Just to preface, I have never been one to read war-type fiction. Granted, Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk does not contain very many scenes on the field of battle (in fact I can only think of one), but there is no doubt that the Iraq war is the character you never actually meet. I’ve always veered away from war fiction, with the exceptions of Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five. When Ben Fountain’s new book found its way into my hands, I reconsidered my stance. The cover houses a very impressive blurb by Karl Marlantes:
The Catch-22 of the Iraq war
That in itself made me curious. I myself have yet to have the pleasure of reading a book by Karl Marlantes, but I know what that name carries. I know that I don’t have to read Matterhorn (but I plan to!) to know that Marlantes is more than a solid writer. A name like his comparing anything to Catch-22 in even the smallest way will get my interest in what he’s selling. Marlantes continues the blurb by saying:
This funny, yet totally sobering, dissection of the American way of watching war will have you squirming at the same time you are laughing out loud; Fountain applies the heat of his wicked sense of humor while you face the truth of who we have become. Live one day inside Billy Lynn’s head and you’ll never again see our soldiers or America in the same way.
Needless to say, when this book ended up in my hands, I wanted to indulge. What I found was a book that made me both hate and love America. At times I would feel such pride for the soldiers. Just soldiers in general. Every one of them serving anywhere. At times Fountain would give me such pride in my country that I would find myself considering a possible life in the military. These soldiers are noble, but Fountain seems like he is questioning whether everyone in charge is as noble. The book is certainly just as snide as it is patriotic, but one could read once over without even acknowledging that fact.
I appreciated, more than anything, that the character of Billy Lynn has been forced by the military to be one wise nineteen year old. But he is still just a kid. Throughout the book Ben Fountain gives him a voice that in his mind that he has grown in Iraq, but doesn’t even seem to know it. If I had to guess what being a young soldier was like, that would probably be my first guess.
by Simon
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