How do soldiers deal with getting shot below the belt? How bad are stink bombs really? These are some of the questions that the public has but never asks, because who would? In her book, Grunt by Mary Roach, she asks these questions that nobody asks but everyone wonders in a non-fiction research approach. Roach travels to bases and hospitals to learn about the weirdest parts of the military, interviewing ranked officials and doctors about how to deal with the aftermaths of war. In her novel Grunt, Mary Roach gets the truth about life behind the smoke of war.
Each chapter covers a different question ranging from how to deal with the noise of war to penile transplants. Roach conducts interviews with various people in military bases or hospitals in order to understand the best she can about these random and weird parts of the military. By putting herself in shooting ranges, watching a penile transplant (only the removal from the cadaver), and smelling a common ingredient in stink bombs, Roach seeks to put herself as close to the real deal as possible and understand what troops are really going through. This makes the book a very real representation of the military experience, but instead of bombs flying overhead it's the smell of rotting bodies. By immersing herself in the experience as much as she can, Roach can get a real view of what each interviewee is talking about which gives her good insight into what exactly she is writing about; this means that her personal information is truthful to the topic.
Every chapter of Grunt is formatted in a very similar way: short story introduction to the person that Roach will be talking to, the interview with them, her way of being ‘in the field’, and her finishing thoughts and summary about the experience. Throughout each chapter Roach throws in some humor or a sidepoint about the topic or person, keeping the air lighthearted on heavy topics. In her formatting, Roach makes her book less like a research paper and more like a news interview. Some topics of her book carry a more serious and darker material, some are of a lighter nature, but she approaches them the same way. Even though there is a bit of her opinion in each chapter towards the end in her reflections, her main information of the chapters is coming directly from the interviewees. This means that even though her format is different from typical research non-fiction novels, she is providing real information.
In my opinion this is a fantastic read. I really enjoy Roach’s format and the way that she approaches these questions; she goes in depth about each detail of the topic and really informs the reader about the topic. I also enjoyed her style of writing: she writes like she is telling a story rather than a research paper which I think makes the book a lot more interesting and easier to read. Another thing I thought was positive was the way Roach approaches the interviewees. She provides descriptions and personal interactions or stories about these people she talks to, which I think highlights that she is talking to people, not reading from an article. Some cons are that while her humor keeps the air lighthearted, I think some topics could have been approached with a bit more seriousness and the humor could have been left out. Similarly, I think the side points sometimes get a bit too distracting from the main topic of the chapter. Overall, I think Grunt is a fantastic book that really does answer those questions we don’t want to ask. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in war, in the military, or anyone who is bored and enjoys learning some new things.
Each chapter covers a different question ranging from how to deal with the noise of war to penile transplants. Roach conducts interviews with various people in military bases or hospitals in order to understand the best she can about these random and weird parts of the military. By putting herself in shooting ranges, watching a penile transplant (only the removal from the cadaver), and smelling a common ingredient in stink bombs, Roach seeks to put herself as close to the real deal as possible and understand what troops are really going through. This makes the book a very real representation of the military experience, but instead of bombs flying overhead it's the smell of rotting bodies. By immersing herself in the experience as much as she can, Roach can get a real view of what each interviewee is talking about which gives her good insight into what exactly she is writing about; this means that her personal information is truthful to the topic.
Every chapter of Grunt is formatted in a very similar way: short story introduction to the person that Roach will be talking to, the interview with them, her way of being ‘in the field’, and her finishing thoughts and summary about the experience. Throughout each chapter Roach throws in some humor or a sidepoint about the topic or person, keeping the air lighthearted on heavy topics. In her formatting, Roach makes her book less like a research paper and more like a news interview. Some topics of her book carry a more serious and darker material, some are of a lighter nature, but she approaches them the same way. Even though there is a bit of her opinion in each chapter towards the end in her reflections, her main information of the chapters is coming directly from the interviewees. This means that even though her format is different from typical research non-fiction novels, she is providing real information.
In my opinion this is a fantastic read. I really enjoy Roach’s format and the way that she approaches these questions; she goes in depth about each detail of the topic and really informs the reader about the topic. I also enjoyed her style of writing: she writes like she is telling a story rather than a research paper which I think makes the book a lot more interesting and easier to read. Another thing I thought was positive was the way Roach approaches the interviewees. She provides descriptions and personal interactions or stories about these people she talks to, which I think highlights that she is talking to people, not reading from an article. Some cons are that while her humor keeps the air lighthearted, I think some topics could have been approached with a bit more seriousness and the humor could have been left out. Similarly, I think the side points sometimes get a bit too distracting from the main topic of the chapter. Overall, I think Grunt is a fantastic book that really does answer those questions we don’t want to ask. I would highly recommend it to anyone interested in war, in the military, or anyone who is bored and enjoys learning some new things.