Daren
Pinney's second volume, following Trooper Johnno, who becomes a Corporal for a period of time becomes demoted and then isn't really sure where he stands... The 8th Commando Squadron are shipped to Bougainville, to replace the departing American forces who are off to the Philippines.
Pinney's writing is surely at its finest in these later books. While I always enjoy his writing, it has really scaled new heights here. It is incredibly rare for a book on a single page to be able to describe landscape and the soldiers moving through the jungle through jungle so clearly; to be able to clearly explain a soldiers attitude towards the Japanese - of pure hatred for the solider, but in all soldiers, not necessarily hatred of the man; and to perfectly fall into step with the conversation of a common man - in pure Australian complete with slang and rhyming slang yet still making it sound authentic.
The name of this book comes from a discussion near the end of the book, but it is quoted on the inside cover. Obviously about the futility of war, I have replicated it here.
"It's a stupid bloody fight," he said. "We will be needin' more than mops when the big rains come."
"Free tucker," Buster grinned. "Six bob a day and permission to fart. What more you want?"
Jonas glared. "It won't accomplish nothing', and a lot of blokes are going to get hurt. And when them rivers flood, and he poor bloody infantry bog down, the whole thing's going to blow up in our faces. It's like firing a glass cannon at bloody rainbow, ay? But galahs like you can't see that."
In the Preface, Pinney states that this book ... is intimately based on (his) diaries... and represents the limited experience of one man. An attempt has been made to eliminate factual error, but bias and prejudice remain, and the dialogues recorded here approximate only a few of the conversations that took place. The book is in no sense a unit history, nor is it meant to be. If it gives even a marginal notion of what the campaign meant for a small group of men on Bougainville, it will have served its purpose.
There is plenty of bias and prejudice - these are men tasked with eliminating an enemy - there is limited capacity in most soldiers to separate the individual from the enemy. They are referred to a Nips and Japs, they are ridiculed for their fear of the jungle (they like the clearer ground), but only the foolish believe they are not a risk.
Johnno introduces his fellow soldiers, we learn about their character, their flaws, their fears. Some are friends, some are frustrating men to be thrown in with. Some are not alive by the end of the book. The futility of war is written throughout, but this was a book I tried to read in small doses, not because it was a tough topic, or a heavy read, but because I didn't want the slender 228 pages to end. Mainly because I have not found a copy of the third in the trilogy yet.
5 stars
Pinney's second volume, following Trooper Johnno, who becomes a Corporal for a period of time becomes demoted and then isn't really sure where he stands... The 8th Commando Squadron are shipped to Bougainville, to replace the departing American forces who are off to the Philippines.
Pinney's writing is surely at its finest in these later books. While I always enjoy his writing, it has really scaled new heights here. It is incredibly rare for a book on a single page to be able to describe landscape and the soldiers moving through the jungle through jungle so clearly; to be able to clearly explain a soldiers attitude towards the Japanese - of pure hatred for the solider, but in all soldiers, not necessarily hatred of the man; and to perfectly fall into step with the conversation of a common man - in pure Australian complete with slang and rhyming slang yet still making it sound authentic.
The name of this book comes from a discussion near the end of the book, but it is quoted on the inside cover. Obviously about the futility of war, I have replicated it here.
"It's a stupid bloody fight," he said. "We will be needin' more than mops when the big rains come."
"Free tucker," Buster grinned. "Six bob a day and permission to fart. What more you want?"
Jonas glared. "It won't accomplish nothing', and a lot of blokes are going to get hurt. And when them rivers flood, and he poor bloody infantry bog down, the whole thing's going to blow up in our faces. It's like firing a glass cannon at bloody rainbow, ay? But galahs like you can't see that."
In the Preface, Pinney states that this book ... is intimately based on (his) diaries... and represents the limited experience of one man. An attempt has been made to eliminate factual error, but bias and prejudice remain, and the dialogues recorded here approximate only a few of the conversations that took place. The book is in no sense a unit history, nor is it meant to be. If it gives even a marginal notion of what the campaign meant for a small group of men on Bougainville, it will have served its purpose.
There is plenty of bias and prejudice - these are men tasked with eliminating an enemy - there is limited capacity in most soldiers to separate the individual from the enemy. They are referred to a Nips and Japs, they are ridiculed for their fear of the jungle (they like the clearer ground), but only the foolish believe they are not a risk.
Johnno introduces his fellow soldiers, we learn about their character, their flaws, their fears. Some are friends, some are frustrating men to be thrown in with. Some are not alive by the end of the book. The futility of war is written throughout, but this was a book I tried to read in small doses, not because it was a tough topic, or a heavy read, but because I didn't want the slender 228 pages to end. Mainly because I have not found a copy of the third in the trilogy yet.
5 stars
