Reading Michael Herr's Dispatches

"No New Journalist that I'm familiar with left a book for us that succeeds in being so utterly of its time and to timeless.  Yes, the Nam was a rock-and-roll war, a Sixties war if you like.  However, be assured that Dispatches, with its poetry flaring from the vernacular to the sublime, is a work proved upon our pulses today."

I'm in the midst of reading Michael Herr's Dispatches, of which Robert Stone writes (above quote) in his introduction to the Everyman's Library Edition.  It's the last of the 2012 Literature and War Readalong titles and I had hoped to be finished by now but the book is proving to be more of a challenge than I had anticipated.  Every once in a while you come across a book that knocks you for a loop with its writing or subject matter.  Dispatches is a series of reportages by Michael Herr who was a war correspondent for Esquire, but it's not the straightforward journalism that I had expected. 

As I've been reading I was thinking that this must surely be a good example of literary nonfiction (or creative nonfiction), which I think it is, as Herr writes of his experiences in Vietnam in an impressionistic, vivid and very visceral manner.  I'm wondering if I am ill-suited to the writing style, yet I think the writing style is well-suited to the time and place Herr writes about.  Throw into the mix references to events, places and acronyms I'm not familiar with (I feel as though I should be but see now I have a gaping hole of knowledge when it comes to the Vietnam War), so style and content are slowing me down.  

I'm not discouraged in my reading, however, and I think it's good to read outside comfort zones.  I feel, though, that I'm not going to take away from this book what I could had I been better informed.  This is a case where reading about what I'm reading (if that makes sense) can only be a good thing.  It's been helpful, too, to read Caroline's thoughts about the book, and I'm a little relieved to hear that the latter sections (the book is divided into six "dispatches") are easier going than the earlier ones.

So in order to 'orient' myself a little better a definition right about now wouldn't be amiss.  'New Journalism' is "an artistic, creative, literary reporting form with three basic traits: dramatic literary techniques; intensive reporting; and reporting of generally acknowledged subjectivity.  New Journalism isn't entirely new to me actually, as I've read books by a few of its practitioners in the past including Joan Didion and Truman Capote (both are authors I hugely admire by the way).  As for Michael Herr's Dispatches, Robert Stone writes:

"About the time that Michael herr began his journey through Vietnam, the mode of narrative that came to be called 'New Journalism' had begun to appear in the American press.  The unique claim of the New Journalism of that period was to present a pursuit of reality - we might very uneasily call it 'truth' - in two authoritative dimensions.  On the one hand it was journalism imbued with the authority of the press.  It was the news, a recounting of facts theoretically subject to stern review by responsible authorities whose institutional reputations spoke for the accuracy of the matter contained.  In an age perhaps more trusting of its institutions this seemed reassuring."

"Yet New Journalism made claims beyond the correct rendering of events.  Along with its documentary accuracy it aspired to deliver the subjective observations, the tropes, witticism, and insights, quite often unsympathetic, that even the most partisan standard feature story might leave to the reader's inference.  The result could be quite scandalous and attention-getting, with some readers enraged by the insolence that the New Journalist might visit on his subject's embarrassed subjects, and others rejoicing not only in the public exposure of the enemies' fatuities but in having the journalist's observations echo their own judgments.  So the New Journalism, liberty and license, dependent on the honor and perception of the reporter, as an unwieldy vehicle."

Hmm.  So I wonder if I can apply the term verisimilitude to Herr's writing as he certainly is giving a taste of place--what it felt like to be in Vietnam, especially the fear. 

So, onwards now.  I do feel like I've oriented myself a little better and know what's coming, so perhaps the second half of the book will make for a smoother reading experience.  Now that you've heard all about the style, next time I'll let you know about the content!

Comments

[Caitlin]

It's good you're reading this book - it's a favorite of mine (so, that alone makes it good). I agree that the language is unexpected, but within its context it works because it so beautifully captures the essence and feel of what was happening in a way that more plainly written journalism doesn't approach.

Most of all, I think, is that the writer understands that he is part of his stories - that he's not objective or removed. I think this traces a line through some of the best journalism to come, including Joe Sacco's amazing work. Keep on - it pays off in the end.

[Caroline]

I think being familiar with "grunt language" helps as well. I can't even imagine what it would have been like to read this book without having watched a few Vietnam war movies before. Before finishing I rewatched Platoon and there are a lot of parallels. I think he contributed to the scriot, still, there is straigthforward story telling in Platoon.
I agree, I would also call this creative non-fiction or maybe even experimental nonfiction. As I said in my review, it gets easier.
I think it's a book deeply rooted in its time, style- and topic wise.
I'm almost tempted to re-read The Kool Aid Acid Test now. And I've never read On the Road.

[Danielle]

Thanks so much for your comment--it has been helpful to stop and think about what I'm reading rather than let myself get discouraged by the style. I can see why it is a classic, but you are right the language has been unexpected. Also I am not as familiar with the war so references to battles and acronyms are tripping me up a bit, but I am not letting myself get bogged down too much in the details. Now I will have to look up Joe Sacco's work--he writes graphic novels, doesn't he? I think my library has some of his books so I will look into them.

[Danielle]

Yes, I think knowing more of the colloquialisms would have been helpful. They really did have their own language--but I guess you have to start somewhere when you are learning. I don't even think I have watched any Vietnam movies--I am afraid they will be too graphic and hard to watch, so I rarely watch war movies of any kind. I may have to give some a try, however. I think you are right that he did help on the movie--there is a timeline in the EL edition which I glanced at and I seem to recall something about scriptwriting. The first part was a little frustrating for me, but now I am into the third part and there is some semblance of a narrative structure that makes it much easier to read. I'm looking forward to those last sections that you liked better. I have read On the Road (though I probably would get more out of it--stylewise--now than I did when I read it 20 years ago). I haven't read The Electric Kool Aid Acid Test--will check that out.

[Caroline]

Vietnam war movies are all extremely graphic. Only The Deer Hunter is an exception and many of the Vietnam Veteran movies. My favourite is Jacknife.
The only one you could watch, it's pretty horrible but you don't see too much, is Born on the 4th of July. Apocalypse Now (based on Conrad's Heart of Darkness) would be possible too. The horror is more in the morale and the atmosphere, there are less graphic wounds. Herr contributed to that as well. But don't watch the Redux version. It's far too long.

[Danielle]

Thanks for the suggestions. When a story is so emotionally wrenching I have a hard time watching it and war movies are inevitably like that. I can distance myself a bit from books when reading stories like that, but not so with movies! I'll add these to my Netflix queue--I forgot to reorder it so I still have a Christmas movie arriving today! Am ready for the new year, however and brighter horizons! Still reading Dispatches--it looks like it will carry over into 2013 unless I get in some very serious reading time today!

[Stefanie]

The book sounds good, but hard too. Vietnam is still such a central experience in the US and all its horrors still feel almost recent. Good luck finishing it. Even if you end up not liking it much at least you can feel like you learned a lot about the war, yes?

[Danielle]

I think that is why I don't read much about Vietnam or later wars or watch movies about them. Even though I was really little--too little to even know what was going on--the idea that it all happened in my lifetime makes it hard to think about. It's a good read, difficult, but I am sure I am going to take away a lot from it when I do finish (which will be in 2013 now!).