Book Review: Conscription Reflections by Charles Palmer

“In this book, I have tried to highlight the exposure to trauma that combat military service imparts on service members as well as their families. This trauma never leaves you, much like some unwanted guest that keeps reappearing.”

Charles Palmer, Conscription Reflections

Review:

I’ve been enjoying reading memoirs lately, especially ones that discuss events before my time. Conscription Reflections was a unique one. While the primary focus is rooted in the author’s experiences during the Vietnam War, he also discusses life in general leading up to and following the war. This was the first time I’ve read a war memoir from an Australian author, too, which made it even more interesting for me.

Charles Palmer was conscripted to fight in the Vietnam War while he was still a teenager. Any war is going to wreak havoc on the men fighting it, but as is generally known with the Vietnam War, there was a great deal of confusion surrounding it, fueling the public with strong opinions. Unfortunately, no matter how the men fighting this war thought of it personally, they bore the brunt of the jeers. This, along with the nightmares of combat, has left many with lifelong scars both physical and emotional. 

More than the war itself, the author highlights the long-term effects most veterans deal with, namely PTSD. This looks different in each individual, but it is debilitating all the same. Not only does it affect the person, but also those around them. The author is candid about his experiences, which I’m sure people who have experienced similar struggles will appreciate. 

I enjoyed the inclusion of pictures in the book, however, several of them are AI-generated. The use of AI is transparent, but it is there. Personally, I try to avoid books that use AI as much as I can. That said, given the book’s topic and the disclosure, I wouldn’t discourage anyone from picking it up solely for this reason. 

All around, I found this to be a unique war memoir — one that discusses the mundane moments of life that are clouded by combat that most people don’t think about. Charles Palmer captures the era well, and I loved learning about life in Australia during this time.

Thanks to Reedsy Discovery for providing a free digital ARC of the book!

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• Highlights the struggle with PTSD in veterans.
• I honestly had no idea that Australia was involved in the Vietnam War, so I learned a lot.

What I didn’t like:

• The use of AI-generated images. The author disclaims that the use is for images to recreate scenarios that weren’t captured, but I found that most of them were excessive (for example, a generated image of Ebenezer Scrooge).
• The organization of the book was chaotic.

Afterthoughts:

A general shoutout to Reedsy Discovery for their platform. I’ve been finding a lot of interesting books on there this year that I wouldn’t have without them!

Where to buy the book: