Please welcome back David Willson's REMF, an altogether different kind of war story charcter. In The REMF Returns, Willson continues his story of the office-based soldier who never fires a shot in anger- and whose days are pervaded by the moral and spiritual twilight of life in the rear echelon of a shooting war. Willson's sly humor and carefully stylized minutiae of daily life in the Army join to make this book an important document in an area rarely confronted in our literature of Vietnam.
| |||||||||||||||
Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Kirkus Reviews
The sequel to REMF Diary (1988--not reviewed): an account of the last days of an Army clerk's Vietnam tour-of-duty from July 5 through October 23, 1967. Both books claim to be novels, but if you're looking for intense combat scenes or romantic interludes back in Hawaii, you'll be disappointed. The fate of Western democracies is not decided here. The point is comic, although in a way cautionary: this is the tale of a clerk in the rear areas of Saigon and the plush base at Long Binh, and the truth is that it is at least as representative of the enlisted man's Vietnam war as are tales of combat by Larry Heinemann, Gustav Hasford, or John M. Del Vecchio. Willson's diary entries are detailed and often annoying accounts of: how little work he can do in a day, the books he reads (mostly mysteries), what was served at the mess hall, the TV shows he watched, and the rock songs he listened to. Characters emerge--such as the officer who seems to have a vendetta against him; several buddies; and some prostitutes--but Wilson appears to have drawn almost verbatim from his diary at the time. He sets no scenes and for the most part does not even reproduce dialogue, but nonetheless the minuteness of his account causes the rear echelon war to emerge, in its droning, hot, meaningless stupidity. We see Willson planning for his R & R in Hong Kong and then enjoying it; his naivet‚ and unwitting irony are a delight and irritation at once. He starts from the point of view that none of what is going on around him makes sense, and neither do the objections to it. Maybe it's not so different from ``the world'' itself, where the first object is to survive, and the second is to enjoy oneself. With all the agony we have come to associate with the Vietnam War, many young men had the time of their lives, and will never enjoy themselves so much again. Whether these two diaries are novels begs the question-- there's a narrative here, and a sly wit at work. -- Copyright ©1992, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
Review
'Willson offers a vision of the American war in Vietnam... he does so with courage, grace and wry good humor." -- W. D. Ehrhart, author of "Vietnam-Perkasie" and "Going Back"
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bringing To Light A Different Perspective Of Vietnam War,
By
This review is from: REMFReturns, The (Paperback)
This is a book that is essential to put all facets of what the Vietnam war was about in perspective. It takes the reader on a day to day journey of a clerk stationed at Long Binh. There is sly wit to his wiry remarks regarding his often boring duties such as making coffee, burning trash, and typing endless 'make-work' reports. The reader will often wonder where the message is, but that is not the true point of why the author wrote this book. It is his statement, his realistic reality, taken from his diary, that makes it fill the totally ignored jobs thousands of GI's performed in the Vietnam war zones. Not a book for the 'John Wayne' type, but the ending is probably so unusual that you just want him to continue the story. It is certainly not boring to read and readily identifies with the language and music of the 60's. If you served in Vietnam, you will probably get some chuckles out of it, and make you remember little things that you thought forgotten. Well done, different, and necessary to preserve a piece of history that shows what the men did in the rear areas in Vietnam. Sincerely, Franklin D. Rast, author, 'Don's Nam,' and 'Ghosts In The Wire.'
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
|
|
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store
If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store.
Learn more
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
