tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post4382710885993166410..comments2023-10-20T10:18:36.203-04:00Comments on You've GOTTA read this!: Paco's Story Readalong - Week 2Sandy Nawrothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00564390728106776030noreply@blogger.comBlogger8125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-84242651503551675612010-07-18T22:25:54.608-04:002010-07-18T22:25:54.608-04:00I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses ...I'm enjoying reading everyone's responses to the discussion. It's such a revealing book and yet so much is held back, especially when it comes to Paco. I'm dying to get into his head and know what he is thinking. He seems to be going through the motions of life. It is interesting though to get the perspective of those he meets--see how they treat him. I like how you described the other characters as "everyman". So true.Literary Felinehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13079276242303738719noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-23415527814187433082010-07-18T15:32:53.392-04:002010-07-18T15:32:53.392-04:00I loved what you said to the fourth question, and ...I loved what you said to the fourth question, and can't agree with you more.<br /><br />I think you are right about how the world passed by and didn't care much about the soldiers and their return. I think it's one of the most shocking things of this war, no one was prepared or wanted to be prepared for the soldiers who returned. There was no help, no support, just the stigma of fighting a war, no one wanted to be in, in the first place.Juleshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15548374470375135651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-72577851073932989392010-07-15T07:46:54.362-04:002010-07-15T07:46:54.362-04:00Sounds like you and I are on the same page when it...Sounds like you and I are on the same page when it comes to this book. I wish I knew more about Paco, where he came from, what he was like before, but the ghostly narrator really does give you a better glimpse of what returning veterans went through.<br /><br />My dad was an MP in the Air Force in Vietnam. When he came home, people threw dog feces at him and the others he was with and called them baby killers. Many of the soldiers didn't even choose to fight, so that had to be hard to stomach on top of the horrors of war.Annahttp://diaryofaneccentric.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-71261062281496852182010-07-14T16:08:24.459-04:002010-07-14T16:08:24.459-04:00I look forward to the subsequent updates on your r...I look forward to the subsequent updates on your read a long. I have always been horrified by the treatment most Vietnam war vets encountered when they returned home. We had neighbors who had two sons in the war and we had a big party for them when they returned. Sadly, I don't think this was the case for most of the vets.Kathleenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01739982274914536036noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-78246601095431669802010-07-14T13:08:32.147-04:002010-07-14T13:08:32.147-04:00It boggles my mind how many parallels between the ...It boggles my mind how many parallels between the Vietnam War and the Iraq/Afghanistan wars there are, particularly in how vets are treated when they returned home...they don't make the decisions to go to war...they follow orders.<br /><br />Jill, you should have read along with us!Serenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745809545249574387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-72352934009583729332010-07-14T12:10:57.980-04:002010-07-14T12:10:57.980-04:00I haven't read this (although we have it - my ...I haven't read this (although we have it - my husband has read it) but I remember how hard it was for the vets when they came home. Can you imagine - going over there and being subjected to all that and then coming home and being subjected to scorn by your peers? Those poor guys!!!rhapsodyinbookshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07041412748239010264noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-65813839572335595872010-07-14T10:44:11.983-04:002010-07-14T10:44:11.983-04:00Great discussion...I agree that Paco does seem gho...Great discussion...I agree that Paco does seem ghostly...passing through the chapters, which I think is a partial drawback of the outside narrator, though I really like this narration so far. I just want it all!Serenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04745809545249574387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4124681312732868654.post-72068485557083361872010-07-14T10:37:55.940-04:002010-07-14T10:37:55.940-04:00It seems like thew main character in this book has...It seems like thew main character in this book has been drawn a little vaguely, and I would bet that it was done on purpose.I am going to have to keep reading along to find out just how all this turns out!Zibileehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05857638467064749190noreply@blogger.com