Triage

by Scott Anderson

When American journalist Mark Walsh is wounded by a shell in Kurdistan, he finds himself a patient in a local hospital where a man's future in decided by the random choice of a coloured chip. Desperate to survive, Mark fakes a recovery and returns to his girlfriend, Elena, in New York, but becomes crippled both physically and emotionally.

Genres: Fiction, War, Read For School, Unfinished, The United States Of America

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Scott Anderson is a veteran war correspondent who has reported from Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, Northern Ireland, Chechnya, Sudan, Bosnia, El Salvador, and many other strife-torn countries. He is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, and his work has also appeared in Vanity Fair, Esquire, Harper's and Outside.

Reviews

[Roxy Reno · Rating 5 out of 5]

My good friend Stan gave me this book on Mancation (a place where men go to drink themselves into submission and read) and it is nothing short of amazing. I didn't add it to Goodreads until I was a little more than half way through and was surprised to find a couple of bad reviews, I don't get that at all. Just so, so many good things about this book. It was published in 1998 but is so current in it's relevance that it could have been published yesterday. It feels incredibly real, the descriptions of the "oncoming storm" of battle, the "worst hospital in the world", it all just makes so much sense. The fact that Anderson is a seasoned war correspondent is wholly evident and that's not even the best part of the book. The psychological aspect of the novel is the payoff, and damn it delivers. You think you know all there is to know and then there is more. History, religion, politics, and their effect on the human psyche, just fucking amazing. This book is going to stick with me for a long time. So glad it came my way.

[Fiona · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was disturbing, easy to read, and has lingered with me for some days. Moral quandaries abound & the Franco era grandfather is just one of them. It's well informed, because the author Scott Anderson is a war correspondent. I recommend it for people who aren't too compromised in their anti war beliefs to want to understand more about war, from the onside, where soany moral lines are blurred.

[Olga · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember telling my mother that I wanted to be a war reporter. She said nothing really other than 'hmm interesting' and a few days later she gave me this book to read. I was quite discouraged I must say, though I managed to find my own way of being present in places that matter eventually.. mission accomplished mom!
Beautifully written, real and haunting.

[Jo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Triage is presented in multiple layers in this novel that interweaves the late 20th century conflict in Kurdistan and the Spanish Civil War. In sparse yet richly textured language the author explores triage on the battlefield and the triage inherent in moral/immoral/amoral decisions. I am usually drawn into a novel in the first few pages but this one look a while longer. When I finished the novel I immediately reread the first chapter to discover the clues to the story that was about to unfold.

[Donna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: 3.6 stars

[Tracie Griffith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this book. It helped me finish writing my first novel 'Redemption'. One of the few books I have read that successfully applies Robert Olen Butler's celebrated theories on fiction writing ('From Where You Dream'), using sensory details to convey emotion. Is Anderson aware of Butler's theories? It doesn't matter.

[Jake]

bad ass book right here

[Georgia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book I have ever read, I would have rather watched paint dry

[Keeble · Rating 1 out of 5]

Shite, clunky and badly worded.

[Beth Ann]

I just couldn't get thru this one. It was so drawn out I lost what the story was about

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Anderson cut his teeth as a war correspondent and this novel is about a war photographer caught up in the fighting in Kurdistan in the early 1990s. Seriously injured the photographer arrives home to his longtime girlfriend, unable to acknowledge what happened to him and his colleague. From there the novel turns on the estranged relationship between the girlfriend and her grandfather in Spain. The estrangement results from her grandfather's psychological treatment of Franco's fascist war veterans. Not exactly the path I thought the book would take, but I enjoyed it.

[Stu Campbell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful debut novel by combat reporter Scott Anderson, its the story of a combat photographer injured in Kurdistan. He’s suffering PTSD back in America, and his Spanish girlfriend becomes increasingly concerned. Her grandfather, a psychiatrist with Franco’s Nationalist decides to treat him. It becomes a novel of memory, of shocking secrets, of beauty and learning to live with pain. So highly recommended

[Pav · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the book after watching the movie 10 years ago. However, I feel the part in Spain was slightly detached from the previous chapters and too long and detailed for my taste. Ending was good though.

[Eggxav · Rating 5 out of 5]

worst book ive ever read, even chockey hates it. honestly

[Anna Tan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok I remember raving about this at one point in time.
I should probably do a re-read to figure out why.

[outdated reviews from the great purge of 2018]

[Heather Boundy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving story of the effects of war, loss and trauma on a war photographer working in the front line in Kurdistan. First rate writing!

[katherine (winnie) 🏹 · Rating 3 out of 5]

more a 3.5 - read this for school yonks ago so not sure how much i remember but i remember it being good; an easy read for such somewhat intense topics of war and trauma

[margaret Loughnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I simply cannot understand why this amazing, superbly written book is so hard to get. Although first published in 1998, it is SO relevant to 2021.

[Joe Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scott Anderson is a great writer and I really like his non-fiction work, so I'm not happy giving this 3 ⭐ but this novel is pretty average and was disappointing overall.

[Amelia Dall · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really loved the aspect of Mark being an unreliable narrator.

[Emma Flip · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was by far, the most boring book I have ever read. The story dragged and dragged, and was very hard to get through. The joaquin character, or whatever his name was, was very irritating, and seemed to just blab about everything. You could ask him on his opinion of a lemon and he would make an hour talk out of it. I just found it to be a very boring book, and wouldn't recommend it to younger readers, or readers that want action. If you like a slower read, then it's the book for you. But my one star rating comes from the fact that the book, even though it had some relatable themes in it, such as grief, acceptance, and loss, was just very bland. I've never been one for war stories, and was hoping, that this book would maybe change my look on them, but its just proved my feelings for them. Only towards the end of the book did some suspense kick in, but otherwise, there was no suspense, or intriguing events for me. I will stick to my usual dystopian reads. Nothing gained.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read to learn about the many areas about which I lack knowledge. Scott Anderson is a great teacher. The riveting opening chapter of Triage was the beginning of a non-stop read. Mark's stay as a patient in the Harir Cave hospital after having visited it for photo essays, and seeing the horror of it from the patient's perspective (ie if you were given the wrong colour tag). The plot weaves in the atrocities of the Spanish Civil War and Elena's Thursday afternoon volunteer job trying to re-unite families separated by war. The 5 star reviews are spot on. I also immediately reread the first chapter after finishing the book. One last thing, finish this book in the middle of the day, not just before turning out your light. You might have trouble falling asleep.

[Candice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing. This book grabbed me from the beginning and held on through out the tumultuous journey of Mark's recovery. Joaquin was a wonderful character, my favorite by far, so complex and multi-faceted. I think my favorite thing about this book was the lack of emotion. It was perfectly executed, a very difficult thing to do by the way. The author only presented the facts, never stating what the characters felt but allowing you to gage that emotion naturally from their reactions. A wonderfully tied in twist at the end, too. I loved it. Definitely will be watching the movie this weekend!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

"To hell with history. If there is anything to be learned from any of it, it is only that civilisation is fragile, that in war it takes nothing for a man - any man, fascist, communist, schoolteacher, peasant, it doesn't matter - to become a beast."

[Pary · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Homeland. It doesn't matter what you do or even what you believe, you never escape the homeland. It always keeps you. They talk of free will, but we are all just homing pigeons in the end."


"To hell with history. If there is anything to be learnt from any of it, it is only that civilisation is fragile, that in war it takes nothing for a man - any man, fascist, communist, schoolteacher, peasant, it doesn't matter - to become a beast"

[Bea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually had to read this as a school text about 10 years ago and enjoyed it then but got a bit sick of analysing it over and over! I just finished re-reading it and realised what an amazing piece of literature this book is! You really do keep guessing almost to the end about whats going on. A very worthy read for all ages.

[Emma · Rating 1 out of 5]

What a disappointment on a topic so important. The three main characters really do not convince... neither does the story line. It is fluently written but it strangely lacks psychological insight, or maybe knowledge. It is nearly amateurish. That while psychology is the mayor point of the book. And the over romantic ending really sucks and has little if nothing to do with reality

[Nicirwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the few books that i have read and studied, and have come out the other side loving even more than what i did to begin with. Anderson paints fantastic pictures, and vividly demonstrates the agonies of being a war photographer.
Highly Recommended!

[Edward Pertl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Even though I have taught this text for a number of years, I have come back to this beautiful and powerfully written story again and again for its insight into human frailties and tragedy. Anderson is an amazing writer

[Lucy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really interesting story about a war photographer. Studied in VCE at some schools in Victoria. Lots to discuss with this.