Soldiers Alive

Rating:
Summary: strangely compelling
Review: this is the best war novel i've ever read. the writing is brisk, the story moves quickly, the portraits of the soldiers are powerfully lucid. this novel manages to pull off an incredible feat---it makes brutal soldiers who are war criminals seem almost sympathetic (almost). the novel makes these soldiers appear almost as if they are pawns of forces much larger than themselves. the ending chapter is the best ending chapter of any book that i've read.