Review: Wow!!! Great Read (once you get used to the unusual writing style).
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 08 13, 2011
I picked out this book today from the "free Kindle top 100 books" and although the initial lack of information about the book (non existent description and no reviews)tended to put me off, I decided to give it a try.  Man, am I glad I did!!!  This book captivated me in a way few books do.  At first the writing style (reminiscent of Kent Haruf, author of Plainsong, Eventide, et al.) was unexpected.  This style includes run on sentences, unusual beginnings and endings to paragraphs and a choppy, almost machine gun like dialogue which, until you get used to it, can be a little off putting, yet...  like Haruf's novels it works its magic and is so believable it's as if you are a ghost hovering around the author, living alongside him and his shipmates as he spins this great tale.Set on-board a navy fighting ship just prior to the first Gulf War, and in Iraq for a time during the Gulf War, the book is not a long read yet its ability to insert you directly into the middle of the action is amazing.  You really get an incredible insight into the lives of Sailors and Marines on-board ship as they move through their sometimes mundane, or exciting, or tragic daily lives. The harsh reality of life and death as an inescapable fact of war is realistically portrayed, as are the thoughts and/or actions which might preserve life or cause death in a given situation.The language used is strong yet exactly as men talk to one another under conditions of camaraderie, or lack thereof, in the close quarters of shipboard life during times of peace or war.This is not so much a story as it is a narrative and, as such, there is no real plot or storyline.  Instead, you find rich  dialogue and intimate thoughts placed on the pages in a manner which draws you into the situations and assures your undivided attention.If you are looking for a realistic book about the thoughts and feelings of realistic characters, then this book should fill the bill, and I wholeheartedly recommend it to anyone who wants a Damn Good read.