Fobbit

I enjoy a good satire – no matter if the target is one I identify with or oppose, a good satire is a treat. Fobbit didn't totally work for me as a satire, but it came close.As the cover says, a Fobbit is someone stationed at the Forward Operating Base during the Iraq war. The novel follows a handful of Fobbits as they try to survive their deployment while accomplishing as much as The Powers That Be allow them to (which includes a surprising number of PowerPoint presentations).Staff Sergeant Gooding of Public Affairs attempts to keep various media outlets appraised of events, but before he can, he has to run everything up the flagpole – beginning with the impossibly political Lt. Col. Harkleroad. By the time Harkleroad and his superiors get done massaging/mangling the presentation of the facts to suit their needs, CNN, etc. have already discovered the reality, ran their stories, and moved on to something else. On the other end of things, Sgt. Lumely is on the front-lines, but has to endure the inept command of Capt. Abe Shrinkle, who's probably just as dangerous to his men as Iraqi insurgents (if not more). Lt. Vic Duret is Shrinkle's commander, and he's as frustrated trying to minimize Shrinkle's damage.Fobbit starts slow, and builds slower – but, eventually (and organically), the plot picks up and the lives of these poor Fobbits spiral out of control. Then it stopped feeling like a “eat your veggies” kind of read, and one that I could enjoy. Fobbit's not as pointed as [b:Catch-22 168668 Catch-22 (Catch-22, #1) Joseph Heller https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1359882576s/168668.jpg 814330], or as laugh-out-loud funny as [b:Mash: A Novel About Three Army Doctors 82472 Mash A Novel About Three Army Doctors Richard Hooker https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388325310s/82472.jpg 457099] – as much as it wants to be in that company. But it's honest, upfront, and feels authentic. This is a satire of the circumstances these soldiers found themselves in, about the way the war was being fought, not about whether it should be or not. As nearly as possible, it's an a-political book – pro-Operation Iraqi Freedom or anti- – it can be appreciated for what it is. Well-written, with characters that are a little more human than satire necessitates, and a world more grounded than expected.

Much of what I've read about this book compares it to Catch-22, and I can see some similarities, as both books spend time dealing with military bureaucracy. But while Catch-22 depicts an absurdly soul-crushing bureaucratic maze, Fobbit presents a more realistic view of the paperwork and command chains of the military. It's probably closer to The Office or Dilbert than it is to Catch-22. Because of this realistic bent, the book is just as much infuriating as it is funny. While we can laugh at the incompetent antics of Michael Scott or the PHB because they don't have real influence over people's lives. But with characters like Shrinkle in Fobbit, we see that comic incompetence result in unnecessary death and destruction. It's a weird read. I wouldn't say it's a great book–it's certainly not up to the level of Catch-22, The Things They Carried, or Going After Caciatto–but it's an important book.