What It Is Like To Go To War by Karl Marlantes

Karl Marlantes latest book, What It Is Like To Go To War, is far from his bestseller, Matterhorn. Lt. Karl Marlantes was a young Marine officer in the jungles of Vietnam.  There he was awarded the Navy Cross, Purple Heart, Bronze Star and a host of other decorations.  He notes early in the book that the Marine Corps prepares men for war and to become killers and does a good job of it. What it does not do is to prepare them for the psychological, ethical and emotional toll the experience will take on them while in combat as well as when they return home.  He "takes a deeply personal and candid look at what it is like to experience the ordeal of combat, critically examining how we might better prepare our warriors for combat.  Ritual, religion. literature should be used he suggest.  This is a good book for any young person going into the military.  Many veterans might also find it instructive in working out the problems created by their own experience. Marlantes gives riveting accounts of his own experiences in Vietnam and how he dealt with them at the time and years later.This is not a superficial war novel but does hold your attention and is worth the read even for non-military types, especially for counselors, pastors, etc.

Reviewer: Melvin Steely

Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross

Another story of mis-spent youth and the continuing results.  Eyes Wide Open by Andrew Gross reads like one of the PBS Mysteries on Sunday night.  It is the story of a successful doctor living on the east coast hearing of the death of his nephew and flying to Los Angeles to be with his brother.  When he arrives he finds that what was quickly determined suicide by a troubles youth was anything but that.  Piece by piece the doctor and a local detective begin to unravel what now appears to be a murder.  All sorts of clues emerge, including the involvement of a Manson-type hippy murder "family." As the plot moves along attempts are made on the doctor's life and that of the detective, as well as the grieving brother who turns out to be implicated in the situation.  A good whodonit without the loud music usually accompanying the PBS series.

Reviewer: Melvin Steely

A Bitter Truth by Charles Todd

This is the third in a series with Bess Crawford, WWI nurse, as the protagonist. She returns to her London flat on leave over the Christmas holidays, only to discover a woman in her doorway. The rest of the story deals with Bess helping the woman and her family. There is a murder close to the beginning of the story (which was irritating, as I found the man one of the few interesting characters) and a convoluted story involving family tragedy and scandal. I didn't really enjoy the book much. The writing seems quite uneven: there are times when the prose flows nicely and you can follow along easily. Other times, I would read a sentence and think "huh?" because it didn't make sense, or could have easily been edited to something better. The story seems contrived and is frankly not that intriguing. It seems as though parts of the plot are just shuffled in there to try and make the story more complex. The characters are fairly well-developed but not enough to keep me interested in the tepid plot. I was frankly shocked that this is an experienced, multiply-published author. A disappointment.

Reviewer:  Lorien Forrest