**M*A*S*H and Beyond**

M*A*S*H

M*A*S*H stands for Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. It has nothing to do with this wonderful memoir. The film and the series were set in Korea, talking about that war, although they are universally associated with the Vietnam War. The similarity lies in the tone, irony, and (apparently) cynical and (apparently) light approach. But Wolff's book is not a delirium of laughter like M*A*S*H.

The title chosen by Wolff refers to the fact that the American army in Vietnam ended up like the Egyptian pharaoh's army, swallowed up, one by the jungle, the other by the waters of the Red Sea parted to allow the passage of the Hebrews. The subtitle 'Memories of the Lost War' seems to imply that Vietnam was the first war lost by the star-spangled army. As if they had won in Korea. And surely it wasn't the last war lost by the Yankees.

The protagonist of this memoir dedicates four precious years of his life to the army of his country. And I believe this says a lot about how lost and wandering he is. To the point of living the war as a teacher of life. I have trouble understanding what the war can teach if not pain, violence, stupidity, uselessness, senselessness, injustice, and oppression. I hope life is something else. Something very different.

Toby enlists at around twenty years old and, after a long training, departs for Vietnam as a lieutenant. But he is the first to be aware of his inability to command. However, he is very skillful and fortunate in ambushes. As soon as he sets foot in Asia, he is sent to the Delta to serve as a military advisor to a South Vietnamese army post because our Toby speaks a few words of the local language. One of his main tasks is to maintain relations with the local population. Toby makes it clear how concrete and sincere the Americans' interest in the natives was (zero).

The Mekong Delta is a distant area from the fighting, a kind of swamp of survival. But there are still booby traps and mines here. Until the Tet Offensive unleashed an unprecedented bloodbath in this part of the country. Wolff, in his thirteen excellent chapters, alternates and intersects the war narrative with that of training, meetings with his father in Berkeley, who has just served two years in prison, and a difficult relationship with a girlfriend. And then, after the leave, the return to civilian clothes, the break with everything and everyone to move to England and end up at Oxford for four years, where he graduates with honors.

It's funny, enjoyable, passionate, and engaging...

There is a profound reason why I have a penchant for reading memoirs.

I am drawn to the authenticity they offer, preferring the real over the fabricated or fictional.

Memoirs present experiences that could potentially happen to anyone, as the old adage goes, "Truth is stranger than fiction."

This particular memoir does not fail to deliver. It chronicles Tobias Wolff's life during the crucial period immediately before, during, and right after the Vietnam War.

Similar to many war memoirs, it portrays the Vietnam War as a senseless and futile undertaking, with the enemy often elusive and difficult to combat.

Unlike World War memoirs where death and destruction are omnipresent, Wolff's experience is one of fighting - if it can even be termed as such - an enemy that is invisible, uncountable, and whose casualties are not immediately evident.

However, this memoir is not solely about Vietnam. It is also a tale of maturity, as Wolff grapples with his chaotic life, his near-insane girlfriend, his strained relationship with his father, and his troubled background.

He endeavors to straighten out his life and find some semblance of order.

The book concludes on a solemn note, posing the question of what would have transpired if his close friend, a casualty of the war, had survived.

In essence, Wolff is perhaps attempting to pose a question that is commonly asked by those left behind in war: What would have become of all those who perished in war if they had been granted a longer lease on life?

I've only read two of Tobias Wolff's works, both of which are memoirs: This Boy's Life and now In Pharoah's Army. These two works have given me an impression of him as a writer that seems similar to my impression of writers such as Jack London, John Steinbeck, and Ernest Hemingway. Similar, yet not the same. In some aspects, his writing has that "man's man" quality that they possess. In other ways, he is much more brutally honest and allows himself a vulnerability that I can't envision someone like Hemingway allowing.

In short, I really like Tobias Wolff's writing. A great deal. He makes me stop and re-read to savor the prose. I haven't walked in his footsteps, done what he's done, or seen what he's seen... yet he manages to strike universal chords in his words that remind me of ways my life has witnessed, been, and done something similar to his. I recognize my own humanity in his words. There is a confessional element to his work.

I suppose what I like about In Pharoah's Army is that it's a book about his experiences during the Vietnam War that presents him as nothing more than he was - one man experiencing a war in the only way he could or knew how - personally. There is no glorification. No gratuitous violence. No self-righteous preaching. In the process, he also skillfully explores his evolving relationship with his estranged father in a way that reveals himself and, along the way, the reader.

Tobias Wolff has once again crafted a truly gripping memoir.

This book is an absolute page-turner that takes the reader on a journey through his tour in Vietnam. Wolff vividly describes the experiences, the hardships, and the emotions he endured during that time.

After his return home, he delves into his training and submersion into the art of writing. The reader gets a fascinating look at how Wolff developed his skills and became the accomplished writer he is today.

Overall, this memoir is a must-read for anyone interested in war, personal growth, and the power of writing. It is a powerful and moving account that will stay with you long after you have turned the final page.

**In Pharaoh's Army: A Transformative Memoir**

In Tobias Wolff's In Pharaoh's Army: Memories of the Lost War (Vintage Books 1994), we are taken on a journey with Wolff as a special forces officer in Vietnam. The initial review from 2014 was rather lackluster, with a rating of 4/10. However, upon a recent reread and reflection, Wolff's memoir has proven to be an exceptional work.

The author's writing style is remarkable. He employs excellent pacing, allowing the story to unfold at a natural rhythm. His use of vocabulary is also top-notch, enhancing the vividness of his descriptions. Wolff's recounting of his experiences in Vietnam is not meant to horrify or stun the reader. Instead, it is a reflective and honest portrayal of war.

Wolff includes war stories, but they are not the typical ones. The chapter "Last Shot" is particularly powerful, invoking the memory of his lost friend Hugh Pierce. Upon returning to the US, Wolff offers a profound observation on how his time in the war has changed him. He realizes that he has come to accept corruption and brutality, which sets him apart from those who do not take such things for granted.

Two threads that stand out in this memoir are Wolff's tales about his adopted puppy Canh Cho and his stories about his fellow American officer Captain Kale. These personal anecdotes add depth and humanity to the overall narrative.

In conclusion, In Pharaoh's Army is an excellent memoir and a brilliant piece of storytelling. It merits a much higher rating than the initial 4/10. My new rating is 8/10, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in war memoirs or personal accounts of transformation.

I've never heard of Wolff's In Pharaoh's Army before.

When a friend recommended the book (right after he binged read it), I was interested, but at the same time, I was also doubtful.

However, once I started reading, I was immediately pulled into the strong, reminiscent story about the experiences of war.

In Pharaoh's Army reads like a collection of short stories, each one with its own unique value.

It is a collection of memories of a young officer's experiences in Vietnam, where he worked as an adviser in the Delta.

Each story diverts into a secondary path, and then winds back to the chapter's main point.

Many of the side routes end in irony, sadness, or dark comedy.

Wolff's stories also hit home with my own experiences in the Army and in war.

His chapter describing the Tet offensive perfectly captured the powerless feeling that you frequently experience as a combat adviser.

His glib, pithy attitude may sound negative at first, but reading between the lines, one can see that it is not.

This is a great, fast read that will resonate deeply with many combat veterans.

My only regret is not reading it sooner.

It has now become a core member of my professional reading list.

I highly recommend it to anyone interested in the experiences of war and the military.

On Thanksgiving, I decided to read this entire book from start to finish.

As I delved into the pages, I was immediately captivated by the beautiful prose that unfolded before my eyes. The author's words painted vivid pictures and evoked a range of emotions within me.

However, as I continued reading, I also began to sense a tinge of sadness underlying the story. It was a sadness that crept up on me gradually, like a gentle breeze on a cold winter's day.

Despite the sadness, I found myself unable to put the book down. I was drawn in by the characters and their struggles, and I wanted to know how their stories would end.

By the time I reached the final page, I was left with a sense of both fulfillment and loss. The book had taken me on an emotional journey that I would not soon forget.

It was a beautiful and sad experience, one that I am grateful to have had on this Thanksgiving day.

Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Been (except me)

Honesty is truly a complex and mysterious concept, much like the famous painting "Nude Descending a Staircase". One wonders if she was really going down the stairs or if it was just a pose, perhaps she was actually headed up. And to what extent was she nude? Maybe the artist simply imagined the final part. Nevertheless, the picture stands as a lasting, yet somewhat unclear, monument to a particular moment in time. As we strip away our motivations for doing things and take into account all the moods and history that lie behind even the smallest of our actions, it's possible that we, too, might get confused. Some people deceive themselves into believing they are telling the truth, even as they hypocritically tell lies yet again. Others may have told those lies so many times that they actually think they are telling the truth. And then there are those who never look beneath the surface, for whom truth is simply a matter of the feelings of the moment. Honestly revealing oneself takes a great deal of effort. It is not only a lot of work but also probably very much an art form. If it is an art, then it cannot be a science. As Wolff himself states, "Your version of reality might not tally with the stats or the map or the after-action report, but it was the reality you lived in, that would live on in you through the years ahead, and become the story by which you remembered all that you had seen, and done, and been." I would humbly add that your version would transform as you grew older and experienced those subtle, yet long-lasting changes that crept into your very memories.

Yeah, well, this book is about a guy's year in Vietnam, including the training before and the blankness and partial recovery afterwards. It delves into his relationships with his parents, girlfriends, and dead comrades, as well as his experience of being a stranger in a strange land. However, if that's all you want to know, then this book may not be for you. Many guys had a similar experience. But how many of them could write about it in such a perfect way? "IN PHAROAH'S ARMY" is a gem because of the honesty with which Wolff describes every feeling and every nuanced experience, holding nothing back and hiding no unpleasant aspects of his character. While it is a moving book, I still found myself wondering where honesty and self-revelation can ultimately be found, since they are so clearly art forms. This is the question that Wolff's book will raise in every reader. It is a most powerful question, and this is a most powerful book. I could easily give it more than 5 stars if that were possible.

This is an outstanding book that delves into the often peculiar experience of being an advisor in Vietnam.

The advisor is estranged from other American units and is immersed within an alien culture. As Wolfe remarks, sometimes the only achievement in a year is simply to stay alive. Tobias Wolff recounts his experiences with clear prose and language that effortlessly engages the reader. It is highly recommended.

On a related note, Wolff is capable of capturing some of the identities that American advisors in Vietnam assumed during their tours of duty. Some were extremely enthusiastic, hoping to impose their will on their Vietnamese counterparts, although this was an impossible feat. Others adopted a humanitarian mindset and saw an opportunity to assist the unfortunate. Still others "went native" and became more firmly entrenched in a quasi-Vietnamese identity than their original American one. And some were like Tobias Wolff: neutral, uncomfortable adapting to his environment, constantly out of the loop regarding the latest intelligence, and content to make his situation as comfortable as possible and simply survive.

This book offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex and diverse experiences of American advisors in Vietnam.

As a child, I would sometimes watch the news.

At least when I passed by the old television with the big antenna atop the house, which could pick up two stations - the NBC and CBS affiliates.

Almost every night, at least from the age when I could remember anything I saw, we would hear news stories from some strange place with jungles where a lot of Americans were engaged in war.

The place, of course, was Vietnam. Tobias Wolff provides a first-hand look at his experience as an officer both before and during his being stationed there.

The majority of his account deals with the time he spent in the My Tho region. I really enjoyed his sincere narrative, which vividly showed his development as an individual and as a soldier.

He offers keen observations on both the Vietnamese and American forces. His work has left a deep impression on me, and I truly want to read more of Wolff's work in the future.

I am eager to explore more of his perspectives and experiences, as they seem to offer a unique and valuable insight into a significant period of history.

His writing style is engaging and immersive, making it easy for the reader to connect with his story and understand the complex emotions and situations he encountered.

I believe that reading more of his work will not only expand my knowledge but also enhance my understanding of the human experience during times of war and conflict.

Honest and insightful linked essays center around Wolff's Vietnam experience and certain related circumstances both before and after it. Wolff shows a remarkable willingness to confront his own limitations, not only as a soldier but also as a person, reaching a level of intensity and depth that many others fail to achieve. In this regard, it bears a resemblance to Tim O'Brien's war fiction, particularly "The Things They Carried." The portrait of Wolff's father that comes to light is especially forthright and somewhat unnerving due to its unflinching honesty. Wolff's exploration of his Vietnam experience is a profound one, delving into the complex emotions and challenges he faced. His willingness to be so open about his limitations adds a layer of authenticity to his work. The comparison to O'Brien's fiction further emphasizes the significance of Wolff's writing, as both authors capture the essence of war and its impact on the human psyche. The portrayal of Wolff's father is equally captivating, revealing a side of him that may have been hidden or overlooked before.

An incredibly honest look at a man's participation in Vietnam and his life before and after his service is presented in this work.

While there isn't an excessive focus on detailed descriptions of combat, the author's hauntingly honest writing style more than compensates for it.

He candidly examines the human struggle, both the good and the bad aspects.

The flux of emotions and the transformation in how one views others during combat are also explored.

It is a superb yet short book that offers a unique perspective on the Vietnam experience.

Despite its brevity, it manages to capture the essence of the man's journey and the profound impact it had on his life.

The author's ability to convey the complex emotions and experiences in a concise manner is truly remarkable.

This book serves as a valuable reminder of the sacrifices and challenges faced by those who served in Vietnam.

It is a must-read for anyone interested in understanding the human side of war and its aftermath.