Books: Jungle of Lies

There are things you know about Kirk Stapp – longtime English teacher at Mammoth High School, 22 years as a Mammoth Lakes Town Councilman, current candidate for the Mono County Board of Supervisors – but you might be a little surprised by what you don’t know – that his wife Alice suffered a stroke several years ago, and that she’s never quite recovered, and that he’s her primary caregiver. That he’s a Vietnam Veteran who was awarded a Bronze Star for valor and a Purple Heart. And that after losing a Town Council election in 2008, he started writing novels.

Stapp’s first novel, Teaching Iraq, was a largely autobiographical tale about a teacher who gets into hot water with his principal and school district over military recruitment on campus. He doesn’t want his students fighting in Iraq. And in that book, there are chapters which flash back to Stapp’s own experience fighting in the jungles of Vietnam.

These chapters were riveting. The general feedback Stapp received was, “Why don’t you write a war novel about Vietnam?”

Jungle of Lies is the result.

In the book, he includes an edited version of the war chapters he wrote for his first novel, and sandwiches it with a prequel and a postscript.

When Stapp simply sticks to the narrative, it is a gripping, fast-paced tale, one of the best on-the-ground accounts of Vietnam I’ve ever read.

When the teacher in him sneaks out onto the page to offer social and political commentary, the book is more uneven.

And as with all of Kirk’s books, I can’t stand the title – it’s like he’s trying to knock me over the head with a two-by-four.

I could also do with a lot less of the sex scenes. There is little risk of Kirk making a career out of writing romance novels.

But Stapp’s strengths are also on display here – his decency, his humility, his courage to reveal his deepest, darkest fears and insecurities.

And he’s exceptional as a writer in terms of his ability to accept criticism. He acknowledges he’s learning a new skill and is less concerned about the bruising of his ego than in bettering his work.

That has always been Kirk’s strong suit – the lack of ego and pretentiousness. He is the only politician I’ve ever met who hasn’t used his military record for personal gain. Until he started writing novels, I didn’t know a thing about his military experience – and I’d known him five years.

I’m not sure this is the last version of this tale, and in fact told Kirk he should start the novel on chapter six, but regardless, this book is ready for and worth a read as is. He pulled a few tears out of me at the end – evidence of emotional investment.

A good read from a low-key hero living in our midst.

The Booky Joint is hosting a book signing for both Stapp and Rick Frey this coming Monday at 1 p.m.