Well, I had this book sitting on my shelf since I bought it early last year and finally got around to reading it. Didn't take long, from start to finish. The book caught my attention and upon initial inspection looked interesting, so I bought it. I had never heard of it or the author prior to buying it. Now with the movie coming out soon and such I thought I'd get the reading of it taken care of now.
I went into the book with an open mind. Early on I was ready to speak out in favour of the book and against those who've derided it. Alas, that didn't last. While I grew immensely annoyed with Swofford himself, I found the book to be interesting. It can do with a little less of Swofford's philosophical preaching that you'll find throughout the book, as if that's what he was really thinking at the time (as he claims, for the most part). I found the descriptions of certain events to be interesting and realistic. However, at the same time I don't believe most of what Swofford says.
Swofford claims to have, as a teen, wanted nothing except to join the USMC, but from the first minute he's in he hates it and can't wait to get out. If you can believe it, he does whatever he can to not be a grunt, but at the same time wouldn't be anything but a grunt and looks upon non-grunts with derision. I could go on.
The guy is so full of the steaming stuff that it takes away from the actual story the book claims to tell--a soldier's war-time experiences. Really, this book is just some guy's way of venting and getting his feelings on paper. For a book that claims to be a war story, there is an almost complete lack of an actual war story here. This book isn't much different from some guy writing about his UN tour in Cyprus, except that this guy is rather suicidal.
That being said, I'll still see the movie. At some point, after it is off the new release shelves in the video store. . I'm hoping the movie won't view the same way the book reads, but after seeing the trailer and hearing a few words from Gillenhall and seeing his expression, I know my hopes won't be realized.
