8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EVERYMAN and War: The Sanctity of the Human Spirit, July 28, 2004
This review is from: Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam (Hardcover)
CARL MELCHER GOES TO VIETNAM is about as unlikely a title for a book as one can imagine. It sounds like a running byline in a newspaper, or a children's 'learn about this' story, or something that borders on corny. But after reading Paul Clayton's very strong novel, the title could not seem more apt. This is the tale of a lad from Philadelphia who enters the military in the late 1960's when the nation was at war in Vietnam and the kids of that generation were being eaten by induction into training camps then shipped via classy commercial airlines to Vietnam where they adapted to one of the ugliest wars in our history: Vietnam was an enormous mistake and the young men sent there to die or serve their year In Country returned home with either physical or indelible mental wounds. Making the narrator of this book (that is so very real a look at that war called Vietnam) a simple, nondescript person brings a powerful Everyman theme to the book. Carl Melcher lands in Vietnam without much in the way of history, he likes to read Hermann Hesse, he gets along with most everyone despite the ethnic barriers superimposed on the inductees - he just wants to survive. Clayton creates a group of likeable characters, gives them time to bond, and then begins to send them out on patrols where slowly most everyone is consumed by the greed of the war effort. There is no beginning or end to this story and that is so sensitive on the part of Clayton, a man who gathered his information form his own tour of duty in the Nam. He writes in straight forward, simple prose, much the way one would expect Carl Melcher to observe the world. Unlike most authors who have written about the Vietnam experience, Clayton shies away from the crude expletives that served as pan-communication in Vietnam: there are few curse words (the common language then) and the writing almost benefits from this trait. Some of the African American characters have their persistent phrases that Clayton uses with both solid humor and intense agony. By keeping his story so free of 'special effects drama' the tragedies are more tragic, the moments of camaraderie are more true. This is a war story that concentrates more on the indomitable human spirit than on 'strike and fall back' episodes. Not that the brutality and hideous waste that abounded in Vietnam are not addressed: they are very present and terrifyingly memory jolting. Clayton, I think, prefers to give us a version of what war does to the young people of the world. Writing in this manner he gives us one of the more subtle and lasting antiwar novels in some years. Highly Recommended!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book!, October 10, 2009
Plot/Storyline: 5 Stars
I have read many fictional accounts of wartime, but this one is the most realistic I have come across. Unlike many other novels centered around a war, this one does not try to vilify or praise the soldiers, military, or government. It simply tells the story of one regular guy who got drafted. Various opinions are displayed, but never in a preachy kind of way.
Carl is not a hero. He's just a soldier doing what he's told to get through his tour alive. The story is told solely through his narration. In the beginning, you almost think he's a bit `Gump-like' in his immaturity and naiveté. Throughout the remainder, his voice matures in small, but definite increments as he faces the grind of being an infantry soldier.
While there is an abundance of military lingo used, the author takes care to explain each term. He does this subtly through Carl, without ever resorting to lecture mode.
Character Development: 5 Stars
Carl is a wonderful, deep character that will stay with you long after you finish the last page. His voice is so simple and clear that you feel as though you are there with him in the trenches.
The author introduces each character as Carl meets them with a physical description, then deepens the development through their conversations with Carl. You won't just love Carl; you will also love his friends, Beobee, Glock, Ron, and many others. This wonderful story breathes life into each one.
Writing Style: 5 Stars
The events and action are all told in a clear voice leaving no room for confusion. The descriptions are tactful, delivering the full horror without resorting to efforts at shocking the reader.
Editing/Formatting: 4 3/4 Stars
The editing was of professional quality. The formatting had a small issue of extra line spacing between paragraphs.
Rating: PG-15 due to Violence, Mild Graphic Violence, Drug Use
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam, March 15, 2011
Tons of novels have been written about war. It seems like half of Hemingway's oeuvre qualifies. "Catch-22" and Ron Kovic's "Born on the Fourth of July" are two classics. Some glorify war while others illustrate its absurdity.
"Carl Melcher" is one that shows the absurdity, but takes a more subtle approach than the over-the-top satire of "Catch-22." Sometimes contrast can illustrate an idea better than repetition. Rather than continually showing the absurd, as Heller did in "Catch-22," Clayton shows the contrasts. Many days Melcher is bored, working in the camp in the Vietnam jungle with no imminent danger. Even while on patrol it is usually a whole lot of no action. Yet the threat is always there and the sheer terror when attacked shows why war changes a soldier. Melcher's changes are gradual - some good, some not, and some hard to judge - yet over the course of the novel the amount of change is immense.
It seems to me that Melcher's experiences are probably more true to what the typical soldier in Vietnam actually experienced than most other Vietnam War novels. This makes its message both more powerful and more credible.
**Originally written for "Books and Pals" book blog.**
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