Whilst I do acknowledge that the book was greatly praised and received much attention in the USA, I simply could not keep the book open long enough to appreciate the beauty of it. It was certainly one of the few books I struggled to continue reading.

 

While reading it, all I could see was the irresponsible American soldiers who would go any length to avoid fighting in the battle.

 

To those characters features in the book, what their country stands for has nothing to do with them. All they care is to stay alive, stay well away from the battle, and take advantage of the war situation so that they could profit from it. Perhaps, that is the reality and people do lack the patriotim that used to be valued so much.

 

It is true that nothing can be gained through war and battle. Nothing can be achieved from sacrificing all those lives. Still, when the country calls for their duty, should the soldiers not respond to it and do what they should be doing?