thedrifter
08-22-07, 08:35 AM
Novel depicts initial hope for Iraq war
By Will Harrison
Correspondent
The early days of the 2003 Iraq invasion serve as the focal point of Nicholas Kulish’s satirically biting novel “Last One In.”
Kulish was an embedded journalist with the Marines during the early days of the invasion, and he uses his knowledge to create a patriotic and pitiable vision of war.
Jimmy Stephens is comfortable working as a gossip columnist for the New York Daily Herald, but enflames his new editor by publishing a libelous report of a movie star’s extramarital affair. Jimmy chooses to save his job by embedding in Iraq because the paper’s real war correspondent is stuck in passport limbo. Soon Jimmy is on the way to Kuwait to join a war-torn camaraderie of battlefield pros and cynical syndicates.
With more knowledge about Britney Spears’ marriage than wartime bravado, Stephens must dig for clues to help him determine his behavior. Always the cynic, Jimmy rolls his eyes at chemical and biological weapons information sessions and manages to get in a fight with a Pulitzer Prize winner. The reporters are stuck in a hurry-up-and-wait situation, and no one will tell Jimmy when the company ships out.
When the Humvees finally get rolling, the trip towards Baghdad is full of “tactical pauses,” leaving plenty of time for shooting the breeze and for Jimmy to get into trouble.
Kulish describes the trip with the familiarity of someone who was there. He seems to linger on the absurdity of some of the drills and wardrobe changes. It is not long before the “sissy civilian reporter” bonds with the men in his squad. When artillery explodes nearby, Jimmy experiences the very real fear and adrenaline that the other men do. It is at the wrong end of a weapon that all the men are equal.
Although Jimmy is promised a nearly non-existent resistance and a welcome parade upon his arrival in Baghdad, the Marines see none of the promised streamers and smiles. What was said to be an easy fight turns out to be anything but, and casualties begin to mount.
“Last One In” effectively portrays the painfully shattered optimism that existed at the start of the war, and the downward spiral that Jimmy’s squad experiences foreshadows greater problems to come. Although “Last One In” is politically relevant and occasionally distressing, it is also a very entertaining and well-written novel.
Correspondent Will Harrison is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill and can be reached at flipside@fayobserver.com.
Ellie
By Will Harrison
Correspondent
The early days of the 2003 Iraq invasion serve as the focal point of Nicholas Kulish’s satirically biting novel “Last One In.”
Kulish was an embedded journalist with the Marines during the early days of the invasion, and he uses his knowledge to create a patriotic and pitiable vision of war.
Jimmy Stephens is comfortable working as a gossip columnist for the New York Daily Herald, but enflames his new editor by publishing a libelous report of a movie star’s extramarital affair. Jimmy chooses to save his job by embedding in Iraq because the paper’s real war correspondent is stuck in passport limbo. Soon Jimmy is on the way to Kuwait to join a war-torn camaraderie of battlefield pros and cynical syndicates.
With more knowledge about Britney Spears’ marriage than wartime bravado, Stephens must dig for clues to help him determine his behavior. Always the cynic, Jimmy rolls his eyes at chemical and biological weapons information sessions and manages to get in a fight with a Pulitzer Prize winner. The reporters are stuck in a hurry-up-and-wait situation, and no one will tell Jimmy when the company ships out.
When the Humvees finally get rolling, the trip towards Baghdad is full of “tactical pauses,” leaving plenty of time for shooting the breeze and for Jimmy to get into trouble.
Kulish describes the trip with the familiarity of someone who was there. He seems to linger on the absurdity of some of the drills and wardrobe changes. It is not long before the “sissy civilian reporter” bonds with the men in his squad. When artillery explodes nearby, Jimmy experiences the very real fear and adrenaline that the other men do. It is at the wrong end of a weapon that all the men are equal.
Although Jimmy is promised a nearly non-existent resistance and a welcome parade upon his arrival in Baghdad, the Marines see none of the promised streamers and smiles. What was said to be an easy fight turns out to be anything but, and casualties begin to mount.
“Last One In” effectively portrays the painfully shattered optimism that existed at the start of the war, and the downward spiral that Jimmy’s squad experiences foreshadows greater problems to come. Although “Last One In” is politically relevant and occasionally distressing, it is also a very entertaining and well-written novel.
Correspondent Will Harrison is a student at UNC-Chapel Hill and can be reached at flipside@fayobserver.com.
Ellie