Matterhorn

Matterhorn: A Novel of the Vietnam War is a novel by American author and decorated Marine, Karl Marlantes. It was first published by El Leon Literary Arts in 2009 (in small quantity) and re-issued (and slightly edited) as a major publication of Atlantic Monthly Press on March 23, 2010. Marlantes is a graduate of Yale University and a Rhodes Scholar. He is also a highly decorated Marine who served in Vietnam. He was awarded the Navy Cross, the Bronze Star, two Navy Commendation Medals for valor, two Purple Hearts, and ten Air Medals. He spent 30 years working on the novel, which was rejected for publication numerous times. Plot The book is set in Vietnam in 1969 and draws from the experiences of Marlantes, who commanded a Marine rifle platoon. The novel looks at the hardships endured by the Marines who waged the war on behalf of America. It concerns the exploits of second lieutenant Waino Mellas, a recent college graduate, and his compatriots in Bravo Company, most of whom are teenagers. "Matterhorn" is the code name for a fire-support base in Quảng Trị Province, on the border between Laos and the Vietnamese DMZ. At the beginning of the novel, the Marines build the base, but later they are ordered to abandon it. The latter portions of the novel detail the struggles of Bravo Company to retake the base, which fell into enemy hands after it was abandoned. Reception Matterhorn received high praise from many critics. In the New York Times Sebastian Junger called it, "...one of the most profound and devastating novels ever to come out of Vietnam—or any war."