Johnny Got His Gun by Dalton Trumbo Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Johnny Got His Gun
Book Review: A brilliant novel that hasn't dated at all, sadly.....minor spoilers...
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book in high school (on my own, it wasn't assigned reading. The assigned reading bored me to death). It has never left me. It's one of the most searing indictments of war ever written. It's brutal, depressing, creepy, terrifying, surreal, and absolutely fascinating. A book like this never really dates, as it is not about one specific war but about war itself.
I'm generally a film person, and I like to rib my literary friends by saying "the movie is always better", but this is one of those cases where the book is vastly superior to the film (even though the film was written and directed by Dalton Trumbo himself, the only film he ever directed). The film came across as amateurish and pretentious, but the book is searing and shockingly unforgettable. To get inside the mind of a man who is nothing but a stump (no legs, no arms, face shot off, but fully conscious and only able to communicate through morse code by tapping his head on the pillow) is as harrowing as they come. I'm glad my high school had this book on their shelves. This along with the biography of Frank Serpico and Native Son (which was assigned reading) were the only 3 books I enjoyed when I was in prison, er, high school. This is still a shattering book, arguably Trumbo's greatest achievement.
Book Review: Best antiwar novel I ever read. . .
Summary: 5 Stars
JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN, by Dalton Trumbo, is the best antiwar novel I ever read.
I warn you -- this book is not for the faint of heart!
A literary friend recently sent me a note about this novel. He said, "By the way, I did read JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN and I share your enthusiasm for it. I would like to see it read by every high schooler that the military recruiters are trying to pick up."
An interesting idea. I agree.
Arlene Sanders
Blue Ridge Mountains
www.ArleneSanders.com
Book Review: Don't read if you have claustrophobia
Summary: 5 Stars
Joe is trapped inside his body. A terrible war injury has caused him to lose his arms, legs, sight, sound, and even smell. His only real consciousness of the world outside his head is the vibrations of the nurses who come into his room and the room temperature that helps him tell what time of day it is. Some of the story is about the past, Joe's life before and during the war, but most of the book is about Joe struggling with his own sanity as he tries to create order and sense out of the madness that he is living. Dalton Trumbo is a brilliant writer who puts you so deeply into the main character's mind that you truly feel you are in his dark and lonely world. When Joe discovers a way to speak with the outside world, you feel his excitement and his great disappointment. When Joe begans to sense that rats are feeding on him at night when the nurses are gone, you feel his terror and utter hopelessness. When Joe figures out a medal of valor is being awarded to him, you feel the rage he feels at such a worthless honor to him now.
A great book that should be read by all those who send other men off to fight wars for their corporate profit.
Book Review: Effectively Horrifying
Summary: 5 Stars
Johnny Got His Gun is a terrifying portrait of war and its effects on man. Joe is left with nothing but his own mind after a shell deprives him of his limbs and face. The entire idea of such desolation with no senses, no communication and no stimuli is altogether horrifying and maddening. I can only imagine his frustrations as he lays in that bed year after year with only his thoughts to keep him company. He attempts to identify time and he reflects on his past and his family. I especially liked his interpretation of the Christmas story. His unsuccessful attempt at communicating through Morse code and the indifference and disregard he endures makes the horror of his condition even more inconceivable.
As an anti-war novel, Johnny Got His Gun successfully illustrates the devastation that war can inflict.
Book Review: Expecting So Much More From This Book.
Summary: 3 Stars
I Was Expecting So Much More From This Book. It Had The Potential To Be A Truly Moving Story, But It Just Wasn't Carried Out Well. I Think I Would've Been Much More Affective If Trumbo Hadn't Felt The Need To Repeatedly Tell Me Exactly How I Was Supposed To Be Affected. A Conversation I Had With Friends Sums This Up Perfectly. When He Saw What I Was Reading He Asked About It. I Told Him It Was About The Horrors Of War And Had Gained A Reputation Since Its Publishing Of Being Synonymous With Varios Anti-War Movements. I Then Explained That The Main Character Had Essentially Been Reduced To A Thinking, Feeling, Human Slab Of Meat And The Book Was Written From His Point Of Veiw. My Friend Had Responded That It Certainly Sounded Like A Strong Argument Against War. And All I Could Think Was "EXACTLY!" The Story Itself Tells You Why War Is Horrible And Especially So For People Who Don't Really Have Involvement In The Condlict To Begin With. This Point Does NOT Need To Be Restates Over And Over Again Until It Is Pounded Into The Reader's Brain. Tell Me The Story, Let Me Get The Message Myself. Have Faith In Your Readers To Get The Right Message On Their Own.