Book Reviews

Book Blurb

Of the 2,700,000 Americans who served in Vietnam, likely about 250,000 were gay or bisexual and approximately 4,500 of those were KIA, though no records were kept. This novel is dedicated to them, along with all the other soldiers, sailors, marines, and air force personnel who died there, or brought home the trauma.

In 1968, John Reese and Ian Alexander fall in love after barely surviving the overrunning of their firebase by the North Vietnamese. Reese is falling apart, both from PTSD and fear of exposure, while Ian supports him.

Their relationship is an open secret to their squad, some of whom accept it and others recoil. But Doc, Thumper, and Burd have more important issues: survival. Burd hides his homophobia. Doc has his own issues with religion. Thumper’s overwhelmed with combat, as well as with being a Black soldier in a white-led Army.

Just before Tet, leave is abruptly cancelled for a Phoenix mission to kidnap a village official thought to be a communist operative. In charge will be Captain Heinrick, a student of Asian culture with a traumatic secret: his Vietnamese wife and son were murdered by the VC. Heinrick changes the mission to assassination, which challenges each soldier to decide what is acceptable in war. When he strangles a prisoner, Alexander confronts him. Reese wavers between following orders and defending his lover.

Running headlong into several NVA regiments, the squad faces annihilation in a massive firefight. As they near their target, Heinrick orders a civilian killed to protect their approach. The squad must warn their base of the NVA incursion, and complete the original mission. But Ian, John, and the Captain will clash in a disastrous confrontation as the squad calls on all their skill and courage to try to escape.

 

Book Review

We have a usual rule of thumb – avoid negative reviews if we didn’t like a book, why waste time presenting it to others? But ‘Love in Country’ is a conundrum, and was a difficult book for me. It concerns men whom I recognize, in a war and time which changed my own world. The writing’s pace often seems too slow and detailed, and yet becomes fast enough when the action seems to rush toward tragedy. Never having seen the film from which the novel is extracted, I recognize the novel will surely generate mixed reactions. Nonetheless, with wonderful descriptive style and characters beautifully realized, I highly recommend reading ‘Love in Country’.

 

The structure provides introductions to seemingly unrelated dramatic personae in a series of character pieces. These are the ingredients for what is to be confected, but they change as the meal is assembled – and the baking is what we call the plot, which is character-driven. But it is also a 1966 war story, well-remembered by most of today’s adults, focusing on how war affects a varied group of young men used as fodder for a cavalier government policy. Among them, Ian (quite closeted at 18) meets Reese (who, at 19, believes he is absolutely straight) and Ian finds he is attracted. Their discussion of death and killing is seen as a 1960s abstraction. They are glad to serve together, which seems indicative of some sexual attraction (one for sure – keeping Men’s Health fitness magazines under his mattress, the other merely situational!).

 

We also have a description of John Tower Heinrich, a soldier oddly living in Vietnam with a Vietnamese wife and their son. The other men become filled out with future events, but as this is a war story, one is likely to subconsciously bare a prediction on the odds for survival of each. The casual dialog will stir the memories of us who grew up in the 1960s, such as Burd, offered enlistment to avoid jail: “The Marines sound like my kind of outfit. Killing chinks and getting a medal for it? I say county me in.”  Burd will become an icon, a black man fighting yellow foes, for the benefit of white men.

 

Aside: Not to put off potential readers, but absent engaging in a single, long read, I suggest you pay strong attention to each soldier in the group, to his background, to his mind set. As warned, they will change with time, but it is wise to get invested from the start.

 

Language: An example of artistry: “Firebase Helen poked above the dense verdant forest like a rotten tooth sticking out of a healthy mouth.”

 

And Reese: “There is nothing good about being queer in the army, Ian… and it gets worse fucking telling everyone about it.” and “You gotta see the world as it is, Ian. There’s no place for people like us. Here or anywhere else.”

 

I got more entranced with the novel as it proceeded – the men and the history were captivating. Of course, I approached it with trepidation, knowing the great loss we suffered in Vietnam. And that resulted in well-expected heartache for our characters. Brace yourself and read this wonderful book – and if, like me, you did not see the movie, let’s all get it for home video!

 

 

 

DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. This book has been provided by the author for the purpose of a review.

 

Additional Information

Format	ebook and print
Length	Novel, 278 pages
Heat Level
Publication Date	23-September-2024
Price	$9.99 ebook, $19.95 paperback
Buy Link	https://www.amazon.com/Love-Country-Richard-Gayton-ebook/dp/B0DHV1PX25