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ilariarebuli's review against another edition
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.25
lizzycatslibrary's review
2.0
This book turned out to be pretty much what I expected it to be. I was hoping for something original but instead it brought to mind every other war time disassociated with the world no on understands me book I've ever read. Nothing was surprising, eye opening, or shocking. In fact, there was just nothing about the book that gave me any added insight into Billy Lynn and his very very very long halftime walk. Very long. *Sigh* As the Ghost Hunter's say... "on to the next".
angus_mckeogh's review against another edition
4.0
Another pretty good read. Well written and interesting. The story kept me reading, and it was really kind of sad and about current events. However, my only complaint was my own expectations going into the book. Oddly enough I found this book on a “Best Books for Halloween” list. Uh...not spooky, not scary, not horror; nor is it meant to be. Either some jokers put it on the list because they’d never read it or they were jackasses, or someone was just trying to sell books. A good read. But not a good Halloween read.
missyjohnson's review against another edition
4.0
Billy Lynn is a 19 year old member of the army serving in Iraq after 9/11 (nina leven). Bravo squad, his unit, were recently involved in an ambush and fire fight that was caught on camera. The Bravo team has been brought back to the US for a “victory” tour after this fight. They have traveled the country and are finishing with a trip to Texas Stadium as guests of the Cowboys and to be featured during the half-time show along with Destiny’s Child on Thanksgiving Day. Billy is young but also is observant and very smart. He admires his Sargent (Dime) and is mourning his friend Shroom who died in his arms in the ambush. During the visit to Texas Stadium, Billy meets the Cowboys owner, (Norm aka Jerry Jones), several players, the cheerleaders, (Faison Zorn), a lot of rich folks, and some regular folks. Ben Fountain is able to use the setting of the football stadium, game, and folks involved to show so much of the consumerism of America. He shows the question of the US involvement in the middle east and the various thoughts that many folks have concerning the war. The book is funny, sad, thought-provoking and realistic. There is a good social commentary. Billy’s sister is begging for him to go AWOL and not return to finish his tour. the reason that he is in Iraq is because he vandalized a car that belonged to his sisters ex-boyfriend, and joining the army avoided jail time. In trying to convince him to not return, she says (page 255)——- “Billy all those mofos ever do is lie. You think if they halfway told the truth we’d even be in a fucking war? You know what I think, I think we don’t deserve to have you guys die for us. No country that lets its leaders lie like that deserve a single soldier to die for it”.
book_concierge's review
2.0
2.5**
From the book jacket: A ferocious firefight with Iraqi insurgents – three minutes and forty-three seconds of intense warfare caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew – has transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo squad into America’s most sought-after heroes. For the past two weeks the Bush administration has sent them on a media-intensive nationwide Victory Tour to reinvigorate public support for the war. Now, on a chilly and rainy Thanksgiving Day, they are guests of the Dallas Cowboys, slated to be part of the halftime show alongside Destiny’s Child.
My reactions
My stars, this took forever to take off. For the first 100 pages or so, I was completely bored and had no idea where this mess was going. I didn’t like how the men of Bravo squad were portrayed – hard drinking, foul-mouthed, crude. If this hadn’t been a selection for my F2F book club I would have given up after 50 pages.
Once the squad gets into the private club room to meet the Cowboys’ owner and other high-powered, moneyed VIPs, the book begins to get interesting (pg 108). The last third of the book was very good. Billy Lynn is only 19 after all, from a small town, with limited education and no real exposure to the world at large. He takes his cue from the other members of Bravo Squad, particularly Staff Sergeant Dime, who is more a father to Billy than his own father is. In the space of several hours Billy is forced to examine his role in the war, in the media circus that is their victory tour, in his family. He begins to consider his options and what his future might look like.
This is a satire, so many of the characters and situations are outlandish and exaggerated. This is also Fountain’s first full-length novel, though he won numerous awards for his short stories. I think his experience and skill at short story writing showed in this work. The work seemed choppy in places, lacking any sort of transition from chapter to chapter. Some of the scenes (Billy’s visit with his family, in particular) would make fine short stories all on their own.
From the book jacket: A ferocious firefight with Iraqi insurgents – three minutes and forty-three seconds of intense warfare caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew – has transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo squad into America’s most sought-after heroes. For the past two weeks the Bush administration has sent them on a media-intensive nationwide Victory Tour to reinvigorate public support for the war. Now, on a chilly and rainy Thanksgiving Day, they are guests of the Dallas Cowboys, slated to be part of the halftime show alongside Destiny’s Child.
My reactions
My stars, this took forever to take off. For the first 100 pages or so, I was completely bored and had no idea where this mess was going. I didn’t like how the men of Bravo squad were portrayed – hard drinking, foul-mouthed, crude. If this hadn’t been a selection for my F2F book club I would have given up after 50 pages.
Once the squad gets into the private club room to meet the Cowboys’ owner and other high-powered, moneyed VIPs, the book begins to get interesting (pg 108). The last third of the book was very good. Billy Lynn is only 19 after all, from a small town, with limited education and no real exposure to the world at large. He takes his cue from the other members of Bravo Squad, particularly Staff Sergeant Dime, who is more a father to Billy than his own father is. In the space of several hours Billy is forced to examine his role in the war, in the media circus that is their victory tour, in his family. He begins to consider his options and what his future might look like.
This is a satire, so many of the characters and situations are outlandish and exaggerated. This is also Fountain’s first full-length novel, though he won numerous awards for his short stories. I think his experience and skill at short story writing showed in this work. The work seemed choppy in places, lacking any sort of transition from chapter to chapter. Some of the scenes (Billy’s visit with his family, in particular) would make fine short stories all on their own.
scavengercat's review
3.0
I liked the second half of the book much better than the first (first half=two stars, second half=four). The writing was great, but it was almost over-written and the wordiness got in the way from time-to-time.
haley6621's review
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jacksontibet's review
4.0
A surprisingly well-written "day in the life" of an overwhelmed, underprepared, and shellshocked Iraqi war veteran/combatant. Billy Lynn may not be able to explain his dichotomous relationship with the war that has made him a Fox News NATIONAL HERO to the nina leven jingoists but he doesn't have to. He could have easily been a listless, PTSD ravaged, generic post-military main character type but much credit goes to Ben Fountain for avoiding these pitfalls and climbing inside the mind of a horny, confused, angry, scared, and defensive manboy whose simply trying to keep his head above water, find some advil, and make peace with his life before being sent back to the shit.