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	• Paco's Story: A Novel Larry Heinemann Vintage, 2005 - 224 pages average customer review:based on 19 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

One of the best books I've ever read...

This book is flat out amazing. It's one of the best I've ever read, and it is at the top of my list of books I recommend and give as gifts to friends. I found the story very gripping, the narration style and point of view to be very unique. While reading it, ask yourself who is telling the story. It gives me chills to just think about that.

I know there is room in the world for different opinions, but I just can't help but feel that those who question the books writing style and content just don't get it. This book is very powerful, and I can't recommend it highly enough.

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A Story Worth Reading

This book gives a glimpse into the toll that war takes on those who survive. No one but those who endure it can truly fathom the horrors of PTSD, but for the rest of us who want to understand, this book is the best I've read yet. Paco wanders through his life finding some solace in washing dishes in a small diner in Texas, losing himself in his work and barely surviving mentally from day to day. The style of writing drew me into Paco's suffering. Although it is fiction, it is written by a Vietnam vet and left me wondering how many Pacos there are among us. His story is one that may well haunt you long after the final page is read.

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Brilliant!

PACO'S STORY is the definitive novel of the Vietnam "conflict" as told from the point of view of a lowly soldier in the thick of the fight.

Author Larry Heinemann's use of language is so lyrical that the prose here has a rhythm that is musical. His descriptions are graphic enough that the reader almost can smell the blood, hear the screams, taste the fear.

At times, PACO'S STORY is painful to read, but that is a direct consequence of Heinemann's mastery of the topic. This novel deservedly won the National Book Award.

PACO'S STORY is as significant report of the Vietnam era as CATCH-22 was of World War II.

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Unspeakable Horror/post traumatic stress

This book worked for me. I was drawn into a life, a sad unremarkable life on the outside but a life filled with courage and dignity inside. Paco has a story so horrific, so painful that he can't share it with anyone but the dead who haunt him. He can't escape his experiences or his pain. He can't comprehend why he is still alive. He can't relate to those living ordinary lives. He cannot share his terrible story. He is going through the motions of living on the "outside" but really living to deal with his inner demons.

Paco's story powerfully shows the alienation of soldiers from society when they come home. It shows the gulf-too wide to be bridged between the GI and the ordinary person. It shows the indifference and lack of interest the average person has in what was sacrified or what a soldier has gone through. It is also a story about the brutalization of men-forced to kill and commit unspeakable acts of violence. Paco's story is told in a simple way, yet is packed with universal truths. It is hard to look at these truths even in a book. I wept for Paco and my brother and the other maginalized veterans. I'm re reading the book and its even more powerful the second time around or I'm just understanding more.

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Up with the best for returned veteran stories

When I first started this book, I had to put it down for a few days and read something else. The rambling "device" at first put me off as annoying. I warmed to the unusual style, however, on the second try and was amply rewarded. As a Vietnam veteran I can be easily offend with the "loser" image of a returned veteran. But this is misleading. Paco is severely wounded and simply wants to work hard (most likely a penitent) and be left alone. He finds his safe harbor in Ernest, the owner of the Texas Lunch diner, where he washes dishes (washing away his sins, yes yes I get it). Ernest's ramblings about combat on Iwo and Guadalcanal add a great coda and understanding. Heinemann really brings these characters to life, especially the talk about combat and how they feel. The most intriguing character is Jesse, another vagabond Viet vet who stops for dinner. As I am also a former paratrooper, Jesse's rantings and observations are priceless. Pay attention to what Jesse says about the "proposed" Vietnam Memorial. Understand Scruggs's idea came about in March 1979, with Heinemann publishing excerpts of this book starting in 1979 (winning the Book Award in 1987). But Cathy gives us a view of how others see us, no matter how unfair that may be. Cathy at first sees Paco as "cute" then "ugly" as she observes him night after night with his nightmares. What Paco reads in Cathy's diary is what many civilians felt about us deep down and their refusal to help in reintegration. One final unrelated note: one reviewer of this book may be unaware that Caputo served in Vietnam, whereas Clancy never served in the military. Heinemann is the real deal, with characters very real to me and my experiences.

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