The backdrop of the story is the battle of Al-Ansakar Canal: A small force of American soldiers are victorious in a heroic firefight against a much-larger group of Iraqi guerrillas. The battle is recorded by an embedded Fox News reporter and soon goes viral back home on YouTube. Bravo Squad is instantly transformed into national heroes.
The Bush administration flies Bravo home for a carefully staged “Victory Tour” to drum up flagging support for the war. After mind-numbing days of photo opps and parades, Bravo is scheduled to spend its last day before returning to Iraq by participating in the halftime show at the Thanksgiving Day football game.
The story tells the events of that Thanksgiving Day. For 19-year-old soldier Billy Lynn, the day is overwhelming – he falls in love with a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, is pressured to go AWOL by his sister, hobnobs with the Cowboys' owners, and participates in a tramatic halftime show with pop stars Destiny’s Child. The most telling scene is when Billy and his squad, members of America's best-trained and most-deadly fighting force, meet America’s best-paid and most-pampered fighting force – the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s hard to explain how a book can be both heart-breaking and hilarious but there are flashes of both in this story. In many ways Billy behaves like a typical 19-year-old -- he tries to impress a cheerleader, sneaks drinks of alcohol, and is almost kicked out of the game for fighting. Yet he is also very astute in his understanding of his role as a pawn in the marketing of war to the American public. His war experiences gave him a maturity well beyond his 19 years. These conflicting facets of Billy's character are part of the magic of this book.
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk is the best book I’ve read in a long time. Truly, the only criticism I have is of its long, clunky title.
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