(BoM) Nov. & Dec. 14 - The Yellow Birds

[Chris, Founder]

Discuss your thoughts on The Yellow Birds!

[[deleted user]]

Just finished. Not really my cup of tea. The poetic flourishes seemed to trivialize it all. "Clouds spread out over the Atlantic like soiled linens on an unmade bed." Meh. Maybe I've read too many of these warrior tales of self-loathing themes, or perhaps am resisting being told I had to love it by all the rave blurbs on the back cover. Anyway, by contrast, imho, a more honest and revelatory modern experience-of-war book was One Soldier's War by Arkady Babchenko. Wondering if anyone else had a similar reaction or am I missing the boat here?

[Chris, Founder]

I pickup it up from my local library a few weeks ago, read a couple pages and didn't like how it was written. Then I put it down until today, and I have decided I probably won't even finish it. I do agree with you! While poetry in certain stories can really add to the experience, I am not a huge fan of the whole book being written that way.

[[deleted user]]

Chris wrote: "I pickup it up from my local library a few weeks ago, read a couple pages and didn't like how it was written. Then I put it down until today, and I have decided I probably won't even finish it. I d..."

Glad to be in good company. Thanks.

[Bill, Admin]

I felt pretty much the same way about the book. Some of it seemed pretty well done, but other parts seemed like the author was just trying too hard--concentrating more on the 'style' rather than effectively telling a story.