Reviews
Fountain's strength as a writer is that he not only can conjure up this all-too-realistic-sounding mob, but also the young believably innocent soul for our times, Specialist Billy Lynn. And from the first page I found myself rooting for him, often from the edge of my seat., Fountain is the Pen/Hemingway Award winner of the bristly and satisfying Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, so I expect lots from this book., A masterful echo of 'Catch-22,' with war in Iraq at the center. …a gut-punch of a debut novel…There's hardly a false note, or even a slightly off-pitch one, in Fountain's sympathetic, damning and structurally ambitious novel.", 'Biting, thoughtful, and absolutely spot-on. . . . This postmodern swirl of inner substance, yellow ribbons, and good(ish) intentions is at the core of Ben Fountain's brilliant Bush-era novel.' (The Daily Beast), Here is a novel that is deeply engaged with our contemporary world, timely and timeless at once. Plus, it's such fun to read., '[T]he Catch-22 of the Iraq War....Fountain applies the heat of his wicked sense of humor while you face the truth of who we have become. Live one day inside Billy Lynn's head and you'll never again see our soldiers or America in the same way.' (Karl Marlantes, bestselling author of Matterhorn ), [A] wonderfully readable book [which] does something similar to Why Are We in Vietnam?, asking hard questions about the cultural short-sightedness that contributed to our involvement in Iraq. As a veteran myself, I can attest that it's spot on., Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a big one. This is the brush-clearing Bush book we've been waiting for., A masterful echo of 'Catch-22,' with war in Iraq at the center. …a gut-punch of a debut novel…There's hardly a false note, or even a slightly off-pitch one, in Fountain's sympathetic, damning and structurally ambitious novel., Ben Fountain's Halftime is as close to the Great American Novel as anyone is likely to come these days--an extraordinary work that captures and releases the unquiet spirit of our age, and will probably be remembered as one of the important books of this decade., …wickedly affecting…Billy Lynn has courted some Catch-22 comparisons, and they're well-earned. Fountain is a whiz at lining up plausible inanities and gut-twisting truths for the Bravos to suffer through., Passionate, irreverent, utterly relevant Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk offers an unforgettable portrait of a reluctant hero. Ben Fountain writes like a man inspired and his razor sharp exploration of our contemporary ironies will break your heart., Ben Fountain stormed to the front lines of American fiction when he published his astonishing... Brief Encounters with Che Guevara . His first novel will raise his stature and add to his splendid reputation. Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is both hilarious and heartbreaking., Ben Fountain's Halftime is as close to the Great American Novel as anyone is likely to come these days-an extraordinary work that captures and releases the unquiet spirit of our age, and will probably be remembered as one of the important books of this decade., Fountain's excellent first novel follows a group of soldiers at a Dallas Cowboys game on Thanksgiving Day…Through the eyes of the titular soldier, Fountain creates a minutely observed portrait of a society with woefully misplaced priorities. [Fountain has] a pitch-perfect ear for American talk…, …seething, brutally funny…[Fountain] leaves readers with a fully realized band of brothers…Fountain's readers will never look at an NFL Sunday, or at America, in quite the same way., Ben Fountain combines blistering, beautiful language with razor-sharp insight…and has written a funny novel that provides skewering critiques of America's obsession with sports, spectacle, and war…, “[T]he Catch-22 of the Iraq War....Fountain applies the heat of his wicked sense of humor while you face the truth of who we have become. Live one day inside Billy Lynn’s head and you’ll never again see our soldiers or America in the same way.â€�, The chasm between the reality and the glorification of war hasn't been this surreal since Joseph Heller's Catch-22., For Memorial Day why not turn to a biting, thoughtful, and absolutely spot-on new novel, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk…This postmodern swirl of inner substance, yellow ribbons, and good(ish) intentions is at the core of Ben Fountain's brilliant Bush-era novel., “So much of Fountain’s work...reads with an easy grace.... [S]ometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it’s just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table.â€�, 'Fountain's strength as a writer is that he not only can conjure up this all-too-realistic-sounding mob, but also the young believably innocent soul for our times, Specialist Billy Lynn. And from the first page I found myself rooting for him, often from the edge of my seat.' (Minneapolis Star Tribune), A brilliantly conceived first novel . . . The irony, sorrow, anger and examples of cognitive dissonance that suffuse this novel make it one of the most moving and remarkable novels I've ever read., Ben Fountain combines blistering, beautiful language with razor-sharp insight…and has written a funny novel that provides skewering critiques of America's obsession with sports, spectacle, and war., Ben Fountain's Halftime is as close to the Great American Novel as anyone is likely to come these days—an extraordinary work that captures and releases the unquiet spirit of our age, and will probably be remembered as one of the important books of this decade., Biting, thoughtful, and absolutely spot-on. . . . This postmodern swirl of inner substance, yellow ribbons, and good(ish) intentions is at the core of Ben Fountain's brilliant Bush-era novel., '[A] masterly . . . tightly structured book [with] a sprawling amount of drama and emotion.' (The Rumpus), The Iraq war hasn't yet had its Catch-22 or Slaughterhouse-Five , but Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a contender… A wicked sense of humor, wonderful writing and, beneath the anger and outrage, a generous heart., “Ben Fountain stormed to the front lines of American fiction when he published his astonishing... Brief Encounters with Che Guevara . His first novel will raise his stature and add to his splendid reputation. Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk is both hilarious and heartbreaking.â€�, While Fountain undoubtedly knows his Graham Greene and Paul Theroux, his excursions into foreign infernos have an innocence all their own. In between his nihilistic descriptions, a boyishness keeps peeking out, cracking one-liners and admiring the amazing if benighted scenery., [An] inspired, blistering war novel…Though it covers only a few hours, the book is a gripping, eloquent provocation. Class, privilege, power, politics, sex, commerce and the life-or-death dynamics of battle all figure in Billy Lynn's surreal game day experience., [T]he shell-shocked humor will likely conjure comparisons with Catch-22 and Slaughterhouse Five…War is hell in this novel of inspired absurdity., To call Fountain's work enjoyable would be an understatement because it quite simply is one of the best novels written in the past five years., Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is not merely good; it's Pulitzer Prize-quality good . . . A bracing, fearless and uproarious satire of how contemporary war is waged and sold to the American public.' (San Francisco Chronicle), [T]he Catch-22 of the Iraq War....Fountain applies the heat of his wicked sense of humor while you face the truth of who we have become. Live one day inside Billy Lynn's head and you'll never again see our soldiers or America in the same way., '[An] inspired, blistering war novel?Though it covers only a few hours, the book is a gripping, eloquent provocation. Class, privilege, power, politics, sex, commerce and the life-or-death dynamics of battle all figure in Billy Lynn's surreal game day experience.' (New York Times), Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is not merely good; it's Pulitzer Prize-quality good . . . A bracing, fearless and uproarious satire of how contemporary war is waged and sold to the American public.", 'Here is a novel that is deeply engaged with our contemporary world, timely and timeless at once. Plus, it's such fun to read.' (The Millions), So much of Fountain's work...reads with an easy grace.... [S]ometimes genius is anything but rarefied; sometimes it's just the thing that emerges after twenty years of working at your kitchen table., Seething, brutally funny…[Fountain] leaves readers with a fully realized band of brothers…Fountain's readers will never look at an NFL Sunday, or at America, in quite the same way.
Synopsis
Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and a finalist for the National Book Award! From the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk ("The Catch-22 of the Iraq War" -Karl Marlantes). A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Ben Fountain's remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders., Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and a finalist for the National Book Award "Brilliantly done . . . grand, intimate, and joyous." -- New York Times Book Review From the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara , comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk ("The Catch-22 of the Iraq War" --Karl Marlantes). Three minutes and forty-three seconds of intensive warfare with Iraqi insurgents--caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew--has transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo Squad into America's most sought-after heroes. Now they're on a media-intensive nationwide tour to reinvigorate public support for the war. On this rainy Thanksgiving Day, the Bravos are in Texas Stadium, slated to be part of the halftime show. Among the Bravos is nineteen-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn. Surrounded by patriots sporting flag pins on their lapels and support our troops bumper stickers, he is thrust into the company of the team's owner and his coterie of wealthy colleagues; a born-again cheerleader; a veteran Hollywood producer; and supersized players eager for a vicarious taste of war. Over the course of this day, Billy will drink and brawl, yearn for home and mourn those missing, face a heart-wrenching decision and discover pure love and a bitter wisdom far beyond his years. Poignant, riotously funny, and exquisitely heartbreaking, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a searing and powerful novel that has cemented Ben Fountain's reputation as one of the finest writers of his generation., Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and a finalist for the National Book Award "Brilliantly done . . . grand, intimate, and joyous." --New York Times Book Review From the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara, comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk ("The Catch-22 of the Iraq War" --Karl Marlantes). Three minutes and forty-three seconds of intensive warfare with Iraqi insurgents--caught on tape by an embedded Fox News crew--has transformed the eight surviving men of Bravo Squad into America's most sought-after heroes. Now they're on a media-intensive nationwide tour to reinvigorate public support for the war. On this rainy Thanksgiving Day, the Bravos are in Texas Stadium, slated to be part of the halftime show. Among the Bravos is nineteen-year-old Specialist Billy Lynn. Surrounded by patriots sporting flag pins on their lapels and support our troops bumper stickers, he is thrust into the company of the team's owner and his coterie of wealthy colleagues; a born-again cheerleader; a veteran Hollywood producer; and supersized players eager for a vicarious taste of war. Over the course of this day, Billy will drink and brawl, yearn for home and mourn those missing, face a heart-wrenching decision and discover pure love and a bitter wisdom far beyond his years. Poignant, riotously funny, and exquisitely heartbreaking, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is a searing and powerful novel that has cemented Ben Fountain's reputation as one of the finest writers of his generation., Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction and a finalist for the National Book Award From the PEN/Hemingway Award-winning author of the critically acclaimed short story collection, Brief Encounters with Che Guevara , comes Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk ("The Catch-22 of the Iraq War" --Karl Marlantes). A razor-sharp satire set in Texas during America's war in Iraq, it explores the gaping national disconnect between the war at home and the war abroad. Ben Fountain's remarkable debut novel follows the surviving members of the heroic Bravo Squad through one exhausting stop in their media-intensive "Victory Tour" at Texas Stadium, football mecca of the Dallas Cowboys, their fans, promoters, and cheerleaders.
