Matterhorn

I recently migrated from reading a long string of non-fictional history works to a fictional history novel. Matterhorn is a novel about the Vietnam War set in the late 60s in the jungle near the border with North Vietnam. It is based upon the experiences of the author, Karl Marlantes, a highly decorated Marine with the unusual background for a Vietnam veteran. He is a Rhodes Scholar who graduated from Yale.

The book's title derives from the name of a fictitious hill around which much of the action revolves. It shows us that, while the Vietnam War was flawed politically, there were still young people who performed heroically in the pursuit of their duty.

Matterhorn is an amazing novel with an equally intriquing back story. Marlantes worked on the novel for nearly 35 years, and until Matterhorn, he had never published as much as a magazive article.

In my view, it was worth the effort, and reminds us of the power of persistence.