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Tattoo Zoo: A Novel of the Afghan War
Want a bigger sample than the random few opening pages offered here in the Look Inside? The author has made available the first 60+ pages straight from the print proof in PDF, found and/or Amazon does not allow hyperlinks, highlight and copy/paste. Or go to TattooZooBlog@wordpress.com)Tattoo Zoo is a big novel, not lightly purchased or delved into, so the large sample is a very good starting point to judge whether it is for you.....for the unique voice alone perhaps. Here's the Zoo is a novel that could only have been written by a veteran of more than three years in the Afghan War -- as a Green Beret then a civilian embedded journalist. America's longest war is compressed into a charged forty-six hours with the GIs of the Tattoo Zoo platoon trapped fighting a fierce Taliban in a nowhere piece of picturesque real estate called Wajma Valley, where they are left hung out to dry by a politically correct four-star command hell-bent on prosecuting them for war crimes or just letting them die in place. You will be taken into the heart and soul of the American soldier -- from private to general. You will be with the soldiers, you will be with the command, and you will be swept into the Afghan War on a visceral level of extreme verisimilitude. If you've been in the war, you will recognize and feel those hours and days and months, and you will want others to read this to understand what you lived. If you haven't been to the war and only know Afghanistan from blips you've seen on TV news, Tattoo Zoo will put you there, and you'll know it. No need here to detail the characters, but you can count on remembering Wolfe and Doc Eberly and Redcloud and St Claire and Dove and Finkle and Victoria Marshall and a whole slew more. This is a big novel, and not meant for the casual reader expecting some throw-away weekend-read thriller. There is nothing pretentious or artificially artistic or overly intellectual about the language here; just the opposite, the reading is easy. In fact, there's enough character and story and conflict here that there's no need for false literary stylings meant to impress other writers and professors of hoity-toity MFA programs. Open it up, give it a shot, and find again the deep pleasure of an epic war novel.
571 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 10, 2022
Written by Paul Avallone, a veteran who spent more than three years in the Afghanistan War as a Green Beret and then as a civilian embedded journalist, TATTOO ZOO is one of the best if not the best war novel of the War on Terror era.
The novel begins with the Tattoo Zoo, a regular infantry platoon assigned to a combat outpost in a remote valley in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, traveling in their gun trucks to a village in the Wajma Valley. Their mission is to escort two civilian contractors–a bright, lovable young woman and a sarcastic, experienced former Marine–who will interview the locals. As this is a counter-insurgency war for hearts and minds, these interviews produce intelligence about the battle space’s “human terrain”–the complex culture and tribal relationships that comprise local politics in Afghanistan.
When tragedy strikes, the Zoo finds itself accused of a horrific war crime and then in an even worse situation, trapped by circumstance by an experienced, numerically superior enemy force that is hell bent on their destruction. Can they win, or more to the point, will any of them survive what’s coming?
That’s pretty much the plot, though it hardly scratches the surface of this very long–no, don’t think long, think big–war novel. The first thing that drew me in was the voice, which is wry and playful but doesn’t pat itself on the back. From there, it just builds. We get to know a large cast of characters with some depth, showing the humanity of soldiers, and revealing the motivations and thought process of everybody from grunts in combat to the officers and NCOs who lead them to helo pilots defying orders to help people they don’t even know to the top brass trying to control the story. Not every character is likeable, but they all get their say, they’re all believable, and they all influence the story in some way like pieces that add up to a single chain of events that is really a mosaic of people and small events and decisions. I particularly enjoyed the way the soldiers aren’t cookie cutter heroes or victims or earnest hooah types but real people, some who fit the mold and some who don’t. Over time, Avallone leans on the humanity of his characters, offering a solid story that slowly reveals far more literary aspirations.
As a man who served in Afghanistan, the author has a point of view, though it’s not forced on the reader. Instead, he shows the folly of military counter-insurgency policy by offering up a worst-case scenario in which these policies are used against the Americans along with other tradeoffs. The enemy in this book knows what it’s doing, and it recognizes the battle space includes the American media and high command. Despite this point of view, Avallone gives the other side its full say about why these policies are in place. As a civilian, it made me wonder how the war could be won, with the military simultaneously being tasked with fighting an insurgency but with severe restraint to avoid civilian casualties, putting the soldiers at additional risk and with casualties being inevitable anyway in war, casualties that then prolonged the insurgency. Another theme I found engaging was the conflict between getting ahead in the military and doing the right thing.
Then there’s the action, which was riveting. I felt like I was watching OUTPOST, one of my favorite war movies, again. Avallone’s writing ensures you really care if these guys are going to survive this, and nobody is safe. As the siege wears on, there’s a lot of great shifts in the balance of power and use of tactics to push every edge. As a thriller alone, it’s topnotch stuff, though again it’s far more than that. Another thing I loved was you occasionally see a trope common in war films, like a dying comrade, but Avallone reinvents it by making it real, making it truly matter, and making you feel it.
In the end, yeah, I loved TATTOO ZOO. It really put me as a civilian into the boots of a soldier on the ground in the Forever War, it’s riveting as a thriller, and it goes much further to present a highly nuanced perspective on the war that respects its readers as adults. Highly recommended.
The novel begins with the Tattoo Zoo, a regular infantry platoon assigned to a combat outpost in a remote valley in Afghanistan near the Pakistan border, traveling in their gun trucks to a village in the Wajma Valley. Their mission is to escort two civilian contractors–a bright, lovable young woman and a sarcastic, experienced former Marine–who will interview the locals. As this is a counter-insurgency war for hearts and minds, these interviews produce intelligence about the battle space’s “human terrain”–the complex culture and tribal relationships that comprise local politics in Afghanistan.
When tragedy strikes, the Zoo finds itself accused of a horrific war crime and then in an even worse situation, trapped by circumstance by an experienced, numerically superior enemy force that is hell bent on their destruction. Can they win, or more to the point, will any of them survive what’s coming?
That’s pretty much the plot, though it hardly scratches the surface of this very long–no, don’t think long, think big–war novel. The first thing that drew me in was the voice, which is wry and playful but doesn’t pat itself on the back. From there, it just builds. We get to know a large cast of characters with some depth, showing the humanity of soldiers, and revealing the motivations and thought process of everybody from grunts in combat to the officers and NCOs who lead them to helo pilots defying orders to help people they don’t even know to the top brass trying to control the story. Not every character is likeable, but they all get their say, they’re all believable, and they all influence the story in some way like pieces that add up to a single chain of events that is really a mosaic of people and small events and decisions. I particularly enjoyed the way the soldiers aren’t cookie cutter heroes or victims or earnest hooah types but real people, some who fit the mold and some who don’t. Over time, Avallone leans on the humanity of his characters, offering a solid story that slowly reveals far more literary aspirations.
As a man who served in Afghanistan, the author has a point of view, though it’s not forced on the reader. Instead, he shows the folly of military counter-insurgency policy by offering up a worst-case scenario in which these policies are used against the Americans along with other tradeoffs. The enemy in this book knows what it’s doing, and it recognizes the battle space includes the American media and high command. Despite this point of view, Avallone gives the other side its full say about why these policies are in place. As a civilian, it made me wonder how the war could be won, with the military simultaneously being tasked with fighting an insurgency but with severe restraint to avoid civilian casualties, putting the soldiers at additional risk and with casualties being inevitable anyway in war, casualties that then prolonged the insurgency. Another theme I found engaging was the conflict between getting ahead in the military and doing the right thing.
Then there’s the action, which was riveting. I felt like I was watching OUTPOST, one of my favorite war movies, again. Avallone’s writing ensures you really care if these guys are going to survive this, and nobody is safe. As the siege wears on, there’s a lot of great shifts in the balance of power and use of tactics to push every edge. As a thriller alone, it’s topnotch stuff, though again it’s far more than that. Another thing I loved was you occasionally see a trope common in war films, like a dying comrade, but Avallone reinvents it by making it real, making it truly matter, and making you feel it.
In the end, yeah, I loved TATTOO ZOO. It really put me as a civilian into the boots of a soldier on the ground in the Forever War, it’s riveting as a thriller, and it goes much further to present a highly nuanced perspective on the war that respects its readers as adults. Highly recommended.
June 10, 2022
This is a great book about a platoon in the Afghan war. The Tattoo Zoo platoon is sent on a mission to assist a HTT team (basically a human anthropology team) to the village of Wajma, deep in a valley. They are attacked, and respond, but leave before they can assess the number of Afghans they killed.
The next day, the Taliban release a video of dead women and children being removed from the school building they were attacked from. The ISAF HQ staff decide the platoon must be arrested and charged. Lt Col Zach Dove is sent to arrest them, but decides before he does so, that they will return to the valley and gather further evidence.
As the book cover states, 43 Americans entered, and only 7 walked out. The Taliban have set a trap for the platoon, knowing that the weather is going to keep planes and helicopters from being able to rescue or assist the platoon, bringing in several hundred fighters to attack them, along with heavy weaponry.
Thanks to a Chinook crew ignoring orders, and stealing urgently needed supplies, they fly into the valley, deliver the supplies, but get shot down, killing most of the crew. Thankfully, a Special Forces medic had also hitched a ride, and he and the platoon's medic manage to save the lives of several of the badly wounded, as the platoon fights off wave after wave of attackers.
It ends when the ISAF General in charge changes his mind on the arrests, deciding to make them heroes instead, but when he and his media team arrive, the 7 survivors simply walk past him, heading back to their base on foot, determined to show both him and the Taliban that while they have lost lots of comrades, they are still defiant.
The next day, the Taliban release a video of dead women and children being removed from the school building they were attacked from. The ISAF HQ staff decide the platoon must be arrested and charged. Lt Col Zach Dove is sent to arrest them, but decides before he does so, that they will return to the valley and gather further evidence.
As the book cover states, 43 Americans entered, and only 7 walked out. The Taliban have set a trap for the platoon, knowing that the weather is going to keep planes and helicopters from being able to rescue or assist the platoon, bringing in several hundred fighters to attack them, along with heavy weaponry.
Thanks to a Chinook crew ignoring orders, and stealing urgently needed supplies, they fly into the valley, deliver the supplies, but get shot down, killing most of the crew. Thankfully, a Special Forces medic had also hitched a ride, and he and the platoon's medic manage to save the lives of several of the badly wounded, as the platoon fights off wave after wave of attackers.
It ends when the ISAF General in charge changes his mind on the arrests, deciding to make them heroes instead, but when he and his media team arrive, the 7 survivors simply walk past him, heading back to their base on foot, determined to show both him and the Taliban that while they have lost lots of comrades, they are still defiant.
June 8, 2022
To hell and back, “Tattoo Zoo” fast and furious from general officers to buck privates and fighting women
Book runs as fast as the fighting, really — very realistic , shows how the American fighting man,no matter his ethnicity will get the job done, and cover his buddies back
I read nearly every day( I’m in my eighties) this book had me on the edge of my chair waiting for the next barrage or break in the line.
While reading what comes next — I was ducking as the explosions came— remember, this was war
It really happened, perhaps not as we read it, but in reality,it actually happened — the fighting was intense.
I will read this book again,no doubt!, and I will still duck behind that grey wall
I look forward to the next book by the author Paul Avallone,
Book runs as fast as the fighting, really — very realistic , shows how the American fighting man,no matter his ethnicity will get the job done, and cover his buddies back
I read nearly every day( I’m in my eighties) this book had me on the edge of my chair waiting for the next barrage or break in the line.
While reading what comes next — I was ducking as the explosions came— remember, this was war
It really happened, perhaps not as we read it, but in reality,it actually happened — the fighting was intense.
I will read this book again,no doubt!, and I will still duck behind that grey wall
I look forward to the next book by the author Paul Avallone,
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews