3 out of 4 stars
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Not much fighting seemed to be happening in the little village 10,210 miles away from Washington, D.C.; 9,828 miles from Memphis; and 10,620 miles from Atlanta. Although in the midst of the Vietnam War, the men in this book seem to mostly be fighting the heat, the regulations of their arrogant sergeant and lieutenant, and, even worse, the boredom. The fictional book Bridge Ten by Harry B. Dodge III is an interesting and honest peek at the Vietnam War in a new setting than I had never before witnessed.
The book follows the story of Hal, a young, drafted soldier. By his side, fellow soldiers Sonny, Bo, and Tennessee keep each other company and provide entertainment as they guard the Bridge Ten outside a small Vietnamese village. To keep themselves occupied, much to the dislike of the military personnel in charge, the men are often found at a nearby place sipping cold Cokes, swimming in the less than desirable water, or spending time with the local kids. Although there is not much fighting during the book, I never felt like the book itself was boring. It was relatively short, and the realistic situations kept me captivated. The children of the village also made quite a few appearances, and their humor provided some entertainment to both the men in the story and the readers.
I was especially pleased with how realistic this book felt. The dialogue, specifically, was very well done. I could easily imagine each person speaking, and everything from word choice to punctuation gave the characters unique voices.
I also liked some of the important and somewhat controversial topics that were brought up in the book. Friends and family of these soldiers back home were often not in favor of the war, and it was interesting to get a perspective through the eyes of the soldiers. Most of them were drafted and never asked to be shipped over to Vietnam, and they would have given anything to go home. It was disheartening for them to realize that they would not have much public support when they did return home. Another topic that was briefly mentioned was the treatment of the native Vietnamese citizens. Although not a large aspect of the book, there were glimpses of it. It was saddening to see how some American soldiers were so ignorant and blatantly disrespected the Vietnamese.
I rate Bridge Ten 3 out of 4 stars. I did enjoy the story, and I would recommend it to other readers interested in historical fiction or fictional war stories. I could not give it a perfect rating because there were a fair number of grammatical errors that I found.
It is important to note that because of the realism, not all aspects of the book may be pleasant, or even appropriate, for readers. Throughout the story, there is strong usage of profanity, drugs, and prostitution. Personally, I found that, although not pleasant, these scenes often helped depict the truly rough situations that these men at war may have found themselves in.
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Bridge Ten
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