Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk (Center Point Platinum Fiction (Large Print)) by Ben Fountain (2012-10-01)

Fountain may have had good intentions when thinking up “Billy Lynn” (critiquing capitalism, sexism, war, etc. is a worthwhile pursuit) but the execution was, at best, extremely poor. At worst, it is a harmful piece of literature disguised as satire.

Let’s start with his treatment of women, shall we? Every mention of a woman, no matter the context, is sexualized to the extreme. Yes, you could read it as satire; Fountain is simply pointing out the objectification that women face. But making such a point out of women’s bodies and talking about them with such graphic, uncomfortable language is unnecessary. It’s no secret that women and their bodies are mistreated, especially women who perform in hyper-masculine spaces like the Super Bowl. Instead of critiquing the commodification of women’s bodies, Fountain is perpetuating it. It is painful to read and written entirely without nuance; it adds nothing to the conversation on sexism.

Next, Fountian’s “commentary” on class, consumerism, and capitalism. Again, this attempt at critique is unnecessary. Watching an event like the Super Bowl, in and of itself, is a lesson on class and money in America. The absurd money spent on professional football, advertisements, and broadcasting is obvious from watching the event itself. Again, the commentary (if there even was any) was surface level and done without any hint of interest. Fountain’s depiction of wealthy business owners and entertainment industry professionals was unoriginal and unmoving.

Lastly, the treatment of race. When race is touched upon (which is rare in comparison to the overdone vulgarity regarding women) its flippant. Instead of presenting an interesting argument or spin on racial bias in the military, Fountain just throws in racial slurs exchanged between members of the team. Including racial stereotypes doesn’t constitute satire or criticism. It simply perpetuates stereotypes and adds nothing to the extremely complicated, intersectional conversation on race.

I found it to be very insightful into possible mind set of soldiers involved in actual warfare in a combat zone. It showed a bias toward corporate America............that I felt was not fair or perhaps even realistic. All in all, it held my interest, which is no doubt the most important thing in reading a novel.

I like the overall message of this book, which is, as the USMC general noted recently, "...America is not at war. America is at the mall. The USMC (and all other services) is at war. ..." He did a fine job capturing the banter/thoughts of the average young GI. Portions of the story became a bit ridiculous, and there was a bit more focus on the carnal thoughts of the character than were necessary. Most appreciated was his dismantling of the average "support the troops bumper-sticker patriot crowd", the folks often crowing about sending a message to this or that nation that have never offered up their own bodies/years to do so. If nothing else, it was worth the read for that.

This is a good book. It’s written from Billy’s experience as an American soldier heading back to the war. The author shows the honor of men who have one-another’s back, during their last mission. The soldiers are on a goodwill tour to represent what they had just gone through in the war. Suddenly they’re paraded around, as heroes receiving all the Nationalistic, “Thank you for your Service,” comments. I enjoyed reading this book.

This is funny and gut-wrenching at the same time..A group of soldiers, heroes on the news, back home for one week to be shown around like show dogs. From the insanity of the war to the insanity of Dallas Cowboys stadium.
It's laugh-out-loud funny but it still tears your heart out.

Very comprehensive examination of the many perspectives of the War in Iraq as seen through the eyes of a young US soldier. The premise is that an amazing act of selfless bravery by US soldiers in Iraq is caught live on TV news, and the patrol gets brought back to the US for a Victory Tour, all knowing they have to go back to Iraq for another 11 months after. It centers on them being part of the halftime show at the Thanksgiving Day Cowboys football home game. The book truly showed both sides of being on the home front and on the war front both from the support-the-war, and don’t-support perspective. As for body count, someone dies in the selfless act of bravery, but it is not graphic and there is essentially no violence other that, which is a short few paragraphs. Didn't see the movie, but would be interested to see how it dealt with all the stuff going on in Billy Lynn's mind.

I had looked forward to reading this after seeing such good reviews. Unfortunately I was never able to connect with the characters or story. Plot would be an overstatement. I was completely bored and gave up halfway through. A letdown

Earned the rating as a best seller. Good storyline, keeps you thinking and entertained at the same time. If you've ever been around soldiers you'll recognize a whole lot of truth in the way they treat each other.

An interesting look into the minds of warriors. Professional soldiers are a different breed than the men who fought WWII. Those were mostly citizen soldiers who were drafted. These are hard nosed killers who learned inside and out the nuances of their craft.

When I first heard about this book (and Karl Marlantes' blurb), I assumed it was written by a veteran - it isn't, and that's really amazing, because this is a pitch-perfect look into a soldier's experiences.

I say that as a veteran (of Desert Storm) and an embedded journalist in Iraq in 2007-09, so I have some first-hand knowledge with what he describes. To me, the voices and actions of the characters are dead-on accurate.

It's got some flaws, which I'll get to first so I can finish strong. In my mind, the flaws are because he's trying so hard at writing something big and memorable, and it gets away from him at times.

The conclusion veers into melodrama. Up until the last 40 pages or so, I could pretty much buy the events as possible real-life occurrences. But the end features a couple moments where I couldn't quite suspend disbelief.

While the civilians he describes behave realistically, there's times when it feels very much like the author's "meta rant" against the American mindset - he sets up some characters as one-dimensional straw men so he can show his disdain. I agree with what he's presenting, but it doesn't always feel like a story - more like he's trying to inject a point into the fictional narrative. Which is fine, but not if it's obvious like it sometime is.

Most of the time, the story is told in present-day perspective with some flashbacks. Very occasionally, he switches into describing the future, and that's awkward. For me, I would have liked no 'future look' at all.

So, okay, those things threw me off.

Everything else is very strong. Marlantes called it a "Catch 22" of the Iraq War - but that's not accurate, because to me it's not really a satire. Fountain isn't over-dramatizing events (except occasionally as I note), or exaggerating things for comic effect - it feels real, not deliberately over-the-top.

Billy Lynn and his fellow soldiers are often treated as props by the civilians they encounter - it might seem unlikely, but it's not. When I came back from Desert Storm, I was treated nicely, of course, but as a prop for the patriotic feelings for others - nobody cared about 'me,' but they did care about their opportunity to tell me how proud they were about America, my service, the troops, blah blah blah, and then I had to hear their two-cent opinion about every little tactical decision (I was a photographer who drove a Humvee - Gen. Schwarzkopf didn't keep me in his loop...). That disconnect comes across very accurately in Fountain's narrative.

This is what homecoming is like. So in the crazy situation that Fountain has put them in, the characters look for what's familiar - and that's their fellow soldiers.

The voice of those soldiers - all infantrymen - is spot on. This IS how infantrymen behave, especially when they're in a small group being gawked at. It's them against the world, and the fights they get into, arguments they have, flouting authority (but not their sergeant's), all ring very true.

Billy Lynn, the 19-year-old hero and main character, reminds me of some of the soldiers I met - very confident and self-assured, but not on a very deep level, like it wouldn't take much for the act to fall away. He's a hero you'll root for.

It's tough to describe the plot because I don't want to give things away. I think a reader should know not to expect some tragedy at the end that betrays your affection for the characters. There is a Hollywood subplot about a possible movie that's entertaining, and probably truthful, but I wouldn't know. A thinly-described parody of Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is good for comic, and not-so-comic relief (he should have just named him). Obviously, a cheerleader comes into play.

Military readers should be aware of places they'll need to suspend disbelief - a Silver Star would take much longer to award than described here; I find it very hard to believe that the group of men would have to go back to Iraq at the conclusion of the "Victory Tour," and I wish Fountain came up with some kind of reason (even if contrived) to explain that; getting into fights in an Army dress uniform and then walking around afterwards and still look presentable would be very difficult.

But I really liked this story. I like any book that honestly tells a soldier's story. It's refreshing to read a book about the homecoming, or at least scenes at home, rather than another story that takes place in Iraq itself.

I think a military audience would really like this book, and will laugh and be annoyed at the right parts.

But I'm not sure the right civilian audience will ever read "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk." It's a solid reminder, even in fictional form, that soldiers are not props for our own conflicted feelings of feel-good patriotism, which is so rarely backed up by actual deeds or service. If people have nothing to offer returning veterans but, "you know, what we really should do in Iraq/Afghanistan is..." then they should say nothing at all.

Billy Lynn is a nineteen year-old Texan home from the war in Iraq. He is taking part in a two week victory tour sanctioned by the Bush administration. Billy was caught on film by Fox News as he was trying to save his fellow squad members from an ambush in Iraq. This ambush, at Al-Ansakar Canal, has become known as a victory, a hero's walk, and Billy, along with the rest of his troop, is touring the United States talking to the people about what it's like to be a soldier in Iraq. Billy's thoughts are complex even though his verbal capacities don't often reflect this. His mentor, Shroom, was killed in Billy's arms at the ambush and Billy tries to imagine what Shroom's response to aspects of this tour would be.

The tour is frequently a parody of modern American life. The gist of the book takes place in Dallas at the Dallas Cowboy's stadium as they face the Bears. Present with the entourage, now known as the Bravos, is a man named Albert who is a producer and is trying to put together a film about Billy's troop. Back and forth goes the pondering of who will play each of them on the Hollywood circuit. They keep coming back to Hillary Swank who will play one of them as a woman which is not going over too well. Bravo's reception as they go through the electoral states is great. "I mean everybody loves you guys, black white, rich, poor, gay, straight, everybody. You guys are equal-opportunity heroes for the twenty-first century."

As Billy rattles off and reflects on the cities they have visited, practically every one "happened to lie in an electoral swing state." Billy didn't say this out loud but he wondered about it. He also wondered about the movie deal. Why was this so important? He had received a silver medal and lost his closest friend. Most people don't ever bring this up.

As Billy meets and mingles with the rich and famous he wonders what separates them from him. He realizes that education is just one of the things that they don't have in common and Billy is not anxious to go back to school. "If there was real knowledge to be had in the Texas public schools he never found it, and only lately has he started to feel the loss, the huge criminal act of his state-sanctioned ignorance as he struggles to understand the wider world. How it works, who gains, who loses, who decides. It is not a casual thing this knowledge. In a way it might be everything."

The rich and famous talk about the exploits of Bravo troop and how they came to the aid of an ambushed convoy. "They went straight into the battle with no backup, no air support, outnumbered against an enemy who'd been preparing to attack for days. They didn't think twice about the odds stacked against them, they even suspected it was a trap, and yet they went right in without hesitating..." " Luckily, a Fox news crew was present and videoed the whole skirmish. This is the basis of Bravo's heroism, the country's pride, and the reason for the tour.

As Billy spends time with the Dallas Cowboys he can see that they don't really give a darn about what Bravo troop has done. "Billy tries to imagine the vast systems that support these athletes. They are among the best-cared for creatures in the history of the planet, beneficiaries of the best nutrition, the latest technologies, the finest medical care, they live at the very pinnacle of American innovation and abundance, which inspires an extraordinary thought - send them to fight the war!"

Billy is stunned by the language he hears: nina leven, terrRr, wore on terrRr, praaaaaay, ire values, ire way of life. "I'll say this for nina leven," a man confides to him, "it shut the feminists up...... They're not so interested in being 'liberated' now that we're under attack. There's certain things a man can do that a woman just can't. Combat, for one."

As the news media asks Billy what stands out in his mind the most as he travels across country he talks about the airports, the malls, the civic centers, the hotel rooms and auditoriums and banquet halls "that are so much alike across the breadth of the land, a soul-squashing homogeneity designed more for economy and ease of maintenance than anything so various as human sensibilities."

Billy comes to ponder philosophical questions such as why his body, as a soldier, doesn't belong to him. He questions why the national anthem is so commercialized - played for for-profit companies, before board meetings, at banks. Could it be that our country is about advertising rather than reality, a giant Jumbotron portraying commercials? In regard to the Texas football game, "Maybe the game is just an ad for the ads." Billy realizes that there is always an opportunity for people to spend money. "Happily there is retail at every turn so the crowd doesn't lack for buying opportunities, and it's the same everywhere Bravo has been, the airports, the hotels, the arenas, the convention centers, in the downtowns and the suburbs alike, retail dominates the land. Somewhere along the way America became a giant mall with a country attached." And attached to our country is a war, and that war, too, is commercialized and patronized, and offers all kinds of opportunities for buying and selling on all levels.

The book is a parody and a jazz riff on post-modern culture. Unfortunately, it goes on too long and restates the same themes over and over again as we hear the author's voice vibrate again and again as he lets the reader be sure, so sure, that nothing is missed. I call this rhetoric. Yes, there is a good story in these pages but a lot of it is hidden behind the author's voice instead of the author's voice being subtly infused within the story. I got the point early on and was still getting the point as the novel ended.

This book is very well written. It is humorous, though not at all like Catch-22 (to which a blurb compares it). The characters are well-drawn and the author plays his hand lightly with very serious matter.

Important, funny book with a walloping message about America's relationship with war and its vets without using a heavy hammer. Really no hammer at all. It's a great story and Fountain is a great story teller and writer. Looking forward to more from him.

The story of Bravo Team and their Victory Tour reflects the mood of the US at the start of the Iraq War and the traditional disconnect of civilians and soldiers. Well written and deep - makes you think about why we go to war and why we send young men to fight our wars.

An amazing read about American attitudes toward our soldiers told from the point of view of a young war hero! Delightful characters and style . This is one of the best books I have read in a long time.

This book captures the essence of why we resent (or should resent) the fat cat Chickenhawks and the blind faithful who believe that any military incursion into any part of the world is justified because we are the United States of America. A must read.

Ben Fountain's prose is clever. He does an excellent job of portraying the disconnect between our troops and the American public as well as a sense of alienation during this home coming, heroes tour. I'm no defender of Texas as a place or as a concept, but his characterization of its people seemed a bit of a charicture. I wish there was more plot to this novel. Maybe I'm not a fan of novels that on "a day in the life." Overall, an entertaining read and one that can enahnce our understanding of some of the effects of our most recent wars on those who bear the brunt of these battles.

I've just finished reading the book. I enjoyed it. Then I read the reviews. Many of the reviewers wanted to make their political points---or I should say, flaunt their political preferences whilst congratulating themselves on what a good "progressive" or good "conservative" they were.

Sheesh--get a life folks. It's a novel, not a call to man the political barricades to defend your view of things.

It's written by a guy who's pretty good at what he does. I agree that Billy Lynn is unusually introspective for a 19 year old E-3 or E-4. It's not a plot spoiler to report that the Jerry Jones character is impressed by Billy Lynn's cool and says to Billy that talking with him , "is like talking to a 26 year old lawyer" .

There are some good lines I the book, which are almost like finding pretty sea shells as part of an enjoyable walk on the beach. Is this a great book? Nope. Is it an enjoyable way to pass a few hours with a book in your hand? Absolutely.

I was disappointed in the ending. I thought there had been a build up to a moral dilemna for Billy that needed to be resolved. But that didn't happen. The sentences and phrases that I highlighted weren't done before me. So, I was wondering if I wasn't grasping the important parts or others weren't.

I really enjoyed this account of the dynamics of going to war for a young man. The setting (at a Dallas cowboys game) is a hoot as are many of the characters. But for me, reading the mixed emotions that Billy experiences throughout the afternoon, and understanding the bonds of brotherhood with his company, was especially illuminating.

Having read this at the height of this years professional foot ball period, the choice of book was very timely. I really liked Billy Lynn, I thought his character was beautifully developed and I hated like heck seeing him exploited by the US military as well as a professional foot ball franchise. Some of the behind the scenes stories about the owner, cheer leaders and rules they performed under were fun to read. Billy Lynn's coming of age story was an entertaining book which I originally bought for my Kindle. I later bought the book so that my husband could read it and we both agreed it was a book worth recommending to others.2

With this work Ben Fountain emerges as an outstanding artist. It is difficult to tell stories that portray the hypocrisy, greed, and stupidity of our time, but Fountain accomplishes the task with rare skill, and with a story you can't put down. This work is more deserving of a Pulitzer that most of the second rate stuff that has been recently getting the award.

A fairly slow read for me, personally. The interesting thing is the narrative of the American public's perception of the Men of Bravo team and how they are turned into a sideshow of sorts. They are ferried around the United States after their return from Iraq and some of the attention they receive is really a bit overwhelming to them. They obviously are a PR project and they have no choice but to go along on the journey, even if they would rather stay out of the spotlight.

Ben Fountain's observations of people and situations are so enjoyably insightful. Funny in a meaningful way. Hypocrisy on stage to be enjoyed in all its theatrical humor. True to life - getting at what really matters in the scripted, staged, and manipulated situations in which Billy and his squad find themselves. Fountain's laudable effort of capturing the "every moment of the day" attachment Billy has to his dead cohort (killed in the battle that has made Billy's troop famous) begins to reveal the visceral, and haunting, nature of his loss. Sounds serious, but very, very funny. The best read I've had in a long while.

Just an excellent read.......a remarkable look into the heart and soul of Billy Lynn as an individual soldier and Billy Lynn as part of tight knit BRAVO unit, home from IRAQ as heroes for a short tour honoring them.....he is young and self searching but also a man with conflicting loyalties with real choices to make........a remarkable journey in the short span of one afternoon at a football game.

This book tells a great story, and it uses things that are familiar and foreign to show how typical and how special Billy Lynn and his compadres are. The use of visuals and phonetics were especially appealing to me.

The context and modern setting are very effective. I just really enjoyed this book.

A fascinating insight into the idiosyncrasies of contemporary Americana, and the scarred psyche and scarred bodies of a nation afflicted by two costly forays in two dubious middle eastern wars.
A good ear as well for colloquialisms and American slang (9-11 is transmuted to become 'ninaleven'), and a great ability to put the frenetic sex crazed passions of violent, deprived youth onto the page.
Zingy and clever, balanced between wisecracks from a hard case sergeant and musings on the horrifically wasteful spectacle of the NFL, it is definitely worth a read.

Although I share some of the sentiments expressed in this book, I found it to be too cynical and condescending towards the average American. It certainly raises some interesting thoughts about society's support for the war.

I like good sentences, and just about every sentence here is a good one. Those that aren't good, are great.

But it's not all just style; it's style in support of great characters, most fairly briefly drawn, and all from the viewpoint of Billy's, which I came to identify as my own.

How Asshole's Look at War Heroes could be the title, or Asshole Texans to put a finer point on it.

Or, How Great Was My Sister.

Or, We Fight For Our Buddies and Never Let Them Go.

OK - it's a great book, and it's hard to think that anyone wouldn't like it except Jerry Jones.

I am an inveterate novel reader, English minor, Great Books Member, absolutely love reading fiction. This is
hands down the best novel I've read in many, many years. It deals with so many issues: war, love, money,
community, sports, and more. The characters are well developed and the writing is incredibly graceful. Ben
Fountain must have sold his soul to the devil to write this well. This is truly an A-list work.

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, a novel about a group of war heroes attending a Thanksgiving Day Dallas Cowboys game as part of a victory tour, is a novel as problematic as the culture it attempts to critique. The most bothersome part of this book for me was not the uninspired prose or unmemorable plot, or even the misogyny and blatant male gaze that seeps through every page and, for a novel so single-mindedly focused on addressing Social Issues, goes strikingly unaddressed, even backhandedly. Instead, what I found most disheartening was that none of these elements were of any use. If a book imparts on its reader something insightful, something inspiring or controversial or, for goodness’ sake, at least DIFFERENT, perhaps some of its more lackluster aspects can be forgiven. Instead, though, Ben Fountain makes exactly the kinds of moves you would expect in a novel with soldiers returning home, a stadium full of patriots, American football, and Destiny’s Child. The plot was canned and tired. The juxtapositions were obvious. The conclusion was expected. In the end, I found that I had waded through uninspired writing and spent time with a host of, at best, crude characters, only to be rewarded with nothing -- no genuine humanistic insight, no unique commentary or proffered solution -- for my troubles.

In a review, the Washington Post called Billy Lynn a “gut-punch of a debut novel.” To me, though, this novel was less reminiscent of a gut-punch and more akin to someone shadow boxing in his own mirror and verbally pumping himself up between each punch. Regardless of what criticism it offers, a novel that takes risks in delivering it is one I will give a chance. Billy Lynn, though, was ultimately a pander to people who wanted to hear their own thoughts echoed back to them about critiques of war and American culture, and completely dull to everybody else.

Will be interesting to see how Hollywood spins this book. Overall good, quick read that reinforces much of what is wrong in American society today, while praising the service of young men who volunteer to serve their country.

After finishing "Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk", I wanted more of Ben Fountain. It grabbed my attention from the first page and kept it. The story of Bravo Squad, heros of a skirmish caught on tape by a Fox News photographer...takes place mostly on one significant day...Thanksgiving. The heros are guests of the Dallas Cowboy football team and must take part in that halftime show. The contrasts between what these young men experienced in Iraq and what they witness at this All-American event gives you plenty to think about.

Really great descriptive novel that captures the entire contradiction of a nation at was where so few bear the burden and so many demand the credit. One of the most brilliant modern war books written n