The 60’s: “This is the story of a time in American history
when we as a people divided not only among ourselves but within
ourselves. It is the story of a young man’s experience in that time and
of the battles he fought on the streets of America and on the
battlefields of Vietnam.”
G. D. Harrington
Much that has been written about Vietnam
is journalism or literature. Harrington’s book is reality. He writes
with eloquence and style, but his view is that of the “grunt” the
ordinary foot soldier who experienced the dirt, fear, drugs, and death
day after day for nearly two years.
He takes us with him and spares no
details and he will make you cry your heart out
-
when you’re not laughing. When his hero
Harry the Hippie aka Harry the Head despairs over being turned into a
killer and he isn’t even 21 yet, we realize that he’s been raped of his
innocence as sure as the little girl Vietnamese whore who makes “boom
boom” for loose change has been raped of her innocence.
Harrington doesn’t romanticize war or
make it heroic a Ia Green Berets. The smell of war will “cling to you
like dirt.” And you’ll read one of the most heart-wrenching climaxes
ever written.
In this marvelous first novel, Mr. Harrington has taken care of
business: you won’t forget Harry Taylor. And you won’t forget Vietnam.
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