Pettibone's Law: A Novel (Bluejacket Books) [Paperback]

John Keene (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1994 | Series: Bluejacket Books

This hugely entertaining tour de force transforms the experiences of Vietnam into unforgettable black comedy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Pettibone's Law," as gradually formulated in this mordantly funny first novel, states that whenever "folly, perversity and misadventure" can occur, they will. Keene deftly puts into motion several subplots that add up to a Vietnam War version of Catch-22 . While Keene doesn't yet have the subtlety of Heller, the ridiculousness of the military and the '60s are sharply and hilariously detailed. In addition to the protagonist, fighter-pilot Jack Rawlins, there is a colonel fighting a "war within a war" against South Vietnamese troops for a monastery he wants to use for an officers club. There also is Barbi Belheur, an activist/sing er who demands pay equity for Marxist mimes and makes a trip to Hanoi. There are self-immolating monks who are used to light a darkened runway. Meanwhile, Rawlins passes amiably through the war, dropping bombs from high above and never dreaming his acts will affect him later. When the reaction occurs, he takes refuge in alcohol and a stultifying defense-industry job, which provides the setting for some of the book's funniest moments. After some cliched musing on TV-as-artificial-reality, Rawlins finally reawakens. Although the ending is abrupt, and the book is almost ruined by a long declamation disguised as conversation, Pettibone's Law is a strong, complex debut that locates the tragic comedy found in all war.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Smilin' Jack Rawlins, fighter pilot, drifted into the Marine Corps for no good reason and survived training through luck and natural athletic ability. Then he found himself in the middle of the Vietnam air war. In a kaleidoscopic narrative, we meet Rawlins and his companions at home and on the job: the master sergeant whose wife becomes a peace activist while catering to the stars, the Vietnamese sniper paid to provide just enough gunfire to produce medals on demand, the clumsiest pilot in the history of air combat, and others. In the tradition of See Here, Private Hargrove, M*A*S*H, and Catch-22 , the absurdities of war are illustrated by generous example. But Rawlins's postwar employment as a defense contractor's technical writer provides the most telling satire, as he enters combat against multisyllabically illiterate engineers. Although a mite didactic, this book has bite and heart. Recommended.
- Elsa Pendleton, Boeing Computer Support Svces., Ridgecrest, Cal.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr (April 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1557504547
• ISBN-13: 978-1557504548
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,854,517 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smilin' Jack scores, February 7, 2000

By 

KRC (Sebastopol, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pettibone's Law: A Novel (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

I just put aside everything to read John Keene's "Pettibone's Law". I wanted to finish it before his memorial on January 28th, 2000.

The book was complicated and sad, quirky and smart, packed with intelligence...much the way I remember John Keene when I met him briefly over twenty years ago.

It's been said that the Viet Nam war produced the best war literature ever written, mainly because some guys who fought the war were also able to really write about it. Well, John Keene was one of those, and he scores right on the target with "Pettibone's Law". It's written with humor and pathos and confirms what I always suspected about that war, but never knew.

It's a good read, and it's not lightweight so if you're looking for fluff, skip it. It is a must-read, though, for anyone who's interested in a good book that deals with truth and abandoning illusions about war. Yes, it's fiction, but which great fiction isn't based on truth?

Thank God "Pettibone's Law" got written. The book shares a kinship with "Catch 22", etching into our consciousness what it was like being a fighter pilot in Viet Nam. You can't help but laugh, you can't help but cry.

Oh yes, there is one chapter towards the end that's philosophical and a bit difficult to read, (I guess John wanted to have his say about a few things) but when I finished the book a few chapters later I cried genuine tears for Old Jack Rawlins with his pork "hanging out".

I recommend this book without hesitation.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good read, December 2, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Pettibone's Law: A Novel (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

Having just finished this over this past weekend. I think that it is a great read if you can get around the toss around the author makes of past and present in the story. That is the only reason that i didn't give it a 5. The story is about a young man who join the USMC and became an aviator and flew during Vietnam. The other story here is one of the same man 20yrs down the line in a defense contractor and realizing that his boss is robbing the government and the company with some future aircraft that can't preform the job. In both he faces tough choices of going on or quitting. A lot of humor in here as well. Good for a few laugh.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars BDA 100%, January 7, 2000

By 

"webmerlin" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Pettibone's Law: A Novel (Bluejacket Books) (Paperback)

Keene tells the story of a F-4 jock in terms that only one who has "een there -- done that"could write it. Some of the best humor encountered in ages, mixed with true pathos many Nam vets will recognize and wish they could have put their finger on it with such stark clarity.

Keene often refers to "he other war."A vet's personal war within, and it is in this capacity that Pettibone's Law touches so many nerves. A really excellent read for both the witty humor and the mirror it holds up for any combat veteran -- but especially the Nam vet.

Pettibone's Law is the SEA veteran's "atch 22,"and is every bit the classic that is Heller's WWII-based masterpiece.

BDA (Bomb Damage Assessment) 100% from a Nam FAC who may have, unknowing to both, controlled John Keene in a different world and life so far away, yet so everpresent still. Pettibone's Law is dead center and a top shelf keeper.