New Times,
New Thinking.

  1. Culture
27 August 2010updated 12 Oct 2023 10:15am

Words in Pictures: Karl Marlantes

The novelist and Vietnam veteran Karl Marlantes reflects on the power of literature.

By Staff Blogger

 

In a recent review of Matterhorn for the New Statesman, David Flusfeder remarked that its author, Karl Marlantes, “is entirely convincing on the mess of war, tropically damp, teeming with disease, in a world criss-crossed by dividing lines that have little to do with the notional enemy”. This authenticity no doubt originates from Marlantes’s own experience in Vietnam, upon which he reflected in the Books Interview in this week’s magazine.

Marlantes also suggested that Matterhorn‘s extraordinary reception in the United States can be ascribed to the parallels between Vietnam and the current conflct in Afghanistan.

In this video, Marlantes touches on the role he hopes Matterhorn might play in healing an Amercan society divided by conflict, and on the enlightening power of literature in general.

Subscribe to The New Statesman today for only £1 per week
Content from our partners
Skills are the key to economic growth
Skills Transition is investing in UK skills and jobs
Turning the skills tide