“The men of Bravo are not cold.”
And thus the book draws you in, right from its opening line, and keeps you there until the end thanks to the quality writing.
Bravo are Bravo squad, a troop of 8 soldiers. They are being treated to a victory tour of the US following a heroic deed at the Al-Ansakar Canal in Iraq, as they fight against TerrRr. Billy Lynn is one of their number, the Texas-boy and the one who was singled out for being the hero, the news crew footage proves it and only enhances their status.
Throughout the tour they are treated like heroes by their fellow Americans. But they have to return for another 11 months. The focus of the book is on the end of the tour where they are being treated to a Dallas Cowboys American Football game by the owner Norm Oglesby. But the rest of the book takes you through the painful goodbyes with family, the cheerleader Billy falls in love with on first sight then has to say goodbye to, the option of not going back to war, the narrow margins between life and death, the loss of a good friend in war, the camaraderie the group have for each other etc.
It is like one of those war films where you know the hero is going to die because of all the goodbyes that are going on. But the poignant ending is left unsaid.
Obviously a knowledge of American culture, in particular American Football will help through parts of the book, although it is not essential. And maybe the hero-worship does go on for a bit too long but overall the writing oozes quality in this well thought out novel on the Iraqi war.
I got this book through Amazon Vine. It is listed HERE.
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