was the personal distance introduced by an officer writing through an enlisted man? In any event, this book just fell flat to me even though I was rooting for it the whole way through.
As the son of a Vietnam Marine veteran, I just had such high hopes for this book, but am left feeling a bit hollow. I will not be recommending this one to my father.
3 stars
July 15, 2020
I loved this book, if "loved" is the word for the sorrow, compassion and a taste of the camaraderie, and brotherhood of the young Vietnam soldiers of Bravo One Fifteen Nineteen Sixty Nine. The reader follows the combat experience, and painful memories that haunt PFC Marty McClure after returning to "The World", wounded but alive, and his struggle to push down the dreams and sadness that are the ghosts of that time in the war. He clamps down in PTSD mental "boxes" the ghosts of six special friends and others in his platoon who died during a mission through "the valley" to root out NVA and destroy their hidden supply base.
It was tough to read the gory details of their wounds and killings. Their bravery and loyalty to their comrades was unbelievable. But the book is also strong because of the slow unwinding of Marty's stoic mental armour, his early refusal to join veteran friends to see the Memorial Wall, an unplanned trip to the parents of Woody, one of Marty's best friends during that time, and finally allowing himself to visit, search the names and really cry at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I cried too.`
It was tough to read the gory details of their wounds and killings. Their bravery and loyalty to their comrades was unbelievable. But the book is also strong because of the slow unwinding of Marty's stoic mental armour, his early refusal to join veteran friends to see the Memorial Wall, an unplanned trip to the parents of Woody, one of Marty's best friends during that time, and finally allowing himself to visit, search the names and really cry at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. I cried too.`
March 30, 2023
This is not a book for the faint of heart. The violence and trauma of the first two thirds are equally matched by the pathos of the last. That being said, it is very worthy of being read. It is a book to be pondered and discussed with close friends. Highly recommend.
September 25, 2021
Spectacular. Extremely helpful during the throes of the healing process.
Read
March 1, 2021MWSA Review
Raw. Powerful. Penetrating. Unrelenting. These words keep coming back to me (in the way the main character’s ghosts keep coming back to him) as I consider the experience of reading A Quiet Cadence by Mark Treanor. Though categorized as fiction, this book has the feel of reality, the ring of truth: raw, powerful, penetrating, unrelenting truth. Characters are drawn so vividly and precisely that I felt like I knew them. I laughed with them. I cried with them. I ruined some of the pages of the book with my tears.
More than any other book I have read recently, this book addresses the horror that is war—any war—and its aftermath, in a way that I (and probably any reader) could understand and feel. It informs us about combat, plunging deeply into the soul, while at the same time examining the aftermath for decades after the initial experiences.
From first page to last, I did not want to miss one sentence, one phrase, one word. The author crafted his story expertly and decisively. The quiet cadence of his words still echo in my heart, and will for a long time to come.
Review by Betsy Beard (February 2021)
Raw. Powerful. Penetrating. Unrelenting. These words keep coming back to me (in the way the main character’s ghosts keep coming back to him) as I consider the experience of reading A Quiet Cadence by Mark Treanor. Though categorized as fiction, this book has the feel of reality, the ring of truth: raw, powerful, penetrating, unrelenting truth. Characters are drawn so vividly and precisely that I felt like I knew them. I laughed with them. I cried with them. I ruined some of the pages of the book with my tears.
More than any other book I have read recently, this book addresses the horror that is war—any war—and its aftermath, in a way that I (and probably any reader) could understand and feel. It informs us about combat, plunging deeply into the soul, while at the same time examining the aftermath for decades after the initial experiences.
From first page to last, I did not want to miss one sentence, one phrase, one word. The author crafted his story expertly and decisively. The quiet cadence of his words still echo in my heart, and will for a long time to come.
Review by Betsy Beard (February 2021)
February 6, 2022
***Goodreads Giveaway Win***
This book did it; it made me feel something. I actually cried. The way Mark Treanor was able to depict the build up of trauma and grief and friendship over years and then release that build up at the end was quite remarkable. That said, where Treanor especially excels is in describing war. My god, I was tense for the entire first half of the book; there was no letting up. As a matter of fact, this may be one of the only reasons I didn't give 5 stars. I do think the war scenes could have had a few more troughs instead of so many crests. It seems doing this would have allowed more time to develop the deep friendships that developed between the troops. The relationships were kind of stated as a given but the book could have benefitted from some more instances of dudes bonding in the jungle. The only other nit I had the issue with the main character's thoughts on the VC. He discussed how his heart hardened to the Vietnamese people because that's what war does but that issue was dropped once he was back home. There was no further reckoning about his ongoing view of the people of Vietnam.
Overall this was incredibly well written.
This book did it; it made me feel something. I actually cried. The way Mark Treanor was able to depict the build up of trauma and grief and friendship over years and then release that build up at the end was quite remarkable. That said, where Treanor especially excels is in describing war. My god, I was tense for the entire first half of the book; there was no letting up. As a matter of fact, this may be one of the only reasons I didn't give 5 stars. I do think the war scenes could have had a few more troughs instead of so many crests. It seems doing this would have allowed more time to develop the deep friendships that developed between the troops. The relationships were kind of stated as a given but the book could have benefitted from some more instances of dudes bonding in the jungle. The only other nit I had the issue with the main character's thoughts on the VC. He discussed how his heart hardened to the Vietnamese people because that's what war does but that issue was dropped once he was back home. There was no further reckoning about his ongoing view of the people of Vietnam.
Overall this was incredibly well written.
July 9, 2022
I am reviewing the audiobook A Quiet Cadence. I will try to get that edition added to Goodreads.
This book reads like a quiet cadence. Even though the war scenes are graphic, I didn't get as disturbed as I would have watching a movie depicting the same scenes. One might say that makes the book weaker than a movie, but I feel that it allowed me to hang with the story and not avert my eyes, as it were, so that I could pay attention to Marty's reactions to it all. And that is something that definitely shines through in the book in a way that no movie could portray.
My father served as a Naval Officer in Vietnam, so this makes me think of him a bit. But it's my Uncle Gary, who served and earned a purple heart as an Army infantry enlisted man in Vietnam, that I really thought about while reading. Uncle Garry didn't say much of anything about his time in 'Nam, but I know he had nightmares all his life. I imagine his experience might have been much like Marty's.
I really enjoyed this story, especially the ending.
This book reads like a quiet cadence. Even though the war scenes are graphic, I didn't get as disturbed as I would have watching a movie depicting the same scenes. One might say that makes the book weaker than a movie, but I feel that it allowed me to hang with the story and not avert my eyes, as it were, so that I could pay attention to Marty's reactions to it all. And that is something that definitely shines through in the book in a way that no movie could portray.
My father served as a Naval Officer in Vietnam, so this makes me think of him a bit. But it's my Uncle Gary, who served and earned a purple heart as an Army infantry enlisted man in Vietnam, that I really thought about while reading. Uncle Garry didn't say much of anything about his time in 'Nam, but I know he had nightmares all his life. I imagine his experience might have been much like Marty's.
I really enjoyed this story, especially the ending.
July 28, 2021
I do not usually read war novels, but I am so glad I made an exception for 'A Quiet Cadence'. This novel combines adept character development and life philosophy within the framework of a still controversial war. The author makes you feel as though you are with the soldiers as they enter possibly hostile villages, ford rice paddies in the field and courageously pick their way through minefields, sharing a battle perspective that only war veterans have experienced. We follow the main character as he adjusts to life after his tour of duty and faces the trauma that Vietnam vets endured at home. What the author manages to do is to make the anguish personal, believable and heartbreakingly sad. This is a riveting read for civilians and any veteran, and if your book club is searching for a book that generates great discussion, add 'A Quiet Cadence' to your list.
July 10, 2023
A tough read and probably not for everyone. Excellent insight into the darkness that combat creates and the wounds warriors bring home with them. The book is a well told story of one man’s attempt to make sense of the horror and continue to live a normal life. The novel focuses on the internal struggle of how to honor friends built in the most extreme of circumstances whilst not wanting to face the awfulness of their injuries or comprehending their deaths while coming to appreciate the extraordinary pride and privilege of being in service to a higher cause. I recommend for those who are curious or have served.
August 1, 2020
This is an extraordinary; moving and impactful novel. It is also incredibly engaging and well-written. Once I started reading it, I had difficulty putting it down. And when I finished, I was in tears. It provides an important and eye-opening understanding of the tremendous sacrifice that veterans make when they go to fight for our country as well as the lifelong impact that sacrifice has on them. I highly recommend the book.
March 20, 2021
Outstanding story. A fictional account that could have been a true story. A Vietnam Marine Vet who loses friends in battle and has to come to grips with being a survivor when he gets home. The main character wrestles demons and tries to go on with life by placing memories in boxes. The final chapter has him visiting the Vietnam Wall in DC. He is than finally able to forgive himself and begin to heal.
Kudos to the author on this great read.
Kudos to the author on this great read.
July 28, 2021
Absolutely one of the best books I've read about the Military.
For someone that grew up not knowing a single person on active duty or a vet around my age until I was approaching 30 this novel was enlightening beyond what I saw in movies or books. Though nothing in this book was new to me, I'd heard most of the stuff in one form or another before, this novel presented it in a manner that brought clarity and focus.
For someone that grew up not knowing a single person on active duty or a vet around my age until I was approaching 30 this novel was enlightening beyond what I saw in movies or books. Though nothing in this book was new to me, I'd heard most of the stuff in one form or another before, this novel presented it in a manner that brought clarity and focus.
November 6, 2020
A Vietnam novel from a view of a survivor 40+ years later. The first part deals with the author's (a Naval Academy and Vietnam veteran) experiences in combat. The second part focuses on the character's long journey toward an understanding and acceptance of his feelings toward to war and its ultimate purpose. Very moving and highly recommended.
April 12, 2021
The book feels like an autobiographical novel, but if it is, the author is not the narrator, and must be someone he knows or knew. Oddly, this often bothered me while I was reading, but not enough to affect the emotional intensity of the story: horrors of modern combat, survivor guilt, and redemption.
November 23, 2021
This one will rumble and resonate with me for quite some time. Highly recommended for friends struggling to make sense of war and associated sacrifices while trying to make our way back here on the home front.
October 26, 2022
Excellent Read! I would esp recommend this book to be read by those who did not serve in the US military during the Vietnam era. Those folks will learn much in how a person feels in his service in Vietnam, before during and after the war.
July 1, 2025
Fiction but full of reality — the reality of war; the reality of loss; the reality of big, haunting questions that take the war around you and put it within you; the reality of grief; the reality of patriotism, sacrifice, and honor.
July 8, 2021
Reading this gave me a first time feel for what our soldiers went through in Viet Nam and still experience today. Gripping, horrifying, beautifully told. Be ready to cry.
November 15, 2021
Awesome. I cried and laughed. Should be required reading for everyone. So good. Loved it!!! @pbabbate book club recommendation.
March 19, 2022
Thank you.
September 19, 2023
Vivid and graphic, but language and vocabulary are simple
June 2, 2020
This book, written by a Vietnam vet, is a powerful account of what that war was like, and how it connected and destroyed so many lives.
May 28, 2022
Despite all attempts to defy the pitfalls that come with labeling, I am Generation X. Many of us were raised by Vietnam veterans. While it was not a secret, it was not an open discussion. Dad drove supply trucks through the mountains of Vietnam in the mid-60s before the shit really hit the fan. He lost a buddy in a truck accident from what I remember, developed a kidney infection and was airlifted to Japan where he spent the remainder of his service in recovery playing for the baseball team. The base doctor was impressed with his baseball talent and refused to clear him for a return. Did it save his life? Maybe. Maybe not. Later in life, he took immense pride in attending reunions with his platoon. To this day, I still don’t know the details of his service. Inside the mind of a mystery. The following is a review of an essential and entirely fitting Memorial Day weekend novel.
Trauma works like a new virus. It affects everyone differently and comes in waves. Vets of an unpopular war faced an enemy that practiced unfamiliar tactics and guerrilla warfare unlike the previous world wars fraught with distinct fronts and a relatively seeable enemy (Japanese excluded). It rattled the psyche and bred civilian distrust. It escalated fear and anger as grotesque casualties mounted. At home, protests were rampant, blaming the government for escalating an unwinnable war we had no business engaging in. Communism was not our problem half a world away and the death toll was rising for what? Moreover, soldiers were blamed for collateral damage without considering the distress the men were under in the brush. Mark Treanor captures ALL OF THIS in A Quiet Cadence. It is predictably depressing as war tends to be, but stunning in its honest portrayal of a soldier’s struggle from his first few days in the field through his discharge and acclimation to civilian life. The evolution of Marty “Mick” McClure from innocent teen soldier to hardened vet is a masterpiece in military showcase. We sent teenagers to a foreign country to essentially watch their friends die one by one wondering when the ghosts would show up at their front door.
The Wall, which plays a prominent role in this book, is a stunning departure of most monuments in DC that are made of white marble/granite; a long black panel of etched names of the dead. It is powerful and poignant and it serves, for some, as a stark reminder of the senseless tragedy of war. The base of that wall is often graced with flowers for the fallen, watered by the tears of those left behind.
Trauma works like a new virus. It affects everyone differently and comes in waves. Vets of an unpopular war faced an enemy that practiced unfamiliar tactics and guerrilla warfare unlike the previous world wars fraught with distinct fronts and a relatively seeable enemy (Japanese excluded). It rattled the psyche and bred civilian distrust. It escalated fear and anger as grotesque casualties mounted. At home, protests were rampant, blaming the government for escalating an unwinnable war we had no business engaging in. Communism was not our problem half a world away and the death toll was rising for what? Moreover, soldiers were blamed for collateral damage without considering the distress the men were under in the brush. Mark Treanor captures ALL OF THIS in A Quiet Cadence. It is predictably depressing as war tends to be, but stunning in its honest portrayal of a soldier’s struggle from his first few days in the field through his discharge and acclimation to civilian life. The evolution of Marty “Mick” McClure from innocent teen soldier to hardened vet is a masterpiece in military showcase. We sent teenagers to a foreign country to essentially watch their friends die one by one wondering when the ghosts would show up at their front door.
The Wall, which plays a prominent role in this book, is a stunning departure of most monuments in DC that are made of white marble/granite; a long black panel of etched names of the dead. It is powerful and poignant and it serves, for some, as a stark reminder of the senseless tragedy of war. The base of that wall is often graced with flowers for the fallen, watered by the tears of those left behind.
Displaying 1 - 27 of 27 reviews