Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes: Book Review

Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


I haven’t been through many books about the Vietnam War. It’s tough sledding to relive it because it tore our nation apart. Upon finishing the book this morning I’m feeling so sad and moved by it it’s difficult for me to write a review worthy of its greatness and it was a great book. It took almost 2 weeks to get through it and I’m left feeling sort of numb and drained by the experience. 

I liked Karl Marlantes’s “What it’s like to go to War” so much I had to put this one on the book shelf whether it was difficult to or not. It's a fictional account of the War but Marlantes brings his experiences as a veteran of the Vietnam War to life in this book.

There are the terrible battle stories, the horrors of seeing fellow Marines get put through a meat grinder but it’s much more than that. Marlantes gives a lot of time to the mundane, the sublime, the politics, the racism and the emotional bonding that takes place between groups of men that experience the ultimate in horrors.

The story of the men who administered the war makes you think they were all a bunch of insane idiots trying to advance their military careers no matter what price the grunts had to pay for it. And the grunts do pay for it in a big way, in this story you learn they do more than once for the same piece of ground no less.

In hindsight after finishing the book it’s hard to judge any of the leadership of the military involved in the war because they didn’t get the kind of support from the government or the citizens at home. So it lead to confused sporadic bloody battles in impossible fighting conditions in the jungle were they killed many NVA troops and won some individual battles but in the end lost the war because of the media and meddling politicians in DC that didn’t support nor understand what was going on in Vietnam.

Still the story of the men in this book will move you, infuriate you, disgust you, amaze you, shock you and leave you with that awful feeling of how so many young men lost their lives in one of the worst Wars and causes in American history. Still the bravery, the nobility, the humility, the pride and the humanity of the men of this war must never be forgotten because they like all veterans of foreign wars deserve respect. Some would argue they deserve more respect. Take the journey it's worth it but be warned it’s not for the faint of heart.

Bronson Pinchot narrated this audiobook and he did an outstanding job of it just like he did with Marlantes’ other book. He’s one of the best in the business, he held me with a death grip throughout.

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