Voodoo Lounge: A Novel (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: Dick Wags, Captain Hall, Marc Hall (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

*Starred Review* The opening days of the U.S. invasion of Haiti serve as backdrop for this visceral second novel from National Public Radio commentator and former soldier Bauman (The Ice beneath You, 2002). With action shifting from an army boat to a missionary ship to a hospital administering care to patients with HIV, Bauman reveals three lives entangled in a web of desperation and desire: young, determined army sergeant Tory Harris, the sole woman in her detachment; her former lover, Junior Davis, a disgraced soldier haunted by the sins of his past; and Haitian American Marc Hall, an intelligence officer sent to occupy his mother's homeland. Bauman, who served in the U.S. Army Waterborne, including tours in Somalia and Haiti, has a knack for dropping readers right into the action. While it takes a chapter or two to get a grip on the gritty military lingo and staccato rhythm of Bauman's prose, the payoff is in his characters, who develop like a Polaroid portrait with devastating details emerging on each succeeding page. The term voodoo lounge refers to the machine-gun nest on the port bow of a ship. Reading this startling novel is the literary equivalent of standing watch on that perch. Allison Block
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Review

"When our generation started writing about war, we looked back to Heinemann, O'Brien, and Wolff -- when the next looks back, they'll be looking to Bauman."

-- Joel Turnipseed, author of Baghdad Express --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Touchstone (August 30, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743270983
• ISBN-13: 978-0743270984
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,281,150 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars couldn't put it down..., November 19, 2005

By	Erik Balkey (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews

Great book. Christian can write, that's for sure. No-nonsense, honest, direct, brutal, compassionate. He tells the story. From the vivid, sensory depiction of the scenes, to the insightful, sensitive and caring portrayal of the characters, Christian puts you there effectively and efficiently. I read with great interest this book from a writer of my generation giving us our contemporary war novels. It is eye-opening reading for insights into the soldier's experience and for the soldier's perspectives on our military. But, it's certainly more than the war stories that engage. It's also character portrayals of my generation which are both contemporary and, I'd guess, timeless. Let's hope Christian keeps providing a voice for years to come. I look forward to his next contribution.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars When You Go, You Go For Real, March 20, 2006

By	Terin Miller "The Bull Guy" (New Jersey) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Bauman has done what even Ernest Hemingway didn't: written a novel from a woman's perspective, and a soldier's at that.

Ultimately this novel struck me as being about relationships and the responsibilities that accompany them, whether they be between people, societies or countries, and how many enter relationships without considering the responsibility inherent in them.

For some, living up to the responsibility becomes next to impossible - while for others, life is duty and duty brings responsibility to yourself at the very least if no one else.

It's a hell of a book. Everyone should read it. Then put it down and think about it.

There aren't a lot of books out there I'd say that about - and even fewer writers.