Book review: Hooligans of Kandahar by Joseph J Kassabian

Hello and greetings from India 😊🙏 

If you were wondering why I have been silent on the blog, now you know. I will be sharing more on my (rather unexpected) trip back home in the coming few weeks but for now, I have a book review for you that was long pending. 

Hooligans of Kandahar

Author: Joseph J Kassabian

Genre: Non-fiction

Release date: August 9th 2018

Published by: TCK Publishing

Page numbers: 258

Joseph Kassabian was born and raised in the Metro Detroit area of Michigan and enlisted in the U.S. army in December of 2005 at the age of 17. He served multiple combat tours in support of the Global War on Terror. 

Based on true events, Hooligans of Kandahar is a gutsy and unvarnished account of ground realities in war-torn Afghanistan from the point of view of a U.S. Army soldier. The narrator, Joseph Kassabian was deployed for a tour of duty based around Kandahar in Afghanistan for the duration of 1 year from May 2011 to 2012. The focus of the memoir is not on the war or its outcome but on the daily lives of the soldiers during their deployment. 

The Hooligans of Kandahar was written in 2017 and is available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.

***Synopsis***

The novel opens with young U.S. soldiers in their homeland basking in the sun, smoking and surrounded by anxious family members waiting for buses to whisk them away to a war they know very little about. They are excited by the prospect of going to war despite being filled with apprehension and uncertainty. 

The second squad are nicknamed “Hooligans” because of their inherently violent nature and propensity to cause mayhem. The hooligans don't think twice about being insubordinate, brutalizing Afghan civilians, stealing another squad’s air conditioner (or even a goat), playing with explosives or firing a grenade dangerously near themselves. For these soldiers, living and working in deplorable conditions with extremes of weather (blistering heat and numbing cold), appalling lack of sanitation resulting in a hotbed of diseases and a startling inadequacy of resources and facilities proves to be a battle all in itself. If that wasn't enough, having to deal with the mostly uncooperative (and sometimes hostile) locals, corrupt Afghan police and the incognizant Afghan army while facing periodic life-threatening attacks from Taliban insurgents perpetually puts them on edge, thus threatening their mental faculties. The soldiers survive on caffeine, nicotine, and sleeping pills. Their way of life in Afghanistan becomes a recipe for chronic physical and psychological stress. If the Hooligans were left to their own devices in Afghanistan, their attitude would have sent them to their graves. Squad leader "Slim" who although manages to get his soldiers in line, subjects them to an unrelenting rage often bordering on insanity. 

The hooligans go on a wild series of misadventures during their time in Afghanistan. Their days bleed together in a haze of insomnia, random missions, planned missions, guard tower duty and supply runs which forms the main content of the book.  It also sheds light on the interactions between the members of the squad and the dynamics they share with their superiors. It also highlights their undying loyalty to one another and their fortitude. 

My thoughts....

The last book I read on Afghanistan chronicled the lives of ordinary Afghans from the perspective of an Afghan. This memoir by an American shines light on the daily lives of U.S Army soldiers in hostile territory and provides a completely different perspective. 

The goal of Kassabian's squad was to capture Mullah Omar, one of the leaders of the Taliban and a wanted fugitive but they didn’t even come close. Hardly any of them believed in their mission in Afghanistan in the first place. As a reader, it felt frustrating that nothing the soldiers did on the ground seemed to matter to them. Even after sacrificing their mind, body and spirit, they never felt like they accomplished anything. The novel ends with the soldiers exhausted and over-medicated with mental and physical scars for life.

Afghans were people that the U.S. army was supposed to protect since the inept Afghan police wouldn’t lift a finger to even bring one of their own to the hospital unless they were bribed. The innocent civilians were helpless to care for themselves and were caught in the middle of a three-way civil and international war and worst of all, utterly powerless to effect change in any area of their lives. To me, this was the most heartbreaking part of all. 

It is evident that Hooligans of Kandahar is not the work of a seasoned author. The prose is simple, straightforward and somewhat disjointed. It is peppered with colourful language, witty observations and graphic descriptions. I must mention that this is not a book for the faint hearted. What I found refreshing about this memoir is how unapologetically real it is. There is absolutely no sugarcoating whatsoever which makes it a humanizing war diary. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there and share with the world details of events that do not paint you in a favourable light. The author has altered places, details and given nicknames to his fellow soldiers to protect them from the repercussions arising from their conduct during their deployment together. After reading the book, I can see why! 

The author does not shy away from heavy criticism of the way the U.S. army operates by neglecting the needs of its soldiers while burdening them with tasks that are either contradictory or outrightly absurd. I found several parts of the book hard to read due to the vivid descriptions of the horrors of life in Afghanistan which include (but is not limited to) corruption, immorality, child slavery, flawed criminal justice system and complete disregard for basic human rights. There were certain aspects of the book that came across as tedious and repetitive. But the main problem I had was with how the author describes other people including his fellow comrades. To me it often reeked of superficiality and prejudice. And all Afghans are painted with the same brush, not worthy of compassion or even basic decency. On that front, I felt like the author could have dug deeper. 

As the tagline of the book explicitly states, "not all war stories are heroic", you will not hear of glamorized accounts of bravado ending in parades or medals, sensational missions, inspiring speeches or humanity transcending race. If you had put your soldiers on a pedestal, this novel will effectively dismantle that narrative. A vast majority of people dislike war but this novel might leave you with a dislike for the soldiers as well.

Through this book, the author isn't trying to preach anything. There is no political agenda, grand truth or judgement in relation to life. It is simply a war story and it doesn't try to be anything more. So don't be surprised if you don't come across any reflection, personal growth or even redemption. This is a story that needs to be told but certainly not one that the U.S. government would want anyone to read. If you are American, an idealist and/or a patriot, you better brace yourself for this may not be your cup of tea. 

Relatable, sobering, heartbreaking, bleak but humorous, Hooligans of Kandahar is an interesting and insightful read. The next time you think of complaining about your cushy civilian life, do spare some time to get an insider perspective how life in uniform can be.

My rating for this book is

Link to publisher's website here

Link to the author's website here

Have you read Hooligans of Kandahar? What did you think of it? Leave a comment to let me know.

Cheers,

Megha

Disclaimer: A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by TCK Publishing in exchange for an honest review.