Customer Reviews

Triage: A Novel

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I am a teacher of senior English at a country high school in Australia, and we were as always searching for a novel that will both enlighten and engage. After months of frustrating searching we happened upon this little book and thought, "At last! - something truly human and significant." Its value lies in its apparent simplicity and its small cast of well drawn characters. But of course the novel has an authority and depth of intellect that make for a most satisfying experience. There is much to consider here - the way we hide behind the comforting distortions of the past, our collective amnesia when faced with the facts of atrocity and our complicty in it, the moral ambiguities of war - among others.

All this would be just so much interesting speculation were it not for the compelling narrative that gradually unfolds. It is Anderson's artistry and his sympathy for all his characters, no matter their background, that challenges us also. Their needs and conflicts, their struggle against the despair and lonliness that are ever-present, their search for resolution and forgiveness, are entirely engrossing. Anderson's lack of sentimentality and his unwillingness to fall back upon the evasions of comfortable middle-class morality add to the novel's conviction. Great stuff.

I only hope that our students come to admire this book as we do. As for possible readers, this is one to savour and enjoy. If you allow it, it will stay with you for a long time after you finish the final page.

If you have ever wondered what it might be like to witness some of the horrors perpetrated around the world on a daily basis, Scott Anderson's "Triage" will give you some idea. And, like his main character, you as a reader will be haunted by what you have encountered. I finished Anderson's novel three days ago, and I still can't get it out of my mind.

Covering everything from conflict in the current "Kurdistan," to the lingering effects of the Spanish Civil War, I found Anderson's first effort hard to put down. As the world faces more and more atrocities in Bosnia, Kosovo, Rwanda, etc., the lessons of "Triage" are current and relevant. Anderson shows us that not only must perpetrators of crimes live with what they have done, but all of us who have witnessed their crimes must find a way to cope as well.

Although the novel is not perfect (as some reviewers have pointed out, the psychological portrait of the protagonist seems incomplete), it is certainly worth your time. Many reviewers have compared Anderson's writing to Hemingway's, but in my mind "Triage" elicits direct comparisons to Leslie Silko's contemporary classic "Ceremony," another novel about a character coping with the evil that has been revealed in the world, an evil that cannot be overcome or run from.

Finally, I feel that I can give "Triage" the ultimate compliment--it is a page-turner that I could not wait to finish, yet I didn't want to because the experience of reading it was so intense.

Anderson has created a mesmerizing tale that feels all too true. Beautifully written, he addresses the timeless issue of war's impact on its survivors, of innocence lost. Characters in "Triage" tackle the greatest questions in philosophical inquiry -- the nature of man, the nature/existence of God -- with unflinching honesty.

Although partially set in the region of Kurdistan, the war described could easily be any war -- a subject Anderson does not attempt to romanticize. In a perfect world, this story would never have to be told. In a perfect world, there would be no battlefields, no need for triages. Anyone who has been to a battle front, or knows someone who has, should read this book as it illustrates beautifully how war is never over for its victims, and that no one gets out completely unscathed.

After experiencing the war in the former Yugoslavia as a humanitarian worker, I truly doubted that anyone could write something that would go to the heart of what I had experienced. This is a truly remarkable work.

I love Scott Anderson as I would my own brother. He is a wonderful, beautiful man! He has taught me what is to be human. I would vote for him for president of my country, if he was able to run, or if we had presidents (alas, we are a fascist regime). If Scott Anderson was here I would shake his hand and tell him how he has changed my life and inspired me to be a better person. I will never read another book again. I will only read this one, over and over. Sometimes out of order.

I am speechless with the magnitude of sheer brilliance in this book. To say any more would be useless. Scott Anderson is a GOD!

Is extreme experience--the sight of death, or a brush with one's own death--broadening or wounding? What claims does witnessing a war make on foreign correspondents and photographers?

"Triage" is a wonderful first novel by Scott Anderson, a journalist whose memoir of work as a war correspondent I read not too long ago in Harper's magazine. Mark Walsh, a freelance photographer who has documented wars around the world, returns home to his Spanish girlfriend, Elena, suffering a sort of emotional paralysis. We know about the wounds he suffered from a mortar explosion on his latest trip; other, hidden wounds are dramatically revealed late in the story, a la D.M. Thomas' _The White Hotel_, after the intervention of Elena's estranged grandfather, Joaquín.

Joaquín, Elena found out late in life, ran a special clinic for Franco at the end of the combatants whose crimes against humanity suddenly caught up with their souls, "purifying" them so they could return to the world. (That his expertise apparently has relevance to a guilt-ridden war correspondent is one of the book's delicious ironies.)

But in "Triage" Elena learns that her grandfather's work was more morally ambiguous than it seems. The reader sees that while Anderson's protagonist has collected more pain than epiphanies from his profession, Anderson himself has managed to come home with some riveting lessons about witnessing vs. the need to forget, about forgiveness after horror. It's not perfect, but this is easily the best book I've read all year

Poignant story that captures the pain and mystery of Traumatic Stress Injury and celebrates the ability of the human spirit to endure and the power of love and forgiveness. Outstanding!

Just got around to this now (it was orig published quite a few years back) and must say I was very impressed. The writing is smooth and supports the plot in feel and flow. The characters are so believable that at one point I could have sworn the author had interviewed a friend of mine who returned from an overseas assignment not long ago. Of course, given the author's personal experience, that makes sense. I bought two additional copies of the book to give to friends. A very good read. Touching and meaningful.

I remember reading Triage back when I was in year 12, while I was a student at an East Melbourne High School in Australia. The book inspired me to write using the style Anderson uses, with twisting plots, psychological walkthroughs and suspenseful climaxes.

If you are a student in high school at the moment, and enjoy English, I suggest you read this book. It should be part of the High School curriculum everywhere.