From Zero to Hero in 3:43 – “Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk” by Ben Fountain

While there are many who either agree or disagree with the war led in Iraq, there is one thing which cannot be doubted, and it’s that for the soldiers down there doing the fighting, life is far from being all fun and games. The mental stress and grueling physical challenges they go through simply cannot be understood by those who haven’t gone through them.

In Ben Fountain’s Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk, we are taken into a fictional skirmish during the war called "The battle of Al-Ansakar Canal". Billy Lynn is a 19-year old native Texan on his first army tour, and as a result of winning that skirmish which lasted a grand total of three minutes and forty-three seconds, he earned a Silver Star. Seeing as how Fox News managed to capture the ordeal, the soldiers participating in it became stars and celebrities, sent on a nationwide victory tour in hopes of increasing the public’s support for the war.

The main story takes place as Billy and the others are invited to be guests of America’s Team, the Dallas Cowboys. As a matter of fact, they have been booked as part of the half-time show alongside Destiny’s Child (I’m guessing it happens way back when they were still popular). During this seemingly endless day, Billy gets to meet a cast of colorful characters, including a born-again cheerleader, a long-time Hollywood producer, a giant professional player who is eager to partake in the war overseas, and a few more.

The interesting part of the story comes when Billy examines the those around him and sees people from his past, including his depressed and broken father, sisters who were desperately worried about him, and Shroom, the sergeant whose philosophical approach to life opened Lynn’s eyes about the world around him. 

Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk by Ben Fountain (Book cover)
On this day on which the book takes place, Billy goes through a very personal and harrowing journey into the darkest corners of his mind in a desperate attempt to try and make sense of it all… to try and find the reason as to why the world works the way it does, and why he made certain decisions. 

All in all, a very interesting perspective into the mind of someone who has seen and heard it all,becoming far wiser than his years would suggest. This is a book I plan to read at least twice, as there are many interpretations and double meanings to what is going on.



Ben Fountain (Author)

Ben Fountain


Ben Fountain is an American writer hailing from Dallas, Texas. He has earned his B.A. in English from the University of North Carolina and his law degree from Duke University School of Law.

In 1988 he abandoned his careers to become a full-time fiction writer, having won, amongst others, the Barnes & Noble Discover Award for Fiction for New Stories from the South: The Year’s Best.



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