Carl Melcher Goes to Vietnam (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I looked out my window..." (more)
Key Phrases: giant potty, bunker roof, next bunker, Lieutenant Goodkin, New York, Doctor Walker (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Clayton offers a solid albeit familiar account of the horrors of war in his debut, a Vietnam coming-of-age novel that tracks the fortunes of a young man from Philadelphia named Carl Melcher through his difficult tour. The first half of the book remains fairly static as Melcher drops out of college, ends up in the service and draws a relatively benign assignment away from the fighting, allowing Clayton to develop the various stock characters in Melcher's squad. The action heats up when Melcher begins to go out on patrol, then turns white hot around the time of the Tet offensive as the quiet, affable protagonist goes through a series of tense but predictable close calls. When Melcher falls in love with a local Vietnamese girl, the novel almost breaks from genre formula, but Clayton comes closer to innovation during the closing chapters after Melcher is wounded and mulls the possibility of self-mutilation in a Japanese hospital to keep from going back into battle as his tour winds down. Clayton's simple prose remains balanced and effective throughout, but the novel has far too many familiar scenes, from the obligatory subplot about an experienced GI who gets killed just before his tour ends to the predictable infighting among squad members and some stereotypical material about clueless officers. Clayton's strong character writing carries the book, though, and he gets mileage from underplaying Melcher's reaction to the daily horrors.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

"Echoes of Joseph Heller's CATCH-22, written about an earlier war, are seen in the surrealism of the scene, which Carl himself describes as a comic book cutout, a brutal illumination of his childhood games."
- KnowBetter.com

"Drawn from the author's own experience as an Army soldier in Vietnam, Clayton deftly portrays an innocent abroad in the development of his protagonist, the likable but naive Carl Melcher."
- BookPage
-- Review

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books (July 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312329032
• ISBN-13: 978-0312329037
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,448,693 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars EVERYMAN and War: The Sanctity of the Human Spirit, July 28, 2004

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Book!, October 10, 2009

By	Red Adept "redadept.wordpress.com" (Carolinas) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

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

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent!!!!, January 17, 2005

By	E. Sankey "Swazieb" (Los Banos,Ca. USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I found this book one of those hard to put down book's. I especially enjoyed the fact that the storie didn't have to rely on the gratuitis violence,drug abusing,cursing that usually go's along with such a story. There's of course the telling of the natural death & human reaction to war,but not the over kill.
A book any age could read & enjoy!