Karl Marlantes

“Emotion constricted Hawke’s throat. He suddenly understood why the victims of concentration camps had walked quietly to the gas chambers. In the…

— Karl Marlantes

“There it is.”

— Karl Marlantes

Quitting is unthinkable and pain is just weakness leaving the body

— Karl Marlantes

I began writing 'Matterhorn' in 1975 and for more than 30 years I kept working on my novel in my spare time,…

— Karl Marlantes

“We have an idea of what is right or wrong. And we can debate moral issues as ideas. But moral *standards* are…

— Karl Marlantes

It was all absurd, without reason or meaning. People who didn't know each other were going to kill each other over a…

— Karl Marlantes

Everything is touched by the holy when it is in the presence of death.

— Karl Marlantes

In the military I could exercise the power of being automatically respected because of the medals on my chest, not because I…

— Karl Marlantes

Once we recognize our shadow's existence we must resist the enticing step of going with its flow.

— Karl Marlantes

“Many will argue that there is nothing remotely spiritual in combat. Consider this. Mystical or religious experiences have four common components: constant…

— Karl Marlantes

When I first got back from the war, I said, 'I'm gonna write the Great American Novel about the Vietnam War.' So…

— Karl Marlantes

“But just below the grim tranquility he had learned to display, he cursed with boiling intensity the ambitious men who used him…

— Karl Marlantes

And I think that it's - the military has actually made improvements, so people are considering post-traumatic stress disorder as, at the…

— Karl Marlantes

When the peace treaty is signed, the war isn't over for the veterans, or the family. It's just starting.

— Karl Marlantes

'Matterhorn' is my metaphor of the Vietnam War - we built it, we abandoned it, we assaulted it, we lost, and then…

— Karl Marlantes

Really important books to me are the classics. I try very hard to read them well - you know, especially once I…

— Karl Marlantes

“The fourteen-man snake moved in spasms. . . Their eyes flickered rapidly back and forth as they tried to look in all…

— Karl Marlantes

I mean... if you're raised as a decent human being, killing somebody is against every moral thing you've ever been taught. And…

— Karl Marlantes

For every veteran who goes through a divorce, a wife goes through one, too. For every veteran alone in the basement, there…

— Karl Marlantes

This nation should be less worried about putting the Vietnam syndrome behind us than restarting the World War II victory syndrome that…

— Karl Marlantes

The Marine Corps taught me how to kill, but it didn't teach me how to deal with killing.

— Karl Marlantes

It won't hurt you. It's just to kill plants. It's called Agent Orange...and it won't bother humans.

— Karl Marlantes

“You know what I do? I lose my heart.” Cortell’s throat suddenly tightened, strangling his words. “I lose my heart.” He took…

— Karl Marlantes

We all want to be special, to stand out; there's nothing wrong with this. The irony is that every human being is…

— Karl Marlantes

“Thinking you might be crazy can drive you crazy.”

— Karl Marlantes