Missionaries: A Novel

This was a hard book. I had read Klay's collection of short stories about Iraq "Redeploment" and totally enjoyed it(I won the National Book Award). so I wanted to read his first novel. Although this is not a subject matter that I normally read about, I chose it because of his first book. This was a well researched novel that dealt with a very serious subject matter. Namely, global warfare in the 21st century. It centers around Columbia in the months proceeding the vote on the settlement between FARC and the Columbian government meant to put an end to 50 years of violence. It is told through 4 main characters. Abel, a Columbian ex paramilitary, Lisette an American war correspondent, Mason an American soldier, and Juan Pablo a Columbian army officer. Klay does a good job of portraying 1st person narratives from each character against the backdrop of the Afghanistan, Iraq, and Columbian conflicts. You see the brutality of the war but you also the development of a global military group that consists of career soldiers and a growing number of contractors. There is more an allegiance to conflict than to the actual ideology that supports the conflict. Klay's problem is putting everything together. There is way too much detail and assumption of knowledge on the part of the reader. Because of the seriousness of the subject matter I felt a need to finish the book. It really felt more like a non-fiction description of reality wrapped in a fictional package in order to make it more palatable to the reader. My biggest takeaway was the knowledge I gained about the conflict in Columbian and how it continues despite the agreement with FARC. As always books like this increase your empathy with the non-military people that have to deal with the never ending violence. An educational book that is worthwhile for gaining knowledge but not an ultimate page turner. I do strongly recommend " Redeployment" which does a great job about the war in an Iraq and in an entertaining way.

A gratifyingly grim look at modern warfare. Reminded me a lot of Say Nothing, with the blurred lines between goodies and baddies. The plot zips along well enough but I’ll remember the mood a lot more than the characters.

I was not as engaged in this novel as I had hoped. It felt disorganized, although since chaos is part of war that may have been deliberate. Set in Latin America, the Middle East, and the US, the author paints a picture of the traits of war which are both universal and particular to geographic location. Meh.