Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes - A

Wow. That was a good read.

I have at home the novel,Tree of Smoke by Denis Johnson. Tree of Smoke won the 2007 National Book Award. I never read the novel. Why? I don't know. Why do I ever buy books that I don't read? I'm sure that I had every intention of reading it. Anyway, I'm trying to move Tree of Smoke into my rotation so I can do a post comparing and contrasting it from Matterhorn.  Discuss.

This novel is extraordinarily well done. Every character serves a purpose.  While most of the story follows the main character, Lieutenant Waino Mellas, all of his Bravo Company comrades play significant roles.  I believe that authors who write war novels must have remarkable storytelling skills. Why? First, to do a war novel "right" (and Matterhorn was definitely done right), an author must address textual issues that do not confront authors of all novels.

1. We're talking dozens of characters. And, as in Matterhorn, all of the characters must have substance.

2. The characters cannot be mere stereotypes-either individually or collectively.  Yet, at the same time, they must realistically capture the war and the time period.

3. Narrating battle scenes must be precise in order for readers to follow.

Taken at its core, Matterhorn is the story of what happens to Lieutenant Mellas after arriving in Vietnam as an anxious Marine dreaming of glory.  That's just the jumping off point, however. War and the jungles of Vietnam are not sugar coated. Neither are the inter-company race relations. Bravo Company's missions inevitably result in casualties and deaths (big spoiler, huh?)-some more senseless than others.

As I've said on this blog before, though, it all begins and ends with the characters. And there are some classic characters in Matterhorn apart from Mellas.

Matterhorn is a rich, outstanding, well-written novel. It is also an emotional read. The first "A" I have read in a while.

Live long, read and prosper. We'll leave the lights on for you.