A 1987 novel about the Vietnam war. A moonfaced grunt named Cacciato has sized up Vietnam and decided that, all in all, he would rather be in Paris—so he’s going to walk there, all 10,000 klicks. His former squad follows him from the hills of Vietnam to the markets of India, the public squares of Tehran and points westward.
The story is fanciful and brilliant—part foot-soldier memoir and part long-form fable—magic realism without the magic. The allegorical through line is always front and center (in an insane war the only sane response is to walk away), but there are no political statements and no ax grinding. The book is a dazzling metaphor. If you can sympathize with a stressed soldier who goes fishing in a rain-filled bomb crater, then you’ll probably enjoy every minute of it. Reviewed on Oct. 28, 2021