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Jarhead is an autobiographical novel written by Anthony Swofford mainly about his service in the United States Marine Corps during the Gulf War, and is also about other personal experiences in his life or related to his service.
The majority of the story takes place in Saudi Arabia, south of the Iraqi occupied Kuwait during the U.S. and allied military deployment of the 1990 Gulf War. Throughout the story, Swofford elaborates on his past experiences, details of why he might have volunteered to join the Marines, or other events that occurred leading up to his predicament in the Gulf. Being a lance corporal in the United States Marine Corps would automatically make the conflict between the Swofford and the opposing Iraqi military the most substantial conflict in the book, but through his expression of his inner thoughts and feelings, the reader can infer that the greatest conflict lies within himself. Swofford is wrought with fear, fake bravery, and most of all, mentioned at the very end as a confirmation, despair. These and other albeit minor conflicts involving family, military superiors, and other soldiers arise and offer a depth waiting for the reader to explore in Swofford's tale.
Jarhead is a deep memoir that can also be at times disappointingly shallow. I rate this novel three stars for its literary quality as well as its gratuitous amounts of psychological martyrdom and despair. While in moderation these can be thought provoking windows into Swofford's life and possibly the life of the enlisted man, there is too much melancholy and expressed fear, and I began to loathe the drama emblazoned on the pages, now in my mind. I did enjoy, however, the great timeline of events of the Gulf War that this novel offered. Swofford's overall literary presentation, description of the desert landscape, and the events at hand are as expert as the precision of the sniper which he was trained to be. Unfortunately, this novel is limited to a mature audience, not really to the use of alcohol or ever-present violent nature, which is to be expected from a military autobiography, but its explicit language and sexual content. Those who have an interest in brutally honest memoirs, military memoirs, or great penmanship will find Jarhead an immersive and enjoyable read.
