M is a novel by John Sack. Published in 1967, it is about M company of the US Army, its journey through bootcamp to Vietnam and back home. The book begins with a description of the boys as they are drafted, a little exposition on their training, what they thought about in Vietnam and ends with the return of one member of the company at the end of his tour. The person who returned was the least disciplined and most opinionated of the lot. An Armenian called Demirgian, he reminded me a bit of Yossarian in Catch-22. Those aren't the only similarities because the 2 books have a similar tone. One of flippancy at the absurdity of war.

I did not like the book because of that flippancy. Even though war is said to be good for nothing, among other such disparaging remarks; I, having only known it from books and films have an opinion about how it should be represented. The fact that it is a matter of life and death, a means to display the virtues of courage and valour (with all their attendant grandeur) means that a focus on its absurdities or a mocking attitude appear petty and mean. On the other hand, focusing too much on the grimness of wounds and dirt and death is just a downer and would make the work really unenjoyable. Thus, I'd like a more balanced presentation, like in the movie Good Morning, Vietnam which showed tragedy, comedy and absurdity in complementary proportions. Or We Were Soldiers, in which the protagonists acknowledged the humanity of their opponents. But perhaps a better book would be Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried A book whose prose is poetic in its beauty, reminding me of a poem by a north Vietnamese soldier:

The crab lies still on the chopping block
Never knowing when the knife will fall

I got that from a PBS documentary on the war. It was an objective and poignant narration of the war. Well worth watching. Unlike this book, which I really did not like and don't think is worth reading. It is a slim book, just 177 pages. Can be read in about 2 days. But it is not recommended.

Iron Noder 2020, 8/30