why: a colleague brought this to me this week but warned me not to start reading it until I have three days to dedicate to it, meaning I won't be able to stop reading it once I start it
when: start 5/4/13 end 5/28/13
how: as an ebook on my iPad (from the local bookseller of course!) Even though I have a copy of this sitting on my desk at school to read, I much prefer ebooks so I downloaded it for myself.
thoughts: When another colleague saw this book on my desk, he told me that this is the book everyone should have been reading about the Iraq war. And I agree. Wow. The juxtaposition of war vs. the American pro football insanity is powerful here. The Dallas Cowboys' equipment room as described in this novel has more gear in it for a single game than our soldiers have for battle. I've always had issues with the hype surrounding professional sports in our world (and by "hype" I mean all the money spent on this when there are people starving in our country). And I think that ultimately this novel makes a burning commentary about US and what WE pay attention to. In the novel, this group of soldiers are only on the mind of the Americans back at home because a Fox News team caught a few minutes of a firefight where the soldiers killed a bunch of bad guys. So now the soldiers are all heroes and on tour for two weeks in the states so everyone can admire them. The two week tour culminates with a Thanksgiving day Cowboys game with the soliders as the special guests (though not more special than the halftime entertainment, Destiny's Child--see again how this novel comments on our priorities?). The novel tells the story of that five or so hour period at the football game--brilliant. Heart wrenching. Powerful. I could keep going here, but you should really read it on your own and tell me what you think.
Click on the book image to see a review from the NYTimes for the book.
review haiku:
football versus war
where are our priorities?
never mind. Kickoff.
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