Audiobook Reviews from Audiobook-Heaven
Title: Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War
Author: Karl Marlantes
Narrator: Bronson Pinchot
Copyright: 2010, Blackstone Audio
Duration: 21 hours, 10 minutes
Genres: historical fiction, military
Filed in: Audiobook Reviews
Review copy provided by Blackstone Audio
PUBLISHER’S SUMMARY: In the monsoon season of 1968-69 at a fire support base called Matterhorn, located in the remote mountains of Vietnam, a young and ambitious Marine lieutenant wants to command a company to further his civilian political ambitions. Two people stand in his way. The first is a well-loved combat-weary lieutenant his own age who desperately wants out of the bush but who does not want to leave his Marines with an inexperienced and overly ambitious officer. The second is an angry leader of the company’s radical blacks, who has all the political skill, savvy, and ambition of the protagonist.
As the young lieutenant experiences the costs of combat, he sees the terrible results of his actions and begins to question the value of ambition and skill over compassion and heart.
©2010 Karl Marlantes (P)2010 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: First of all, I want to make it clear that I am not a veteran of the Vietnam War. In fact, that war was almost over by the time I was born. I did not experience this piece of history, and can not even imagine what it must have been like. I wanted to point that out just in case I say anything that comes across as disrespectful. Please know that I would never intentionally disrespect any member of the United States military, past or present.
I loved Matterhorn. I like to read books, or watch movies, about the various wars that America has been involved in, and this one tops them all. Like I said, I’ve never been in a war, and while I have tried to imagine what it might have been like, I never came up with anything as grim as what Karl Marlantes depicted.
Marlantes served with the Marines as a lieutenant during the Vietnam War, just like his main character lieutenant Mellas, and Matterhorn is based on his own experiences. That kind of goes without saying, because only someone who was really there could give such a clear picture. As we follow Bravo Company through the jungle, and up the Matterhorn, we get to witness first-hand the terror felt by the soldiers, and the courage with which they conducted themselves. We can watch them struggle to carry out their orders, no matter how many days they had to go without food or water, regardless of whether or not the orders made any sense, all the while carrying their dead until a chopper could reach them. Mellas’ rank of lieutenant is optimal because we can follow him into staff meetings where the decisions were made, and then into the bush where the orders were carried out. Matterhorn is a monumental and complete work, from top to bottom.
There’s one passage that I wanted to share, which, I think, really captures the essense of what Marlantes is trying to say about the Vietnam War. This is from a conversation between Lieutenant Mellas, and one of the nurses on the naval hospital ship where Mellas is recovering from wounds.
”Remember that feeling you got picking blackberries? You know, with friends, and maybe somebody’s grandmother who’s come along and she’s gonna make pie when you get home, And the air is so warm it’s like mother nature is baking bread. There used to be a great patch near the garbage dump in this little logging town where I grew up.
It’s like a car suddenly roars down on you with six beefy guys in it. You stand there next to this old, kind woman with your berry bucket in your hand and you’re suddenly a little scared; all the guys have been drinking, their faces are covered with masks, they have rifles. One takes the berry buckets and throws them down on the side of the road. They shove you around, and they take you to the dump, laughing a little, as if they’re expecting some fun. You’re instructed that you’re all going to play a game; here’s the rules: The men, that is the boys, have to crawl through the dump from one end to the other. Whenever we come across a can whose lid we cannot see, we must pick it up and show it to the men with the rifles. If the can turns out to be empty we can continue; if it turns up unopened, then we get killed. We get down in the garbage; the dump always has a fire smoldering; the smoke makes you puke and cough. The old grandma’s job consists of bringing water to any of us who come up with a pleasing or clever way of revealing the can. We even get ribbons if we’re particularly clever. Of course, if we refuse to pick up any cans, then we have to stay crawling in the garbage forever, or at least until the strange men get tired of their {expletive} game. And one by one, the guys you picked berries with get killed, and you just keep being clever. And the game goes on, and on, and on.”
This is a pretty powerful moment in the story, and serves to illustrate the confusion of the soldiers, being sent on combat missions for reasons they do not know, and can’t even guess at. While Lieutenant Mellas is speaking, he is toying with a butter knife at the table where he and the nurse are seated. As he speaks those last few lines, the anger and hurt mount up in him and he bends the knife in two, frightening the nurse. Marlantes shows us very clearly what effect the war is having on Mellas, who is a representation of all Vietnam soldiers.
This particular scene is also a good example of narrator Bronson Pinchot’s skill. He begins the scene sounding tired, and a little distant, but as the scene reaches its culmination, his voice takes on a harder quality, hurt and angry. The whole audiobook is like that. Pinchot always matches the mood of Marlantes’ narrative. Anger, sadness, compassion: Pinchot captures it all. I’m very glad that Matterhorn was handled by a narrator of this magnitude. Pinchot does good voices too, making each of Marlantes’ characters distinct.
You know how some books are just so good that you never want them to end? And when the inevitable ending finally comes you want to go right back and start over again? Matterhorn was like that for me. It came to that point where I could feel the story winding down to its conclusion and I just couldn’t bear it. And Marlantes’ ending was no disappointment. Someone dies near the end and it literally outraged me. I can’t ever remember being so moved by the death of a fictional character. Those of you who like happy endings may not find it here, but the final scene, after this character’s death, is beautiful and touching, and maybe a little uplifting too. It was a perfect ending for this audiobook, and I applaud Karl Marlantes.
There are so many things I want to say about this audiobook, but I don’t want to give away the story, and I don’t think I could ever really convey how the book made me feel anyway. Do yourself a favor and pick up a copy of Matterhorn.
CHECK OUT THESE OTHER AUDIOBOOK REVIEWS:
Hearts In Atlantis by Stephen King (Audiobook Review)
All Quiet On The Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque (Audiobook Review)
The Red Badge Of Courage by Stephen Crane (Audiobook Review)
----------dotted line----------
If you like this audiobook review, you can purchase the audiobook here:
Get “Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War” by Karl Marlantes (Unabridged Audiobook) from Blackstone Audio.
This audiobook review is based on the unabridged audiobook.
Audiobook review by Steven Brandt
Come back soon for more audiobook reviews from AudioBook-Heaven.
No comments:
Post a Comment