http://www.bostonbibliophile.com/2009... ( )

This short novel is such fun and so depressing to read--it's a true satire and reminded me of "Catch 22" in its spoofs of the military but is about much more than those misadventures. Kaufman is--not surprisingly, given his roots in comics--a genius at coming up with iconic images for his young prodigy's misfortunes. The larger than life totems constructed of dung that represent other characters in the novel will in particular stay with you. Not a perfect novel, but pretty nearly a perfect satire--so 5 stars! ( )

This novel is purportedly the first by the 90 year old screenwriter and WWII veteran. How he made it through a career in Hollywood -- including creating the character Mr. Magoo -- without writing a book, especially a book about all his adventures, is unclear. Nevertheless he's put together a very, very young, light novel. The book is unique and important--as an extension of the frivolous and unexpected meanderings of a Michael Chabon or Thomas Pynchon admixed with the theatricality and cinematics one would find in a feature film.

The vocabulary is startling. Without feeling like he's inventorying a daily super-hard word calendar, he's pushing the reader to consult her dictionary. Turning bits like 'phonetic dandyism' and 'lobotomized Esperanto so piss-elegant they self-destruct on the tongue into parody". However, the book seemed to tawdry and liscivious, gratuitously so. This was a turn-off, and continued throughout.

The book is set in a mix of locales, including Iraq - an interesting and in itself humorous and ironic choice in our contemporary Age. In all, perhaps not in a class of its own, it is certainly an original worth reading. ( )