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Title: Gunning for Ho: Vietnam Stories (Western Literature Series) by H. Lee Barnes, John Clark Pratt ISBN: 0-87417-346-9 Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr Pub. Date: March, 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.67 (9 reviews)
Rating: 2
Summary: Great but cold writing
Comment: There are some fine times in Gunning for Ho. My personal favorites are "A Lovely Day..." and the wonderfully mystic and deep "Stonehands..." This gives a glimpse into the author's not wanting to take responsibility for anything too heavy, though he certainly has and will in the future. It's like a fairy tale dream that can't come true. However the story has real merit and is wonderful.
The characters and stories are real and tragic. The Cat in the Cage horrified me. Here the writer actually got in touch with his sensitive more human side and touched me greatly.
However through the book, there is a distance between the author and his characters. As though he doesn't want to get too close. This is so blatant, I found myself not caring very much for them either.
More heart, more soul, more empathy, should be employed in this man's work. It goes without saying he is a superb writer. He simply needs to open himself up to his characters and likewise, he needs to open his characters up as well.
That sort of cutting off of emotions, is part of military training and being in a war, I suppose. But that war is over. A larger focus on the depth of emotion for writer and characters is what is needed.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Truth
Comment: Despite having been born in the latter years of the Vietnam War, and not having read deeply in the field, I am confident this collection of six short stories and a novella by a former Green Beret, is destined to be a classic of Vietnam War fiction. Destined because they resound with the truth--and aren't really concerned with making any political statement. Barnes's stories tell you about the young men who went off to war in an alien landscape, and how they--and those they left behind--were transformed forever. The first three stories are thematically joined by strong surreal elements that speak to the wider confusion and disorientation felt by many who served. More like Kafka than Conrad. The fourth and fifth stories are more straightforward tales of aftermath and picking up the pieces. I found the novella ("Tunnel Rat") to be somewhat more elusive than the stories, and less forceful. It may take a re-reading or two to really get at it. The final (and title) story is a direct descendant of Heart of Darkness, and succeeds in spite of traveling that well-worn path. As a whole, this collection is a testament to the humanity of the men who went to Vietnam.
Rating: 5
Summary: A Moving, Eloquent Study of the Human Condition
Comment: H. Lee Barnes' collection of stories, Gunning For Ho, need not be looked at as just "Vietnam stories", rather they are stories of the soul, of man, of morality, and of America, uniquely America. This is a writer who doesn't shy away from wit or horror (often in the same paragraph, the same sentence) when describing the wars we fight with ourselves and the wars we fight with the enemy. A powerful, moving reminder that what matters is often not what is written on the page, but what we as readers take with us, to last a lifetime. Nothing short of brilliant.
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Title: In the Shadow of the Strip: Las Vegas Stories (Western Literature Series) by Richard Logsdon, Todd Scott Moffett, Tina D. Eliopulos ISBN: 0874175496 Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: The Lucky (Western Literature Series) by H. Lee Barnes ISBN: 0874175399 Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr Pub. Date: September, 2003 List Price(USD): $22.00 |
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Title: What We Carry: Poems (American Poets Continuum, Vol 28) by Dorianne Laux ISBN: 1880238071 Publisher: Boa Editions, Ltd. Pub. Date: May, 1994 List Price(USD): $12.50 |
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Title: FLOATING IN MY MOTHER'S PALM by Ursula Hegi ISBN: 0684854759 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 03 July, 1998 List Price(USD): $12.00 |
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Title: Dummy Up and Deal: Inside the Culture of Casino Dealing by H. Lee Barnes, John L. Smith ISBN: 0874175062 Publisher: Univ of Nevada Pr Pub. Date: August, 2002 List Price(USD): $22.95 |
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