JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN

The man who wrote Washington Jitters adds another string to his longbow with a book which is so extreme, and so gruesome, that it will be difficult to sell. But there is some fine writing, some very moving moments, and the sensational elements of the situation are often counterbalanced by the sobriety of the handling. The book is the day by day emotional record of a man, so mutilated, so close to death, that he can best appraise the sacrifice of war. Having lost arms, legs, and facial surfaces, he is isolated from the outer world. Day by day he reconstructs the past, attempts to establish some contact with the nurses, the doctors, but once having done so, he is ignored and sent back to his living death. Based on a medical clipping, it is nonetheless a flamboyant fictional theme, and difficult to carry.