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5.0 out of 5 stars
what a story, 9 Nov 1998
By A Customer
My father was in Vietnam, and he doesn't talk much about it. All my information on what the war was about/like has come from authors who were there, like Haldeman. As a matter of fact, the only reason I knew about this title is because I'm an avid fan of Haldeman's SF; therefore, I had to give this a try, and I'm glad I did. This book is quite depressing, maybe better or worse than others' experiences, but it gets the message across. The last chapter wraps the book up in an unexpectedly tight fashion.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
A superb, crucial American novel, 22 Jun 1998
By A Customer
This is a book that stretches and enfolds the year 1968's wonder and horror. Haldeman has moved from strength to strength -- Robert Heinlein and Orson Scott Card fans will recognize the other side of the story told in _Starship Troopers_ and _Ender's Game_. They will also recognize the next step Haldeman has taken to go beyond his marvelous _The Forever War_.1968 is a tight epic, and while dark, is full of gorgeous irony, dry wit, and melancholy cheer, very much like mid-period Vonnegut (_Slaughterhouse-Five_). It is a book about fate, about time, but also about redemption and kinship. This is a serious novel, well worth reading. It evokes Pynchon, Vonnegut, Mailer, even Toni Morrison, but best of all, shows us Haldeman as a mature and powerful author. Read it.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
Slightly better than OK and very depressing., 20 Aug 1997
By A Customer
This book is the story of a soldier who goes to Vietnam, and, through a series of mishaps, winds up with psychological problems, not the least of which is PTSD. A lot of the story deals with the main character, Spider, and his misfortunate interactions with various governmental facilities. In the end Spider has his life totally ruined by the various forces he interacts with. Meanwhile, his "girl," Beverly, goes through a series of adventures with a hippie and gets absorbed into the lifestyle. Eventually, the book winds up going nowhere, mainly as a result of the two main character's lives going to hell. It winds up being a sad and depressing account of what probably happened to some of the soldiers in Vietnam. The novel seemed to be similar to Catch-22, except it was much, much more dark and depressing, as pretty much absolutely no good comes of the character's lives, even though some of the cynical humor is almost exactly alike. The book did not turn out to be particularly enthralling, because once Spider made it back from the war, his character became kind of flat and emotionless. Granted, this is a common affliction for sufferers of PTSD; however, it really ruined the novel's potential, as the reader is unable to really feel for the character. This is a result of Spider not being able to feel at all, himself. If the character becomes so apathetic, yet he remains rediculously shallow, along with all of the other characters, then how is the reader supposed to identify or feel for him? This book has merits, though, as it does give insight into some of the frustration that the common everyday soldier underwent when dealing with the government, the american people, and large institutionalized politics that can cause real havoc in regular life. If you want to get mad at the army and the government, especially if you were connected to it in some way, I can recommend this book to you, otherwise, I do not feel it will be very interesting.
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by Joe Haldeman
by Joe Haldeman
by Joe Haldeman
by Joe Haldeman
by Joe Haldeman
