Since this dialogue hasn't been started yet, I thought I'd go ahead and get us going so that those who couldn't make it to the meeting can chime in.
My first thoughts as I finished the book were that I didn't like it and that I didn't like Ilario. The man that I was supposed to have sympathy for came off as arrogant and self-righteous. Believing that he wasn't responsible for the charges that were brought against him was hard because I didn't "like" him. But that's not enough to convict someone of a crime.
To do what they have to do in the armed forces, a certain amount of arrogance and bravado is necessary. You have to be confident at all times that you have what it takes to succeed in your missions and without it, everyone and everything is lost.
But it was because of this arrogance that I felt like I never really got a look beyond the facade he portrayed. There was only one or two moments where I felt he was letting his guard down just a little, but then he would bring it all the way back up moments later.
I think that was my biggest issue with his story even though I know that it shouldn't be the deciding factor in his conviction.
What were everyone else's thoughts?
1 comment:
Thanks for starting the conversation about Warlord. In anticipation of tonight's meeting, I will try to gather some of my thoughts and impressions though they are now more than a month old. (I don't know what it is, but it seems like I only have the capacity to recall the details of the three or four most recent books I've read.)
Back to Warlord, like Tiffany, I had a bias against the book from the beginning. I have certain assumptions about the military based on hearsay, the news, etc. While I very much support our troops, I did not support our entering into a war in Iraq. That said, I found certain parts of Ilario's life quite fascinating--for example, what drove him to the military. I also liked the courtroom drama. I was not so enthusiastic about the scenes in Iraq. It was painful reading about life at war, and it was hard coming to grips with the violence. (I also was constantly distracted by my need to consult the glossary to understand what was going on.)
Overall, Warlord was too gruff for me, and I had difficulty tapping into Ilario's humanity. Maybe that is just a soldier thing, or maybe it is Ilario.
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