Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War in Bookmarks Subscribers

Mar 28, 2010 Amy rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, read-in-2011, rec-botn, busy-as-a-bee-books-group

This is a very intense, very dark novel that takes place in Vietnam. I have to admit that I very rarely read war books, particularly Vietnam books after a childhood experience that scared me. A family member was a Marine in Vietnam and came home with quite a few photographs of some very ugly, brutal scenes. My cousin and I came across them one day and it was the most frightening thing I've EVER seen. I was very disturbed and pretty much avoid things related to the Vietnam experience to the best This is a very intense, very dark novel that takes place in Vietnam. I have to admit that I very rarely read war books, particularly Vietnam books after a childhood experience that scared me. A family member was a Marine in Vietnam and came home with quite a few photographs of some very ugly, brutal scenes. My cousin and I came across them one day and it was the most frightening thing I've EVER seen. I was very disturbed and pretty much avoid things related to the Vietnam experience to the best of my ability. And, so, I really only decided to read this book after months of rave reviews by bookish friends who said it was a book to not be missed.

First and foremost, this book is intense and difficult to read and very long. It seemed to take a long time to read for me. It certainly wasn't a quick read. It's dark. It's twisty. It's frightening. It's sad. It's raw. And, frankly, it's brilliant. It's well written. Marlantes is a wonderful writer who knows exactly how to compel a reader to keep with a story even when its difficult subject matter to read. He did not pull any punches. I truly felt as if I was there with the characters on their journey. His writing truly brought to life the sounds, smells and horrific experiences of war. Perhaps it is his own time in Vietnam that allowed him to write about it in a way that brought it alive for me. And the stories he told were new ... it wasn't a rehash of all the other Vietnam novels and movies that we've all read/seen. It gave me an entirely new perspective on the Vietnam war and reiterated how horrific it really was. This novel just tore my heart out.

I'm having a difficult time saying that I liked this book or enjoyed it as its material makes it difficult to 'like.' But I do appreciate its value and am amazed at what a compelling novel this is. It's a difficult book to get out of your head both while reading it and after reading it. The characters in the novel will stay with me for some time. This is a phenomenal novel. It isn't for everyone but for those who can handle the difficult material, it is a novel to consider.
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Jan 23, 2011 Sera rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, literary-fiction

Exceptionally well-written with a storyline that's both stunning and tragic at the same time. ...more

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Jun 16, 2010 Bookmarks Magazine rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: july-aug-2010

More than three decades have passed since Karl Marlantes started writing Matterhorn, but critics agreed it is well worth the wait. With devastating precision, Marlantes evokes the sights, smells, and horrors of the Vietnam War in a novel destined to become a war classic. There were very few quibbles, the most notable being an overly large cast of characters and the occasional stylistic blunder. Ultimately, however, critics hailed Matterhorn as a "raw, brilliant account of war that may well serve ...more

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Apr 10, 2010 Tom Carrico rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

Matterhorn
By Karl Marlantes

Reviewed by Tom Carrico

This incredible first novel by Viet Nam war veteran, Yale graduate and former Rhodes Scholar Karl Marlantes was thirty years in the making. The author obviously has brought an incredible passion to his work. He masterfully tells the story of a young Marine lieutenant named Waino Mellas who is literally dropped into the morass that was the Viet Nam war in 1969. The skeleton story is that of the taking, then abandoning and then the retaking of a st Matterhorn
By Karl Marlantes

Reviewed by Tom Carrico

This incredible first novel by Viet Nam war veteran, Yale graduate and former Rhodes Scholar Karl Marlantes was thirty years in the making. The author obviously has brought an incredible passion to his work. He masterfully tells the story of a young Marine lieutenant named Waino Mellas who is literally dropped into the morass that was the Viet Nam war in 1969. The skeleton story is that of the taking, then abandoning and then the retaking of a strategic mountain near the Laotian border (code named “Matterhorn”) which protects the North Vietnamese supply lines. Lieutenant Mellas’ Bravo platoon suffers a similar fate to Colonel Joshua Chamberlain and his 20th Maine Infantry at the Battle of Gettysburg: they always seem to be positioned and repositioned to receive the focus of the enemy action.

The stories within the bigger story, though, really expound on the incredibly cruel and truly unbelievable circumstances that made this particular war such a miserable tactical and political nightmare. In this author’s accounting there is a near total “disconnect” between the strategists at the main bases and the combatants in the field. Soldiers are sent undersupplied and malnourished on logistically impossible missions. Officers looking for career advancement often exaggerate enemy casualty figures to impress their commanders. There are palpable tensions between the lower rank soldiers who were conscripted into service and tend to be poorly educated and from lower socio-economic groups and the officers who are college graduates and from more affluent circumstances. The racial divide, present in the society as a whole, is mirrored and magnified in the intensity of combat. The weather and terrain of Southeast Asia are almost characters in themselves, in that they play vital roles in many of the twists and turns of plot. All of these subtle subtexts are deftly woven into the larger story.

The combat sequences are not for the faint of heart. The author “tells it like he saw it”. The injuries are horrific and the author spares no detail. Marlantes has an uncanny ability to make the reader feel the sense of futility the men have while sitting with casualties desperate for care who cannot be evacuated by helicopter in a timely fashion because of a sudden change in cloud cover. The reader feels the depression of these Marines as they are asked to go on yet another long march through dense jungle populated with everything from leeches to tigers while watching their food, water and ammunition run out. The reader can almost feel and almost understand the exhilaration of battle as the adrenalin rush kicks in and fatigue, depression and hunger disappear and rage takes over.

The author’s writing style and eloquent descriptions are fantastic. The visual images he conjures are often as frightening as they are vivid. This excerpt is from Bravo’s initial approach to Matterhorn as they try to prepare a small landing zone for casualty evacuation:

“At Checkpoint Echo, with K-bars, machetes, and Jackson’s method of throwing their bodies against the brush, they slowly opened a small patch of crumpled, twisted vegetation in the broad valley floor. Above them on all sides, the mountains towered dark and green, their tops hidden by clouds.”

His descriptions also create the atmosphere of fear, intimidation and the overall forlorn status of these troops. If there is one small criticism of this book, it is the frequent use of military jargon, abbreviations and slang terms. There is a glossary in the back which is helpful, but it does slow down the reading a bit early on until the reader catches on to the meanings of most of these. The flip side of this criticism is that the use of this military language does add to the overall authenticity of the author’s writing.

Many excellent novels have been written about the Viet Nam war. Lots of these include first-hand observations and experiences (Tim O’Brien’s The Things They Carried comes to mind). There have also been legions of movies about that war and its effects on the combatants (Oliver Stone’s “Platoon” and Francis Ford Coppola’s unforgettable “Apocalypse Now”, for examples). None of these renderings have the level of authenticity and hard truth that Marlantes’ Matterhorn has. It is quite a remarkable novel.

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes is available in hardcover and e-book formats from Atlantic Monthly Press.
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Aug 09, 2010 Lisa Roberts rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: audio

I struggled with rating this book. I feel like it should be a four or even five star based on the writing. The story of Marine's fighting in Vietnam was a new storyline for me. I listened to it and the narration was excellent, award worthy. However, I often felt lost in the terminology and acronyms that I while listening I drifted off. The author takes the reader into the jungle and into the lives and difficulties of fighting. The dialog seems contrived and while I'm sure the frequency of the cu ...more

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Mar 10, 2010 Lynn rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Read as audio book.

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Dec 20, 2010 Tom Bell rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Epic.

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May 27, 2011 Julie rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: kindle-book, abandoned

I thought this book was fairly interesting, but it's way too long. It's just a narrative of exactly what is happening from the time these guys get up in the morning until they pass out from drink or exhaustion. And repeat. I can't see if there's any sort of plot or if the book is going anywhere. So I'm afraid I'm just going to give up. Life is too short, and there are too many other books out there I want to read. ...more

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Mar 13, 2010 Charisse rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, best-of-2010

I thought this was amazing. It drew me in from the beginning - great storytelling. I came to care for each character in this book and cried when they died. 690 pages and I didn't want it to end. This one will sit with me for a long time. I haven't read a lot of books on the Vietnam War (can't watch Platoon - ) but this one resonated with me. ...more

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Mar 25, 2010 Karen rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

This is a must read for everyone! It is hard to read at times but it is important to know what happened in the jungles of Vietnam. I believe this book will be a classic.

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