Johnny Got His Gun
In 1939 Dalton Trumbo published "Johnny Got His Gun" - an antiwar novel written in the wake of The Great War and the dawn of World War II. The story is told through the stream of consiousness of Joe Bonham, Shale City, Colorado, United States of America who wakes up in an unknown hospitol in an unknown nation after being hit in battle. He wakes up with no legs, no arms, no ears, no eyes, no nose, no mouth, no jaw... all that's left of him is a chewed up torso and a mind, but he is alive.
I recommend that everyone read this book between the ages of seventeen and twenty, especially males, it is an eye-opener. It is touching. It is moving. It is emotional. It is gruesome. And, it is traumatic. Take to heart the message in it from the first paragraph about Bonham's father all the way through Bonham's memories and spurts of insanity through to "... you make the wars you masters of men and point the way and we'll point the guns."
From page to page Bonham's thoughts unleash his life stories and a multitude of things to think about - things we've been ignoring for years - things we can and should apply now like honour to the maimed; the dead are the lucky ones.
Next up:
A Painted House - John Grisham
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus III
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (if I can get a copy of it hint hint)
I recommend that everyone read this book between the ages of seventeen and twenty, especially males, it is an eye-opener. It is touching. It is moving. It is emotional. It is gruesome. And, it is traumatic. Take to heart the message in it from the first paragraph about Bonham's father all the way through Bonham's memories and spurts of insanity through to "... you make the wars you masters of men and point the way and we'll point the guns."
From page to page Bonham's thoughts unleash his life stories and a multitude of things to think about - things we've been ignoring for years - things we can and should apply now like honour to the maimed; the dead are the lucky ones.
Next up:
A Painted House - John Grisham
House of Sand and Fog - Andre Dubus III
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - Stephen Chbosky (if I can get a copy of it hint hint)