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Many Beaucoup Magics
Many Beaucoup Magics is unusual on many levels. Originally drafted as a memoir it was rewritten in the third person to not reveal the ending. It's a novella about a little known corner of the war in Vietnam, life in a Special Forces border camp and is "Dedicated to All the Mothers who suffered the loss of their children in the many wars in Vietnam." I know this suffering well and stayed close to the Mothers of seven friends who were killed. All their days they never got over their loss. I needed to tell their story while challenging the male folly that going to war makes you a man and drive home the point that John Wayne is merely an actor who knew that men who wear make up don't have to go to war. McManus an english major with a romantic love of literature ends up in the mystical world of a stone age tribe of Montagnards who have never developed an alphabet. This is life in the misty Central Highlands on the Cambodian Border in the summer of 1968. McManus goes to war fighting an obsession of some undefined consequence awaiting him on August 17th and ends up living in the jungle with an illiterate tribe of mercenaries who have frightening precognative dreams. He comes to understand these simple jungle people hold a key to his premonitions. Based on a true story, no one to date has foreseen the ending. Definitely not your father's Buick.
- GenresWar
147 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 2, 2015
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 23, 2021
This is obviously a very personal story to the author. It is based on events from his life. It is a vivid account of the absurdities and chaos of warfare. It paints a graphic picture of some of the costs and trials of the men and women who fight for our nation. I appreciate the thoughtfulness he put into this account of his war experience. I also like that he tried to humanize the enemy to some extent in the story. So many books and movies tend to dehumanize everyone in a conflict that is not American.
So those are the things I liked and appreciated about this novella. I did only give it three stars for some things I found lacking in the book. The first is just a personal preference of mine and many will find an asset where I find a weakness. In the beginning of the book the main character, McManus, before he goes to war, happens to glance through an astrology book. Sort of a day by day astrological reading for the year. At random he reads his reading for August 18th which portends big things for that day. This prediction sticks with McManus and he goes through the book dreading August 18th. Beware the ides of August sort of thing, I guess.
This plot device and the fact that it is a war story makes one think of A Prayer for Owen Meany. Another war book with premonitions moving the story forward. I simply don't like this type of plot device. And it is used with a very heavy hand in this book as it was in John Irving's book. There's probably not three pages in a row that don't mention August 18th. I don't like stories of predestination. It's not something I put any truck in myself and find stories using it generally manufactured. In this book the character has visions of colored mists accompanying his premonitions and the book sets this up as some great mystery, but it's pretty obvious what the colored mists will be and they turn out to be just what you expect them to be.
As I mentioned earlier the author tries to humanize the non-American characters in the book. However, I don't think he does a very good job of it. There is a battle scene in the book when McManus inspects the body of a killed enemy soldier and notices he's wearing a cross and was a Catholic, as he is. He grieves for the soldiers mother who will be devastated. This is a touching scene meant, I think, to show that all participants in the war are human and not just faceless enemies. I did like this scene.
But he also talks a lot about the Montagnard people in Vietnam who I'd never heard of before this. McManus expresses a great respect for these people, but the descriptions of them seem to be almost imperialistic. It reads like something out of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. They are extremely superstitious and see the Americans as almost godlike at times. "They came from the sky. Like great birds, they could fly." It came off as making them look very childlike and primitive.
One minor nit to pick is that the author needs to get his references straight. In the beginning of the book McManus is reflecting on going to war and landing in Vietnam. He thinks back on war books he's read. He specifically thinks about the character Billy Pilgrim from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. This whole book takes place in 1968. Slaughterhouse Five wasn't published until 1969.
So, there are a lot of good things to like about this book. It's a good war story. It's engaging and feels quite personal. If you like stories of predestination and characters seeing omens and portents on a future date, you'll like this. But it's just not the story for me, overall. I could have used fewer beaucoup magics, I guess.
So those are the things I liked and appreciated about this novella. I did only give it three stars for some things I found lacking in the book. The first is just a personal preference of mine and many will find an asset where I find a weakness. In the beginning of the book the main character, McManus, before he goes to war, happens to glance through an astrology book. Sort of a day by day astrological reading for the year. At random he reads his reading for August 18th which portends big things for that day. This prediction sticks with McManus and he goes through the book dreading August 18th. Beware the ides of August sort of thing, I guess.
This plot device and the fact that it is a war story makes one think of A Prayer for Owen Meany. Another war book with premonitions moving the story forward. I simply don't like this type of plot device. And it is used with a very heavy hand in this book as it was in John Irving's book. There's probably not three pages in a row that don't mention August 18th. I don't like stories of predestination. It's not something I put any truck in myself and find stories using it generally manufactured. In this book the character has visions of colored mists accompanying his premonitions and the book sets this up as some great mystery, but it's pretty obvious what the colored mists will be and they turn out to be just what you expect them to be.
As I mentioned earlier the author tries to humanize the non-American characters in the book. However, I don't think he does a very good job of it. There is a battle scene in the book when McManus inspects the body of a killed enemy soldier and notices he's wearing a cross and was a Catholic, as he is. He grieves for the soldiers mother who will be devastated. This is a touching scene meant, I think, to show that all participants in the war are human and not just faceless enemies. I did like this scene.
But he also talks a lot about the Montagnard people in Vietnam who I'd never heard of before this. McManus expresses a great respect for these people, but the descriptions of them seem to be almost imperialistic. It reads like something out of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness. They are extremely superstitious and see the Americans as almost godlike at times. "They came from the sky. Like great birds, they could fly." It came off as making them look very childlike and primitive.
One minor nit to pick is that the author needs to get his references straight. In the beginning of the book McManus is reflecting on going to war and landing in Vietnam. He thinks back on war books he's read. He specifically thinks about the character Billy Pilgrim from Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse Five. This whole book takes place in 1968. Slaughterhouse Five wasn't published until 1969.
So, there are a lot of good things to like about this book. It's a good war story. It's engaging and feels quite personal. If you like stories of predestination and characters seeing omens and portents on a future date, you'll like this. But it's just not the story for me, overall. I could have used fewer beaucoup magics, I guess.
January 4, 2021
Who you are and why you are reading will determine what you think about this book. There's the book as war memoir and there's the book as literature. As lit, it's a little rough with a lot of English grad classes in Creative Studies showing through. As a reflection upon war, it is hard to best the tale of a Special Forces Vietnam veteran. My combat duty in Vietnam was certainly light compared with what this protagonist endures.
I love the heart of this book. I was touched by the ending, placing a poncho over the dead NVA, and reflecting upon the mothers and the similarities between the soldiers on opposite sides. And the final quotation, "The worst wasn't to die, but to see one's soul change." I have written of that as well.
I love the heart of this book. I was touched by the ending, placing a poncho over the dead NVA, and reflecting upon the mothers and the similarities between the soldiers on opposite sides. And the final quotation, "The worst wasn't to die, but to see one's soul change." I have written of that as well.
January 23, 2022
Funeral for a Friend
Picking a table at a funeral can be dicey but in my case it was magical. I got to meet the wonderful Man who authored this amazing book. My oldest brother served in Nam and died in a car accident in March of 1973. I am forever grateful for a glimpse of what he was up against through the eyes of Tom Garvey. I still think after all these years I need to go to Vietnam to see the place for myself. His name is Thomas Joseph Smith Jr. He graduated from St. James Catholic High School in 1968. Thanks so much Tom. You are the Man.
Picking a table at a funeral can be dicey but in my case it was magical. I got to meet the wonderful Man who authored this amazing book. My oldest brother served in Nam and died in a car accident in March of 1973. I am forever grateful for a glimpse of what he was up against through the eyes of Tom Garvey. I still think after all these years I need to go to Vietnam to see the place for myself. His name is Thomas Joseph Smith Jr. He graduated from St. James Catholic High School in 1968. Thanks so much Tom. You are the Man.
March 19, 2021
I don't know who said it, but it's true...... "Nobody hates war worse than the guy who has to fight it."
I do know who said this, and it's also true...... “The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other - instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals. ” --Edward Abbey
A true tale (you couldn't make this up!) well written, which will give you cause to reflect, hawk or dove though you might be, on the real cost of warfare.
I do know who said this, and it's also true...... “The tragedy of modern war is that the young men die fighting each other - instead of their real enemies back home in the capitals. ” --Edward Abbey
A true tale (you couldn't make this up!) well written, which will give you cause to reflect, hawk or dove though you might be, on the real cost of warfare.
October 20, 2021
This was obviously Tom Garvey's first effort at fiction, but what he lacks here in story craft is almost balanced out by an excellent plot and compelling characters. My only disappointment is that the author did not flesh out the plot and dialogue more. However, I am hopeful and look forward to his becoming more polished of a fiction writer (as evidenced by his excellently rendered memoir The Secret Apartment) and hope to read another novel by him soon.
August 17, 2015
A long strange trip
This book has given me insight into a man I have loved and admired for many years. He lives his life beaucoup magically that is why he is an inspiration to many. Thank you for this gift.
This book has given me insight into a man I have loved and admired for many years. He lives his life beaucoup magically that is why he is an inspiration to many. Thank you for this gift.
March 19, 2021
Amazing!!
Thank you ALL for your service and sacrifice. I have read hundreds of books about Vietnam, and somehow I stumbled on to this little hidden gem. Do yourself a favor and read it. It's MANY Beaucoup Magics! 🙏👏
Thank you ALL for your service and sacrifice. I have read hundreds of books about Vietnam, and somehow I stumbled on to this little hidden gem. Do yourself a favor and read it. It's MANY Beaucoup Magics! 🙏👏
March 21, 2021
Stunning
I have read many many books about Vietnam. This is one of the top five if not the best. What an honor to those he served with.
I have read many many books about Vietnam. This is one of the top five if not the best. What an honor to those he served with.
February 17, 2025
Mr. Garvey's story telling is absolutely wonderful. The hilarious stupidity of how we can "army" up anything was captured from the get go. And yet he takes that and blends his unique perspective and experience into something that leaves the reader feeling the power of "many beaucoup magics". Well done and THANK-YOU for sharing your story with us.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews