News From The Red Desert provides vivid picture of war in Afghanistan
News From The Red Desert is a novel about the war in Afghanistan beginning in late 2001 when it started, and then jumps ahead five years to when the conflict was still ongoing. Canada was involved in this war for a 12-year period until its mission was ended in 2014.
Sadly, there is still no end in sight and the war has become the longest in America’s history.
News From The Red Desert is well written and deals honestly with a number of issues including the use of torture, the impact of war on frontline troops, how the media covers the war and the impact of the fighting on the people it purports to help.
The book focuses primarily on a U.S. journalist embedded with Canadian infantry and a U.S. quartermaster at the Kandahar air base. That said, the story is told from a number of perspectives ranging from two U.S. generals, a special forces sergeant turned intelligence officer, a Thai masseuse, to a group of Pakistanis who run the base coffee shop and a crew filming a reality television show Stars Earn Stripes, (I checked it out and this show really did run in 2012).
The book is by Kevin Patterson, a doctor who put himself through medical school by joining the Canadian army. Patterson volunteered as a doctor for the Canadian mission in Kandahar in 2007 and served there for three months.
His time spent in Afghanistan is reflected in the writing. From the descriptions of frontline skirmishes to the daily routines of the Kandahar air base, the reader is given a clear picture of how modern war is conducted. His descriptions of the fighting and the wounds that are a result provide the reader with a reminder that war is in fact hell.
Patterson provides a vivid picture of the fighting between the Taliban, armed with Kalashnikovs and IEDs and western forces backed by drones, Apache helicopters and sophisticated night vision equipment and communications.
His description of a nighttime ambush by U.S. special forces on a group of Taliban is riveting. The way it is planned and executed provides a clear picture of how modern technology can be combined with traditional on-the-ground tactics. The end result of the ambush also provides an interesting twist to the plot and a challenge to the embedded journalist who witnesses it.
The back-stories of the characters are well told and they come to life as real people. Some of the characters and events will be recognizable as being drawn from actual events heightening the air of authenticity the book has.
Patterson has written a novel about war that is well worth reading. It deals with the ongoing issues of Afghanistan and asks hard questions about what the west is trying to achieve in this conflict and the effectiveness of these efforts.
News From The Red Desert (299 pages) by Kevin Patterson is published by Random House Canada. The author will be appearing at Avening Hall at 7 p.m. on Sept. 29. Tickets cost $10, includes $5 book credit. Advance tickets at Curiosity House Books.
Basil Guinane is a recently retired associate dean of the School of Media Studies at Humber College, a former librarian and an avid reader.
