JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN

Trumbo's classic of enduring horrors immortalizes the brutality of war in a way no other antiwar writing ever has. The main character is a soldier who is forced into isolation by injuries that prevent him from communicating. When he eventually learns to communicate again, no one wants to listen to what he has to say. Using a forced tone of nostalgia and a hollow "epicness," narrator William Dufris turns this classic into a gimmick. The rolling pitch and yawl of his inflection force the listener into elated highs and sappy lows, making this listen quite tedious. The poignancy, respect, and craft of the novel seem to have been ignored. M.U. © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine [Published: SEPTEMBER 2008]