"Well," Elmer said. "You made the big time. Congratulations."
Ballantine Books, 1975 |
Were Americans ever really naïve or is that just
something that our collective modern myth tries to convince us of. Personally,
I don’t think so. The 60s is a just a duplicitous reflection of history that’s
become cliché. The reality depends on where one stood at the time. Were you in
the back of the bus? In a segregated school? Were you going to Stanford? Were
you one of the multitude (if you believe most aging boomers) at Woodstock
waking up to Jimi Hendrix? Or were you carrying a weapon in a jungle on the
other side of the world? I was born in the early 60s so none of the tropes were
in my radar. For me the 60s was Captain Kangaroo on TV. Coming to age in the
70s I’m the first to admit that my mind went into shutdown mode whenever some
pampered suburbanite started waxing poetic about their rebellious youth living
a life somewhere between Easy Rider and Woodstock. Especially when I knew
they voted for Reagan and both Bushes.I thought most of the crap I heard second hand about the 60s was bullshit slung around by old farts trying to relive some kind of life they saw in the movies. I probably sound the same to others generations after me.
So we have Dog Soldiers, a novel deemed by critics to be
an allegory of the waning 60s. Or really, was that Robert Stone’s intention
with this book? I have no idea. Clearly it’s a product of his experiences. My
recollection of the 70s, when this novel takes place, is of television, skateboards
and school. Then girls, sports, pot, going to movies and part-time work at Winn
Dixie. I was sheltered from the ugliness of the world mostly, given that
ugliness still seeped into the ‘burbs in spite of our parents’ best and failed
efforts. So this book is a look at a time and place involving a couple of young
wasted lives pursuing a fool’s dream with heroin. The deck is stacked against
them, as it is for most of us in this crazy country of movies, music and
jingoism. You want to read a good and sordid book about drugs and dreams, then
you’ll like this book. I liked this book. I probably read it at the right time
in life. Had I read it when I was 25 I might not have cared.
I hope to read it someday.
ReplyDeleteHope you enjoy the book if you read it. I've heard his other books are very good also. Thanks for commenting.
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