Customer Reviews

The Farther Shore (Milkweed National Fiction Prize)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Eck's book could stand as a parable for America's war in Iraq or any of our imperial wars that are fought faraway by a few men whose agonies civilians can never understand. A small group of soldiers cut off from their unit find that everything turns sour fast. Without malice and following standard operating procedures, they kill children who set off alarms by walking into their night position. More horrors follow. The men Eck depicts are neither good or bad: they do terrible things and terrible things are done to them because that is what happens in war.

In the area of operations Eck depicts, even nature is postindustrial, polluted, and hostile: "the ocean is out of tune." In this dismal setting that mirrors the soldiers' lives, Eck excels at depicting the fog of war where soldiers are lost, sick, and confused. Their actions are often dictated by chance in the midst of terrible situations. some die, others are mutilated, no one escapes intact.

The novel shows men at war without the Hollywood soundtrack or the happy ending of the movie version of Black Hawk Down, where the survivors walk into safety looking dewy fresh as if from a good night's sleep and having missed no good meals at the studio's buffet.

Even more than the novel's obvious applicability to America's hopeless mission in Iraq, this book stands on its own as a story of the misery of war. And these words apply to the experiences of Americans in many wars: ""We made a mess of this whole thing. And I'm sick with it."

I sent my wife to buy the last Umberto Eco novel and she bought me this book by mistake. I read it cover to cover anyhow and it stuck in my head the next day because it was fantastic. The Farther Shore was a firecracker book, the kind that draws you in by getting your attention and never lets go. A perfect book. I would say more, but I don't want to hint away all of the good parts.

The plot is simple; a small group of soldiers get separated from the rest of their unit in Somalia and need to find their way back. The opening is equally simple, and grabbed me from the get go.

"It was full dark, midnight, and heat like that should have disappeared. Then the bombing started. Those poor souls, the poor fucks of the city, had no idea we were watching from the rooftop of the tallest building in town, six sets of eyes in the night, calling in rounds from the circling AC-130 Spectres. When they fired too close to the city's edge we'd make a call for them to move further out, into the unknown. When they veered too far out over the desert, we made another call. It was a tightrope, a balancing act, a burden we adored. We were spotters on the roof, recon in a city controlled by warlords and their clans."

The main hero, Josh Stanz, doesn't think about the right or wrong of his actions - things that need to get done, do get done, and that's all there is to it. And, like Hemingway, Eck doesn't tell the reader either. It's up to the reader to decide. And, for this reader, the decision wasn't always very easy.

I found this book interesting, challenging, compelling -- and look forward to read more of Eck's work in the future.

This one's a gem. The visceral reality of the best combat writing seamlessly merges with the febrile surrealism of Camus, not in the sense of hallucinations, but in reality seeming surreal. The effect is a heightened sense of reality, believe it or not. Simple prose and story, profound results--the true sign of virtuosity.

Thanks for writing this story. It can't have been easy, and it wasn't easy to read. I couldn't stop reading, though. Great writing, deeply felt and very real- I'm a vet, too.
I felt so cold reading the story I turned the heater up, until the kid complained he was boiling- but I'm still cold. Looking forward to your next.

In this taut, harrowing novella, four young American soldiers are stranded in a war-torn city in Somalia. The story, told by one of the four, follows them as they make their escape, while death stalks them every step of the way. The rules of engagement, meant to guide their decisions, often fall far too short, and they are forced to make choices on the fly, redefining and reformulating right and wrong as they go. Survival depends finally on chance and mischance, and their journey takes them far from home along a farther shore from which few may ever fully return. Told in a raw, spare style, its vision of men at war is both grim and tender.

This is the most beautifully written book I've read about war since Tim O'Brien's 'The Things They Carried'. Aching with sadness and regret, void of Hollywood happy endings and infused with poetry, The Farther Shore is a fast but powerful read. Highly recommended.

I read this book quicker than most, and not because of it's length; I just couldn't put it down. I was relieved to get out of the Black Hawk Down scene and read something more tamed down in a sense, and all around simple and good, like the great authors of our time.

Eck has a great way of keeping the reader interested, one in particular, ending each chapter powerfully--a sentence or paragraph that really flicks the brain and wakes it up.

Certain parts stood out that will stay with me forever, like when the protagonist (a young soldier) has to tie up a little girl to keep her from following him, and it states that when he looked back after running away from her and her trying to hop after him, the look in her eyes was painful.
Then further along when the protagonist thinks back to that, he wonders: How can anyone ever love me after something like that?
Once I read that I knew Eck was in the path to greatness.

Can't wait for his next novel.

No bells or whistles with this book. Just a straight forward story about a team of soldiers sent into a hostile city in Iraq to gather intel. Unfortunately an "accident" forces the team to go on the run in a desperate attempt to escape back to the main US Force they believe to reside outside the city. Along the way the encounter indifferent people who care less whether the soldiers live or die...as long as they, the citizens, are left alone. Throughout their venture they are also chased by local warlords attemtpting to revenge the children killed in the "accident".

This was a page-turner dealing with the insanity that undoubtedly happened during the Iraqi war. It's a quick paced book that has you often asking "why?" but doesn't allow the luxury of an answer. Just like the soldiers in the story, you have to keep moving and worry about sorting things out later.

I picked this book up because I'm mostly unfamiliar with the details/nuances of war. I've seen many War Movies, but felt that a novel may better capture the many day-to-day actions, emotions, etc. that really take place in War. In addition, I have caught myself avoiding the topic as it has taken on a Political Meaning more than a Reality. What I mean to say is that it is difficult to really understand 'war' outside of making a political statement.

This book did exactly what I hoped it would. It brought the activities of War and the horrors involved to life for me. Considering I've only shot a gun in a range and could never see myself actually participating in a war, this book was really great for me.

I felt sheltered while reading this; in addition I had to remind myself that the characters are so young and are forced to deal with circumstances that I may never have to deal with. I'm thankful that this book was written and was able to provide just an emotional insight to this difficult topic.