
Matterhorn
A Novel of the Vietnam War
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- اطلاعات
- نقد و بررسی
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نقد و بررسی

Starred review from January 11, 2010
Thirty years in the making, Marlantes’s epic debut is a dense, vivid narrative spanning many months in the lives of American troops in Vietnam as they trudge across enemy lines, encountering danger from opposing forces as well as on their home turf. Marine lieutenant and platoon commander Waino Mellas is braving a 13-month tour in Quang-Tri province, where he is assigned to a fire-support base and befriends Hawke, older at 22; both learn about life, loss, and the horrors of war. Jungle rot, leeches dropping from tree branches, malnourishment, drenching monsoons, mudslides, exposure to Agent Orange, and wild animals wreak havoc as brigade members face punishing combat and grapple with bitterness, rage, disease, alcoholism, and hubris. A decorated Vietnam veteran, the author clearly understands his playing field (including military jargon that can get lost in translation), and by examining both the internal and external struggles of the battalion, he brings a long, torturous war back to life with realistic characters and authentic, thrilling combat sequences. Marlantes’s debut may be daunting in length, but it remains a grand, distinctive accomplishment.

Narrator Bronson Pinchot should get a medal for his extraordinary portrayal of Lieutenant Waino Mellas in Marlantes's debut novel. The author, a former Marine and decorated Vietnam veteran, tells a heartrending, nerve-jangling story of war. Pinchot breathes life into each member of Mellas's Bravo Company as they inch their way up a strategic mountain in the middle of the Vietnam War. Pinchot allows a tinge of regret to creep into his voice as the men are sprayed with "harmless" Agent Orange and face one seemingly exhausting task after another. A surprise attack by a wily jungle cat heightens the eeriness of the tension-filled environment, a quality that is perfectly matched by Pinchot's performance. R.O. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
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