MATTERHORN by Karl Marlantes goes on sale March 23rd and from all the advance attention this appears to be the book to watch!
The beginning of February, Karl Marlantes had one of the longest lines at Winter Institute. Booksellers were wanting an advance look at this 595 page novel about Vietnam. Morgan Entrekin from Grove/Atlantic was very excited about this first novel, the author and the journey the book took from a small nonprofit publisher in Berkeley, El Leon Literary Arts.
Despite the hype I was leary to begin the tome, but a reveiw in Shelf Awareness convinced me to give it a try—I’m sure glad…
“Once in a while, a wondrous and remarkable book comes along, written from the deep places of the heart with passion and courage. Matterhorn is that book. Karl Marlantes’s timeless tale of bravery, misery, stupidity and love is nothing short of a hero’s journey, a quest for meaning. If I had any reservations about reading another novel about the Vietnam War, I soon abandoned them in this mesmerizing, heart-pounding ride through three months of combat, where the rhythm of war gripped me relentlessly.
Matterhorn begins in 1969, during the winter monsoon season in Quang-Tri province, where 2nd Lt. Waino Mellas is assigned to a fire support base with the 1st Battalion, 24th Marines. Commanding a rifle platoon of 40 Marines was not what he had in mind when he joined the reserves nor was actual combat part of the plan, but the shortage of infantry officers has changed that. Still, Mellas is ambitious and is soon trying to work the system to get ahead, take over the company, win a medal and save his own skin. At the same time, he fears he’s too chickenshit to lead. He’ll find out immediately, since the three platoons of Bravo Company have an assignment–occupy the hill dubbed Matterhorn. “
for the full review and other information about the author, including a Matterhorn playlist