Critical Analysis Of Man Mission By Eytan Uliel
It is human nature to want to taste a little adventure sometimes. You yourself may be feeling quite bored the routine of your life. Plenty of people go on vacations every year, to be able to break the routine. Sometimes, though, entertaining that part of our nature has its obstacles. Including, but not limited to, money, responsibilities, and practicality.
In Eytan Uliel’s novel, Man Mission, the reader has a chance to feel what actually happens when one throws all that care and doubt to the wind. Readers get to journey alongside a group of men as they travel and experience fifteen different man missions. This could be anything, from mountain biking up the side of Mount Fuji, to kayaking alongside drunk Germans. The Man Mission details are sure to keep anyone reading on their toes. These men also get to try very interesting foods from these different places. For example, in Korea, they try iced soy milk noodles. Later, while on Murray River, they also hunt and kill wild goose - which proposes some moral dilemmas for some characters.
I would recommend this novel to all those who appreciate a good naturalist story, who enjoy reading non-fiction revolving around culture, and all those who want to learn more about places in this world that they’ve most likely never been. Man Mission can supply a new view into several countries which may or may not be foreign to you, and can supply a new view into the life you lead every day. Without further analysis or commentary, let’s get this rating out of the way. I like an adventure story like the next person, but this story did not go without flaws in both the literary area and the grammatical area. These errors lead me to rate Eytan Uliel’s novel a 3 out of 4. Let’s get into what I enjoyed about the novel first.
In the novel, the main character experiences quite a disconnect with his father when discussing life plans. This theme was one of my favorites because I personally found it the most relatable. The author quite eloquently displayed the separation between the two generations. One striving towards materialistic things, the other towards abstract goals. Having the main character face a real dilemma like that of choosing between two jobs (both with their pros and cons) makes him that much more relatable. This theme may be most relatable to millennials and younger generations because they are the ones currently working towards being independent, and so this issue must be the most pressing. Like struggling between wanting to impact the world for the better, but also not wanting to live in your parent’s basement while doing it.
The second piece of Man Mission which I enjoyed was the obvious cultural research that the author implanted into the story. Especially when the characters were in unfamiliar territory, like Japan, Taiwan, Fiji, Vietnam, America, and others. The intense detail of the surroundings and people was so immersive I felt that I was actually hiking alongside the men. Reading a little on Eytan Uliel showed me that he was quite the traveler, and his writing further proves this. The amount of specific elements included in the countries’ scenery was evidence enough of prior knowledge.
Even though there were many pieces I enjoyed, I am conflicted. On one hand, I understand that this novel caters towards male audiences, on the other I feel justified in being uncomfortable with some of diction and writing. This feeling came from the specific parts where the men talk about their romantic interests. I don’t want to use that word that is so often used in criticism of men’s literature, but those specific parts were quite objectifying. While I would still recommend women readers to read if interested, I may suggest second thinking if you are quite in touch with your feminist side. Some parts may make you cringe (Like the characters that are only referred to as Bilbo’ throughout the entirety of the novel). That being said, it is quite possible as a female reader to still relate to many of the subjects in the novel.
So, in conclusion, Man Mission was quite a developed tale that was pleasant to read. Reading some of the wild and out-of-my-realm problems that the boys run into was not only interesting and thought-provoking, but at most times funny. It’s not every day you get to ride tailgate in the back of a drug dealer’s truck, after all. The epigraph for the second part of the novel summed up my feelings about the novel accurately. It read, “But what is happiness except the harmony between a man and the life he leads?”- Albert Camus.
