St. Martin's Press, March 2009
When reading a book for a review, I tend to litter the whitespace of the pages with notes for later reference. With Clint Van Winkle's Soft Spots, there was one word I scribbled more than any other - "Why?"
Why in a book about the war in Iraq are the words "weapons of mass destruction" mentioned exactly twice and "Saddam Hussein" mentioned once? Why upon returning home did he have lingering desires "to blow shit up"? Why did he think prior to entering Iraq, "All I wanted was war."? Why would he shoot an Iraqi girl who "couldn't have been older than ten"? Why was the war so out of control that even an Iraqi dog could not escape a U.S Naval Corpsman "squeezing off rounds" on him? And why, after all he saw and did were his first thoughts upon landing in the U.S, "Turn back. Turn back. Turn back."? I was not deep into Soft Spots when I realized Van Winkle and I have something in common - we have the same questions.
When reading a book for a review, I tend to litter the whitespace of the pages with notes for later reference. With Clint Van Winkle's Soft Spots, there was one word I scribbled more than any other - "Why?"
Why in a book about the war in Iraq are the words "weapons of mass destruction" mentioned exactly twice and "Saddam Hussein" mentioned once? Why upon returning home did he have lingering desires "to blow shit up"? Why did he think prior to entering Iraq, "All I wanted was war."? Why would he shoot an Iraqi girl who "couldn't have been older than ten"? Why was the war so out of control that even an Iraqi dog could not escape a U.S Naval Corpsman "squeezing off rounds" on him? And why, after all he saw and did were his first thoughts upon landing in the U.S, "Turn back. Turn back. Turn back."? I was not deep into Soft Spots when I realized Van Winkle and I have something in common - we have the same questions.
Soft Spots is the firsthand account of one Marine's attempt to re-enter life after experiencing it in its most barbaric form for five months in Iraq in 2003. Van Winkle's story is unique as it is not told from the perspective of a journalist or a foreign policy expert who observed triggers being pulled, but is told from someone who pulled the trigger and is now faced with a lifelong struggle to make sense of it all. The struggle of assimilating to the civilized world is exacerbated by the flashbacks, anger, self-inflicted solitude and stigma of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) he suffers as a result of his experience in Iraq. The ineptness of the VA Hospital further dismantles Van Winkle's transition back into the U.S.
Van Winkle's descriptions of what he witnessed and did are told with an honesty that even he admits to being uncomfortable with, but the result is a painful picture of the reality of war and the very personal, lifelong aftermaths which ensue upon return home.
Van Winkle's descriptions of what he witnessed and did are told with an honesty that even he admits to being uncomfortable with, but the result is a painful picture of the reality of war and the very personal, lifelong aftermaths which ensue upon return home.
Soft Spots forces us to consider the trauma that was inflicted on Van Winkle and countless other Americans, Iraqis and military personnel from other countries. It begs for answers that the reader understands Van Winkle, Americans and Iraqis will be forced to live without. Van Winkle's honest, personal, non-political and at time humorous writing style and story does however provide us all a very important lesson and that is to ask questions… …with the very first question being "Why?"
Editor's note: Read Linda Rubright's interview with Clint Van Winkle on her interview blog, Delicious Day.
Editor's note: Read Linda Rubright's interview with Clint Van Winkle on her interview blog, Delicious Day.
