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Forgot how much space given to Telamachus! First 4 books centered on him. Themes of being good host/guest as Telemachus' etiquette contrasted with the suitors. Manhood/coming of age too. Unfortunately 'women as property' motif continues here, though I recall it being subverted in places. Thrilled that I recognize characters; Greek myth finally clicking into place! Made it to Odysseus; stoked to get into the story!

Incredible 80~ page intro contextualizing Odyssey. Its history/culture significance, how it was dated/considered by various later societies, who Homer was/might have been, symbolic/thematic significance, great refresher on what's coming. Excited to realize many characters from Iliad are present; I'm gonna get lots more out of the re-read since I'll know the side characters/their history this time.

Ending missed mark for me--Dr's wife arrival shifts tone of the book into borderline parody territory. Other sections lightly lampooned tropes while maintaining overall dark tone, but it shifts into more humour. Makes tragic ending feel bit out of place/lopsided. Satirical elements still strong, good genuine creepy moments & characterization, especially Nell. Still bit unsatisfied by conclusion, but solid book.

Ch 5, big shift. Raises reliable narrator question; seems things occurred between chapters. Nell increasingly paranoid/violent thoughts, good scary set pieces. Nell/Theo seem to be playing out dynamic of sisters. Start loving house but hating each other, suspicious of each other, when someone mentioned house trying to separate the 4 people. Don't understand why nobody asks Dudleys anything! They seem to know a lot.

Super understated slow burn; Montague has no instructions/vague goal; just wants them to kill time in the house & take notes. Interest lies in character subtleties. All lie when introducing selves; later speculate odd rooms to 'hide from one another.' El questions own identity; social anxiety, paranoia. Theo her solid foundation. Lots of funny banter between them. First scare halfway through book, pretty creepy!

Motif of escapism. El/Theo want to get away from restrictive upbringing. Eleanor imagines living different lives as houses pass; references to fairytales. House is inversion of that, menacing yet 'enchanted.' Pushing against propriety; roots for girl she sees being scolded; good characterization. Subtle ominous atmosphere; place out of time, alienated, like Eleanor is. Enjoy the prose even though a bit belabored.

Ending is best part; gets back to Homer I fell in love with. Funeral games dragged on, but by that point was going with the flow. Ending feels so abrupt it almost feels incomplete, like missing a few pages. God drama interludes best parts throughout, broke up monotony of war. Feels overlong, slog in many parts, see why Odyssey more popular. Lessons of humility, futility of war & grudges, hand of fate & lot in life.

Achilles joins! More ferocious fighting before with better pacing; a clear climax. Still isn't reaching heights of Aeneid's Troy battle, but fun! Athena my favourite goddess--gods unleashed, no holds barred; Achilles nearly gets killed by a river diety. Humour too, especially gods exchanging insults like its Jersey Shore. Hector saved only by Gods interceding despite everyone knowing their fate/story already; odd!

Daunting middle section; highly repetitive, like 'X begat Y' sections of Bible. Even after Patroclus, book very slow to get Achilles into fight; 1st a long battle over body, then forging new armor plus multi-page description of the shield. Not nearly as engaging as Odyssey. Drama between gods most interesting so far, how all events/blame attributed to them, mortals writing stories about Gods to justify events.

Things seemingly coming to head? Dire straights for Greeks due to only Zeus; Greeks begging Achilles to join, Patroclus being pressured to do something. I know what's coming, I just don't know when. But things getting more linear, rather than feeling like stalemate with side stories, so that's improvement! Long tangents a bit tricky--Nestor went on for pages about 'back in my day.' Challenging but enjoy the setting.

Pattern of fighting broken up by what looks like paths out of the war which only circle back to more fighting. Not much has substantially changed since Achilles moped his way out of the fight in book 1--a commentary on how we continue to fail finding diplomatic solutions to conflict & resort to mass violence? God drama source of most momentum; Zeus preventing Gods from directly aiding fight. Fickleness of fate.

Won't enjoy as much as Odyssey because how battles are done, & it seems battles will cover majority of book. Highlights within this; Diomedes kicking ass, even fighting off Gods that attempt to stand up for Troy. Gods want blood & have power to make conflict linger on even when peace is sought due to grudges/loyalties to one or other side. Book seems a microcosm of entire 10 year war despite covering only weeks.

Thank god I gave myself a Trojan War refresher before starting! Thrown right in, no explanation of why war started (assumes you already know), 9 years into 10 year war. Achil/Agamem's fight over a woman slave mirrors Helen of Troy causing war. Big emotions, moping, pettiness among both humans & gods. Literary themes well crafted, but dated aspects (big list of armies, diatribes etc) intimidating! Excited for more :)

Mixed. Great ending, immersive, tense, anguishing, potent. Themes could be better developed. Amateur prose issues; too much telling, odd/clunky phrasing. Feels American pulp. But so many interesting concepts, no wonder its adaptations in film/games were so loose, like fanfics set in the world. Chapters almost feel like self-contained stories. At times so creepy but needed to linger more. Solid with major weaknesses.

Ch. 3: serious dip; cuts to side character. Lots of telling instead of showing--affects of Zone that would've been thrill to discover are told in expo-dumps instead. Though cosmic horror atmosphere still there, & parallels to travel restrictions within/outside USSR, Soviet isolation etc, story could be better told. Philosophy monologues bit too much though expected with old sci-fi. Hope it picks back up. Mixed feels.

Big shift--1st person, present-tense gone. 5 year time skip. Story turns into heist/underworld plot instead of the mysterious exploration plot of previous chapter. First showing example of stalking in Zone, now showing the broader consequences of that life. Hints at something even bigger. Suspenseful, bizarre. Odd choice that Redrick doesn't name his daugther despite loving her, & her talking/thinking normally.

Prose surprisingly personal--cynical 1st person, sarcastic; not the dry sci-fi writing I expected! Slowly unfolding sense of dread and suspense that plays off of 'soft fantasy/weird fiction' tropes w/ sci-fi framing. Underlying religious motif regarding the Zone making it like a cursed afterlife/fairy world; might allude to insular USSR. Plays on man-vs-self too w/ alcoholism prominent. Feels very fresh, mysterious.

Return to 'narrative' at end with Tet & Easter Offensives; good climaxes. Book comes to screeching halt when Vann dies--thought it'd give a section detailing war's last years since Vann is often sidelined anyway. A biography that's not really a bio. Some great insights, brilliant journalism, but uneven in places. Book takes time with each year until '67, when it sprints through to '72 to wrap up. Still learned lots!

How do you conclude memoirs? The person has settled into their routine long ago. Attempt made to wrap things up thematically, but result is a ramble. Ozzy didn't have the breakthrough into responsibility/sobriety I was expecting, though he does mellow out. Seemed more to do with medical conditions/age. Ayres' talent is writing Ozzy's voice, integrating his idiosyncrasies. Minimal insight into music but entertaining!

Ozzy isn't Christian? Surprised. He finally hits rock bottom; book goes into mixed chronology before it's revealed he tried to kill Sharon. Rhoads' death was wild too. Shocked how disturbing the book is, though it does its best to maintain funny side, & continues to be laugh-out-loud despite how vile he is while high. Sharon abusive to extent also. Yet they also have saved each other too. Surreal dynamic.

7 years left in war, 100 pages left! How can it conclude? Book becomes much less immersive after Ap Bac, leaning on broad view instead of intimate first-hand accounts on the ground. Enjoying anything to do with VC tactics, HCM trail & its maintenance/camouflage. Vann's sections seem more disjointed--he's often well placed to describe war & social aspect, but sections on sex life are jarring compared to the rest.

Great section on effects of massive US troop increase: hierarchy of people making money off Americans w/ prostitutes on top. Towns unable to keep workers on since they're running to get rich catering to US so garbage piles up. ARVN displaced from war as US takes over, refugees from bombings flood cities, petty crime/drugs/homelessness. When Vann's life detailed, feels odd because you're reminded this is a biography.

Never got how Ozzy maintained relevance after Sabbath until now. Though his solo music never clicked with me, the stage shenanigans are so vile, & him so unhinged, its no wonder he made a permanent brand for himself. Very few insights into his music even now he's writing it; mostly 'check out this crazy thing I did while on cocaine.' The head-biting story worse than I thought; making his kids cry in public ultra low.

Like start of new book halfway in. At Book 6, Vann returns to a transformed Vietnam War & duties. Love the social front details, the daily life, the absurdity of corruption & portrait painted to show why VC so popular with locals in face of US/Saigon tyranny. Great section on man taken hostage by VC seeing their perspective. Battles tough to keep track of & done broadly instead of personal accounts. Final section!

Didn't think I'd need breaks for how stressful this gets. The addiction & what he does while drugged is pretty sad. Maintains funny irreverent tone but pain penetrates it. Wish more insight was shown into process, reflections on sound or craft of singing. No stories of making Paranoid? Rollercoaster: hilarious, tragic. Though losing some respect for Ozzy, I do respect the honesty of showing how messed up he was.

Book 5 feels like starting new book, suddenly recounting Vann's life. His mom was nuts, abused by priest--but Vann turned out sick himself; disgusted with him. But section works as twist as well--his career wasn't heroically sacrificed for principle; it was tarnished by his behavior & he saved face & risked lots due to this. Section still much too long & struggles to maintain momentum, but neatly cuts book in 2.

US government changing out heads of government once its clear they're not doing what they want, but CIA-trained their best men so it's US-trained vs US-trained. Similarly US equips Viet Cong more than the North can--like an ouroboros war. Vann using press to get truth of futility out--Sheehan is part of it. Excellent breakdown of US Army's MO using WW2 as precedent. Big shift coming; going back to Vann's childhood.

Ap Bac told over 70 pages--suspenseful, frustrating, even funny at times. Sheehan flawlessly weaves together dense historical context with driving narrative that almost feels like a novel. While USA are the villains, perspective shifts makes you invested in their motivations as well as VC's. Love hearing VC tactics, especially training them to shoot, & cynical ladder-climbing in midst of war. Really liking this!

Backstory of war deconstructs notion that US could wash its hands of much of South Vietnam's atrocities, both under French & Diem rule. US bankrolled these rulers while feigning distance from decision-making. Sheehan highlights his own naiveté in early years there. Concentration camps, mass murder campaigns, US misunderstanding of cultural/factional distinctions. Doesn't romanticize VLF violence either. Really good.

Covers neocolonialism & US interference over other nations' self determination as systemic. Brief, but appreciated! Also got backstory on US/French interest in Nam before-after WW2, Philippines, a bit on Ho Chi Minh, suggesting the book's gonna 'flashback' to provide context as it chugs along instead of spending early chapters setting things up. So far this is done effectively, helps Vietnam seem alien upon arrival.