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Cherries  By  cover art

Cherries

By: John Podlaski
Narrated by: Michael Sutherland
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Publisher's summary

When a soldier leaves for war, those left behind often wonder what their loved ones are experiencing. Letters home are always cheerful and vague - no sense in worrying the family. Then upon returning home, these young soldiers do not want to talk about their experiences. Family and friends allege they are now distant, changed, and not the same person they remember from several months earlier. What causes this?

Although the backdrop for this novel is the Vietnam War, "cherries" exist in every war. They are the young "newbie" soldiers, who are trained for war. However, most are not ready to absorb the harsh physical, mental, and emotional stress of war. Once they come under fire and witness death firsthand, a life-changing transition begins. This eye-opening account offers listeners an in-depth look into the everyday struggles of these young infantry soldiers. You'll feel their fear, awe, drama, and sorrow, witness the bravery and sometimes laugh at their humor.

No two war experiences are the same, but after finishing Cherries - A Vietnam War Novel, readers will have a much better understanding as to why these changes occur and why our military heroes are different upon their return home. Veterans will relate!

©2010 John Podlaski (P)2012 John Podlaski
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

Critic reviews

  • Page One Literary Newsletter Web Site’s Best Audiobook of 2012

What listeners say about Cherries

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

The story is immature and very unrealistic.

What would have made Cherries better?

You would have to rewrite it

Has Cherries turned you off from other books in this genre?

No

Would you be willing to try another one of Michael Sutherland’s performances?

No

What character would you cut from Cherries?

They all lack depth and emotion.

Any additional comments?

This book was like a comic book from the 60s. The dialog was not realistic and it's obvious the author did not serve in a rifle company in any conflict zone.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Are there any "kids" like that today?

What made the experience of listening to Cherries the most enjoyable?

The factual background

Who was your favorite character and why?

Of course John, but also each of his friends

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes, after I got into it.

Any additional comments?

Thanks for the excellent narration.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Vets of the Nam will understand...

Not real crazy about the musical fanfare starting each chapter l, nor the Oriental music ending them. it took away from the story line and was distracting. Other than that, the story was excellent. It conveyed the deep anguish over the loss or wounding of soldiers by their "brothers" quite accurately.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Awesome production value!

Great novel, written by a vet who was there. If you liked Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes, you will love this book.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

What a waste

Just don't bother. It is a horrible read, listen, story...wow. What a turd. I've read almost everything on Vietnam, WW2 and Iraq/Afghanistan, and FINALLY thought "WTH", I'll try it. Nope. Nope. Nope. Its worse than a 6th grade book on Vietnam, if you took out the profanity and such, it would be written for a 10 year old. Uhghh,,,Hope I can get a credit back.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

I have never had such a horrible audio experience

I enjoyed the story. I was a rehash of a basic novel on Vietnam. There really was no plot or character growth and development. The Characters were cutouts of typical people we see with most Vietnam books. To top it all off the narrator was the most cigar smoking gravelly voice I've ever heard. His 'acting' was not very Acting to me at all.. Expecially of the Captain. Speaking in shakespearean blabber. A decent book ruined by lack of characterization, cliches and a guy who needs to be a cigar salesman....

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great book

It’s worth the 13 hour listen! I was captivated every single second of it, the narrator also did a very good job of telling the story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

11B

Guess you would’ve had to been there that pretty much sums it up from a fellow grunt enjoyed your book

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Life As A Grunt In Vietnam

Enjoyed listening to this audio book about the experiences of a “grunt” during his one year tour as a infantry soldier fighting in the jungles of Vietnam.

It takes place in the early 1970, and shows how a 19 year old transfer into a hard battle tested Vietnam soldier.

Learned a lot about claymore mines and how they were used. Also about the difference between the Vietnam Cong and the well trained soldiers of the North Vietnam Army.

It was somewhat annoying the music at the ending and beginning of each chapter, but you get use to it and doesn’t demission the storyline at all.

Glad I downloaded this audiobook ;=)

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Opinion

Not a bad story. The end of chapter, and beginning chapter music is a bit much as well as the exaggerated Southern dialect tended to drift into the characters from the Northern parts of the country..

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