Apologies. I thought I had already reviewed this. My husband was very intrigued by the title of this book that I won but once I got past him I couldn't put the book down. It wasn't the story I was expecting but it was very engrossing. The author obviously knows Vietnam, the war, and what it's like to be torn between dark and light. I know nothing of Vietnam, war, or Louisiana, but I could see it through the words in this story. Mack Green drew me in and I only wished that the story hadn't rushed to the ending so fast. I really enjoyed it.

Sorry it took me so long, my life has gotten away from me somewhat. Living a torturous family life in Louisiana and following it up with two tours of combat in Vietnam, the central figure Jack Crowe, known as Half Pint, only saving grace is meeting up with Frank, a Navy corpsman, who befriends him. Frank, Jack sees as a Holy Being, and Frank well knows Jack needs his tender guidance. What Frank is teaching Half Pint is his philosophy of moral truth and nonviolence that he has learned in a life spent living, learning, and reading and Jack so wants that for himself. He looks up to Frank in his daily ministrations but when Frank is killed in action, Jack removes Frank's three precious bloodied books from his backpack to continue in his quest. His grief over Frank's demise turns him to the pages he longs to understand and learn, he wants what Frank had, that peace without the violence.
The return home is fraught with memories and new challenges that test his strength and understanding of what he has learned from Frank and his study of the books he so cherishes. Half Pint has much to deal with but deal with it he does. This story made me want to know both Half Pint and Frank, I believe I would have liked both of them, I know for sure I could have learned from them both as well. A book to sink your teeth into, a book to love.

A shockingly good tale - I say that because I've learned to have modest expectations from LibraryThing Early Reviewers titles. The main character drifts from the Vietnam war (where he commits an atrocity that haunts him all his life) to the oil fields of Louisiana, where he makes lifelong friends among the drilling crew and has a life-altering run-in with a misogynistic redneck, to his climax when he returns for a funeral and new revelations.
I wholeheartedly agree with another reviewer who noted that the book's blurb does not prepare us for what's in the pages. It's an exploration of one man's soul and moral development, an intimacy that makes the reader almost a character in the plot. It is a joy and pleasure to be brought into this confidence. The characters are well-drawn and memorable. The author is alllllmost there as a developed writer - so good is the text that its occasional awkward phrasing leaves one disappointed, but not for long.
This is definitely a writer to watch. Thank you for bringing me along on this memorable journey! ( )

I first should react to the book that the author actually wrote. This is a superbly crafted account of the effects of war. I'm too far away from having read "The Things They Carried," but "Frank's Bloody Books" is arguably of similar high quality, and deserves equal readership.

That said, I must say this is not the book I was expecting. Given the title and the blurb, I went into it expecting something akin to "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance": by reading the books, Jack would come to a greater understanding of his war experiences and of life more generally. That never happens; in fact, he really seems none the better off for a lifetime of questing. Perhaps he needed to read different books.

Certainly the author's tendency to have small town southern folk speak in cadences of philosophical monologues encouraged the expectation that the reader would go on Zen-type journey. I was therefore disappointed that the "bloody books" were not really lingered over or discussed. The last one, in fact, we learn almost nothing about, much less what Jack learned from it. In fact, we could have done without them entirely, as it was Jack's personal relationship with Frank that shaped his direction, rather than the experience of delving into the books. The books served merely as props rather than portals to redefining his life to become more like Frank.

In this sense at least, the book was uneven, as if it wasn't entirely clear what genre it wanted to be. But as I said, it is an excellent book as it is, even if it missed an opportunity to be so much more. ( )

It took a little while for me to orient myself with the story and the characters, but it was worth it in the end. Beautiful story. Would definitely recommend. ( )