Thursday, July 20, 2006
Good writers and very good writers
The very good ones just have that certain something, don't they? I'm reading My Detachment, the Vietnam war memoir of Tracy Kidder, the non-fiction writer who won a Pulitzer in 1981 for his book on the computer industry, Soul of a New Machine.
Kidder was a Lieutenant in a rear-echelon intelligence unit, and early in the book tries to Vietnam vets who did not experience combat might come home to tell phony stories about how they did:
Kidder was a Lieutenant in a rear-echelon intelligence unit, and early in the book tries to Vietnam vets who did not experience combat might come home to tell phony stories about how they did:
When one considers the suffering of actual combatants, or the much more numerous sufferings of Vietnamese civilians, it seems like sheer perversity for a rear echelon solider to come home wishing his experiences had been more dreadful than they were.... Most of the soldiers who went to Vietnam were boys, whether they were 22 or just 18. They had watched a lot of movies and TV. I'm sure that many set out for Vietnam feeling confused or unhappy, as adolescents tend to do.A good writer might have gone on to write this next sentence:
And deep down many probably thought they the would return with stories of their own heroism.But Kidder, a very good writer, prefers the ironic, over the obvious, truth. He wrote:
They had watched a lot of movies and TV. I'm sure that many set out for Vietnam feeling confused or unhappy, as adolescents tend to do. And deep down many probably thought they the would return with improved reasons for feeling that way.Kidder admits that his first book length manuscript -- a never-published Vietnam war novel about a junior grade combat officer -- was his own version of a bullshit story. My Detachment --I like the ambiguous title -- is a great read so far.
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Kidder is one of my favorite authors. Try his book "House" if you ever get into a home renovation mood.
wpk
mqwyb - m cubed, where "m" = mass -- your weight if you continue to go to mcdonalds.
wpk
mqwyb - m cubed, where "m" = mass -- your weight if you continue to go to mcdonalds.
# posted by 
: 12:27 PM, July 20, 2006
: 12:27 PM, July 20, 2006
When I read "The Forever War" by Joe Haldeman, in High School and again in my college Science Fiction english class, I had a lot of trouble believing some of the premises of the future military... taking the best and brightest and putting them on the front lines.
then, years later, I had an opportunity to hear Mr Haldeman speak. It seems he was a "tunnel rat" in Vietnam, because he pissed off the sargeant in charge of assinging soldier's jobs. Haldeman's job as a soldier was to be first into the VC tunnels, to either find mines or people with guns waiting to shoot American soldiers.
"Forever War" took on a whole new meaning for me. (and his sequel "Forever Peace", written years later, also won the Hugo and Nebula awards, the 2 highest awards in the SF genre). I Highly recommend both books.
--
gwotzx (gwot zix) - being in posession of half a dozen of an item: "I gwotzx"
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then, years later, I had an opportunity to hear Mr Haldeman speak. It seems he was a "tunnel rat" in Vietnam, because he pissed off the sargeant in charge of assinging soldier's jobs. Haldeman's job as a soldier was to be first into the VC tunnels, to either find mines or people with guns waiting to shoot American soldiers.
"Forever War" took on a whole new meaning for me. (and his sequel "Forever Peace", written years later, also won the Hugo and Nebula awards, the 2 highest awards in the SF genre). I Highly recommend both books.
--
gwotzx (gwot zix) - being in posession of half a dozen of an item: "I gwotzx"
# posted by : 2:35 PM, July 20, 2006
: 2:35 PM, July 20, 2006 Subscribe to Post Comments [Atom]
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