There's something special about reading a book in which the characters are experiencing nature's worst, getting frostbitten, being bitten by malarial mosquitoes, falling down mountains. The nice part, for the reader, is the fact that he or she is usually sitting in a warm room, in a comfortable chair, usually with a hot or cold drink at the ready. I really enjoyed reading Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory, and the Conquest of Everest, by Wade Davis. It's not really an ideal book -- it's far too long, goes into almost exasperating detail, and the author tends to repeat himself a lot -- but for a reader who craves vicarious adventure, it is irresistible. The lengthy backstory, while unnecessary, does give the reader a great deal of insight in the motives and behavior of the climbers who so disastrously attacked Mt. Everest in the early 1920's. Davis spends a great deal of time and detail on the Great War experience (or lack thereof) of the climbers. It's patently obvious that this had a massive impact on each one; he does not spare his reader on the bitterness and futility of the British soldier's experience. I found it interesting, but it can be safely skipped by a reader who wants to cut to the chase -- the three attempts on Everest.
Through ignorance, stupidity, pride, and sheer klutziness, the expeditions are not successful. The death toll was significant in today's reckoning (at that point in time, deaths of natives were not quite as important -- an avalanche that cost seven Sherpas their lives was reported at the time as, "all whites are safe"); several members of the expedition who should not have been fit for travel at all died en route or on the way home. Mallory and Irvine, in their third assault on the summit, disappeared. Mallory's body was found in 1999.
If you're going to attempt the above, it's a good idea to read Into Thin Air at the same time. By Jon Krakauer, it tells the story of the 1996 Mt. Everest climbing season, which ended in the deaths of eight climbers. It's a good companion to the Davis book, as is this Youtube video which addresses the mystery of whether Mallory and Irvine actually reached the summit. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nBH6NeyFpw&feature=related
The next selection I read this week I absolutely could not put down, and it's been a while since I could say that about a book. The Mirage seems to be a typical alternate history-type book with a political agenda, but turns out to be more like a fantasy novel. By Matt Ruff, this book sucks the reader into a world in which 9/11 never happened, and the world is completely different. I'll admit that when I first began reading, I assumed that the author had a political message, but that's not the case. I can't say much about the book, because so much of what makes it gripping is its unexpectedness, but I found it very satisfying indeed.
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Showing posts with label historical fiction. Show all posts
Saturday, March 3, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
For Downton Abbey Watchers
The latest new series, now being shown on PBS, is a series called Downton Abbey, set in the years leading up to and including the Great War. With a screenplay written by Julian Fellowes, it features a very Upstairs, Downstairs-like storyline, focusing on both the upper crust characters and the people who live to iron their shoelaces and bring up their tea. Although it is a bit ridiculously soapy, it has become extremely popular watching for those who love gorgeous costumes, divine interiors, and the wonderful Dame Maggie Smith. When it's over, one immediately goes into withdrawal, so here I am with a proposed antidote.
For watchers who want more of the atmosphere of the times of the Great War, take a look at the Loss of Eden series by John Masters. This may be hard to find, as it's out of print, but your local library should have it. It begins with Now, G-d Be Thanked, and it is a trilogy featuring a series of families in Kent, their servants, and their experiences throughout the war. It reads an awful lot like Downton Abbey, and some of the situations are just as ridiculous.
Love the servants' hall? Try Below Stairs, a memoir by Margaret Powell, a woman who spent most of her life "in service." Unusually articulate, Powell paints a vivid picture of life belowstairs, and does it with a great deal of charm and humor. The Remains of the Day, a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, also paints a vivid picture of the life of a butler whose life has been dedicated to the service of a somewhat delusional master, but it's a much darker picture. (This has also been adapted as a movie, which is not bad).
If you want the laughs, P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels are the way to go. Bertie Wooster, Jeeves's master in name only, is ridiculously simpleminded, and his silly escapades always lead to a conclusion where Jeeves, the perfect servant, saves the day.
Oh, and if you want something else to watch: Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay for Gosford Park as well. Also the Upstairs, Downstairs type theme, also Dame Maggie Smith, but it's a murder mystery. Great fun!
For watchers who want more of the atmosphere of the times of the Great War, take a look at the Loss of Eden series by John Masters. This may be hard to find, as it's out of print, but your local library should have it. It begins with Now, G-d Be Thanked, and it is a trilogy featuring a series of families in Kent, their servants, and their experiences throughout the war. It reads an awful lot like Downton Abbey, and some of the situations are just as ridiculous.
Love the servants' hall? Try Below Stairs, a memoir by Margaret Powell, a woman who spent most of her life "in service." Unusually articulate, Powell paints a vivid picture of life belowstairs, and does it with a great deal of charm and humor. The Remains of the Day, a novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, also paints a vivid picture of the life of a butler whose life has been dedicated to the service of a somewhat delusional master, but it's a much darker picture. (This has also been adapted as a movie, which is not bad).
If you want the laughs, P.G. Wodehouse's Jeeves novels are the way to go. Bertie Wooster, Jeeves's master in name only, is ridiculously simpleminded, and his silly escapades always lead to a conclusion where Jeeves, the perfect servant, saves the day.
Oh, and if you want something else to watch: Julian Fellowes wrote the screenplay for Gosford Park as well. Also the Upstairs, Downstairs type theme, also Dame Maggie Smith, but it's a murder mystery. Great fun!
Saturday, December 10, 2011
Not Quite Chick-Lit, But Close Enough
I'm glad to have finally found some engrossing fiction; I was seriously contemplating burdening you all with a posting on a veritable doorstop of a book (Jerusalem: A Biography by Simon Sebag Montefiore. Fascinating, but not for the faint of heart). Fortunately, this week's random grab at the New Books section came up trumps.
First, Falling Together, by Marisa de los Santos. This looks a lot like chick-lit; the cover features a small cafe table with three teacups, two grouped together. The story itself is more complicated. Yes, there is an enduring friendship thing going on, as well as an on-again, off-again relationship complicated by custodial issues. The requisite cute-child-perpetually-wearing-tiara is present also. However, something about this book sets it (just a little) above that genre. Three friends meet at college. One is male, two are female. They share very little in terms of character traits, but Pen, Will, and Cat become fast friends. Fast forward a decade, and they are no longer in touch, and the reader does not discover why for many pages. There's friendship, trauma, travel, and enough humor to leaven the whole thing.
When I first opened the cover of The Time In Between, by Maria Duenas, I wasn't altogether sure that I would stay the course. The jacket blurb mentioned the Spanish Civil War, and that is a period about which much has been written, very little of it easily readable (think Hemingway, think Falangists, think various Communists and all the death and destruction and depressing ideology. What a bore. And I firmly believe that more people claim to have read Hemingway than have actually made it through an entire Hemingway novel). I was pleasantly surprised by this book -- it starts a bit slowly in a messy failed romance sort of way, but it turns out to be a really excellent spy novel. The main character, a Spanish woman called Sira at the beginning and Arish when she begins her career as a dressmaker/spy, develops quite a bit over the course of the plot. The book is 609 pages, which is a real treat -- when I am enjoying a book, I want it to go on as long as possible.
Last of all is a confection of a book that is more like a graphic novel than a work of writing. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is exactly that -- a scrapbook. Circa 1920's dance cards, photos, advertisements, postcards, and typed commentary by the eponymous Frankie Pratt fill this book, as the reader traces her story from Cornish, New Hampshire, to Vassar, to Greenwich Village, to Paris, and then back to Cornish.
This is a book that can be read in one sitting (marvelous bathtub book), requires no intellectual exertion whatsoever, and has a movie-like happy ending. Didn't you love picture books when you were little? It's written (or should I say assembled?) by Caroline Preston. Enjoy!
First, Falling Together, by Marisa de los Santos. This looks a lot like chick-lit; the cover features a small cafe table with three teacups, two grouped together. The story itself is more complicated. Yes, there is an enduring friendship thing going on, as well as an on-again, off-again relationship complicated by custodial issues. The requisite cute-child-perpetually-wearing-tiara is present also. However, something about this book sets it (just a little) above that genre. Three friends meet at college. One is male, two are female. They share very little in terms of character traits, but Pen, Will, and Cat become fast friends. Fast forward a decade, and they are no longer in touch, and the reader does not discover why for many pages. There's friendship, trauma, travel, and enough humor to leaven the whole thing.
When I first opened the cover of The Time In Between, by Maria Duenas, I wasn't altogether sure that I would stay the course. The jacket blurb mentioned the Spanish Civil War, and that is a period about which much has been written, very little of it easily readable (think Hemingway, think Falangists, think various Communists and all the death and destruction and depressing ideology. What a bore. And I firmly believe that more people claim to have read Hemingway than have actually made it through an entire Hemingway novel). I was pleasantly surprised by this book -- it starts a bit slowly in a messy failed romance sort of way, but it turns out to be a really excellent spy novel. The main character, a Spanish woman called Sira at the beginning and Arish when she begins her career as a dressmaker/spy, develops quite a bit over the course of the plot. The book is 609 pages, which is a real treat -- when I am enjoying a book, I want it to go on as long as possible.
Last of all is a confection of a book that is more like a graphic novel than a work of writing. The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt is exactly that -- a scrapbook. Circa 1920's dance cards, photos, advertisements, postcards, and typed commentary by the eponymous Frankie Pratt fill this book, as the reader traces her story from Cornish, New Hampshire, to Vassar, to Greenwich Village, to Paris, and then back to Cornish.
This is a book that can be read in one sitting (marvelous bathtub book), requires no intellectual exertion whatsoever, and has a movie-like happy ending. Didn't you love picture books when you were little? It's written (or should I say assembled?) by Caroline Preston. Enjoy!
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Back With Some Decent Reading
Sorry for the long break between posts; I hope to post regularly now that we're settling into a routine once more. I recently re-read a good book, nonfiction, by Alexander Stille. Best known for his book about the complicated relationship of Italy's Jews with the fascist regime, Benevolence and Betrayal, Stille also wrote a riskier and more complex book about Sicily's mafia. The book is called Excellent Cadavers, and if that sounds odd to English speakers, it makes a lot more sense in Italian. The "excellent cadavers" refer to the trail of murdered magistrates, prosecutors, law enforcement officials and politicians who had the nerve to challenge the mafia's boa constrictor-like hold on Sicily's infrastructure. Having insinuated their way into every profitable facet of life in Palermo, Sicily's capital, the mafia even had allies within the very organizations designed to combat its pernicious influence. If you enjoyed The Godfather (and that's one movie that is far better than the book) you will like this book; however, it makes the fictitious Corleones look like mildly criminal juvenile delinquents.
For those of you who read crime fiction, you have probably noticed the recent flood of translated mysteries from Scandinavian writers. Most popular seem to have been the series of three from Stig Larsson, whose predilection for graphic and gratuitous violence and detail is shared by nearly every other Scandinavian mystery writer I've sampled. Hence, I was pleased to read Asa Larsson's (I'm assuming she's no relation; it's a ubiquitous name up north) Until Thy Wrath Be Past. It's a nicely written and well-translated mystery with its roots in World War II era Sweden, and Larsson does not hesitate to dig up the painfully equivocal details of Sweden's relationship with Germany. It's a satisfying mystery in every way, once you get past the complicated names.
I've mentioned Leah Cypess and her popular Young Adult fantasy novel, Mistwood. This week I finally got my hands on Nightspell, her second book, and though I had to read it fairly quickly (my teenager was waiting to read it) I liked it a lot. I hope I don't insult the author if I say I enjoyed it more than the first -- somehow, Nightspell drew me more into the story and I liked the characters better. Perhaps it's just that I have an easier time dealing with ghosts than with shapeshifters. In any case, it's a good pick if you like fantasy, and I'd recommend it to teen girls as well. It's a pleasure to have female protagonists in fantasy stories who aren't waiting pathetically to be rescued.
For those of you who read crime fiction, you have probably noticed the recent flood of translated mysteries from Scandinavian writers. Most popular seem to have been the series of three from Stig Larsson, whose predilection for graphic and gratuitous violence and detail is shared by nearly every other Scandinavian mystery writer I've sampled. Hence, I was pleased to read Asa Larsson's (I'm assuming she's no relation; it's a ubiquitous name up north) Until Thy Wrath Be Past. It's a nicely written and well-translated mystery with its roots in World War II era Sweden, and Larsson does not hesitate to dig up the painfully equivocal details of Sweden's relationship with Germany. It's a satisfying mystery in every way, once you get past the complicated names.
I've mentioned Leah Cypess and her popular Young Adult fantasy novel, Mistwood. This week I finally got my hands on Nightspell, her second book, and though I had to read it fairly quickly (my teenager was waiting to read it) I liked it a lot. I hope I don't insult the author if I say I enjoyed it more than the first -- somehow, Nightspell drew me more into the story and I liked the characters better. Perhaps it's just that I have an easier time dealing with ghosts than with shapeshifters. In any case, it's a good pick if you like fantasy, and I'd recommend it to teen girls as well. It's a pleasure to have female protagonists in fantasy stories who aren't waiting pathetically to be rescued.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Fiction That Reads Like Nonfiction, and Vice-Versa
This week I got through several books that seemed to be one thing but were in fact another. Every so often I'm fortunate enough to find a nonfiction book that is so well-written and interesting that it reads like fiction. Chasing Aphrodite is one such book. This book focuses on the Getty Museum's acquisitions of art and antiquities looted and sold by back-door methods all over Europe, and it reads like a thriller. Forgery, vendettas, packing ancient statues in car trunks in the dead of night -- this book has it all.
On the other hand, I also came across a couple of novels that, sadly, read like nonfiction. That's not to say that they were boring -- on the contrary, they were both interesting. But when one is expecting a novel, it's disconcerting to read through what is essentially a memoir/history with a few made-up characters.
Farishta, by Patricia McArdle, is the story of Angela Morgan, a diplomat who finds herself in Afghanistan. The plot is pretty bare bones; most of the story paints a compelling picture of a service life in a war zone and the particulars of life in Afghanistan. By the time one is done reading, what happens to Angela seems parenthetical and the reader is left with a sense of wonder at the mysterious country that is the graveyard of empires.
The Girl in the Blue Beret is a complete waste of time as a novel -- it's the story of a retired pilot who returns to France to retrace his steps in World War II. A downed aviator, he was aided by the French Resistance all the way over the Pyrenees to Spain, and he is returning to find the brave men and women who saved him and his crew. Most of the book consists of narratives from each resistant as he meets them along his journey. While these narratives are fascinating, the book's plot is barely necessary and is almost nonexistent. It's worth reading simply to get an idea of the courage and determination of those French who would not stand by and tolerate the German Occupation.
On the other hand, I also came across a couple of novels that, sadly, read like nonfiction. That's not to say that they were boring -- on the contrary, they were both interesting. But when one is expecting a novel, it's disconcerting to read through what is essentially a memoir/history with a few made-up characters.
Farishta, by Patricia McArdle, is the story of Angela Morgan, a diplomat who finds herself in Afghanistan. The plot is pretty bare bones; most of the story paints a compelling picture of a service life in a war zone and the particulars of life in Afghanistan. By the time one is done reading, what happens to Angela seems parenthetical and the reader is left with a sense of wonder at the mysterious country that is the graveyard of empires.
The Girl in the Blue Beret is a complete waste of time as a novel -- it's the story of a retired pilot who returns to France to retrace his steps in World War II. A downed aviator, he was aided by the French Resistance all the way over the Pyrenees to Spain, and he is returning to find the brave men and women who saved him and his crew. Most of the book consists of narratives from each resistant as he meets them along his journey. While these narratives are fascinating, the book's plot is barely necessary and is almost nonexistent. It's worth reading simply to get an idea of the courage and determination of those French who would not stand by and tolerate the German Occupation.
Sunday, June 19, 2011
I Win Again!
For the third time this year, I have managed to beat the New York Times Book Review -- I've read at least two books a week or more before the NYT has had a chance to publish its review.
Last week I spent most of my spare time (when I wasn't grading papers or reading essays) reading The Storm of War, a new history of World War II. By Andrew Roberts, this book covers the topic admirably, and I should know by now, having attempted to read nearly everything I can get my hands on within this topic. Roberts puts forth the thesis that Hitler's war was a war fought for ideological as opposed to political reasons; he proposes this as the answer to why this war was lost as well. This is a very thorough treatment of the events of World War II, and Roberts manages to combine this thoroughness with a brevity and concision of writing which is a pleasure to read. This book would make a good companion to Richard J. Evans' Third Reich series, which delves much more deeply into the psyche of Hitler's Germany, and you can read about these books here.
Another book in the NYT spotlight this week is State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. Patchett originally rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists with her beautifully written Bel Canto; its odd plot notwithstanding, it is a wonderful book. State of Wonder is set in a different type of world than Bel Canto, but one similarity is how Patchett seems to enjoy pushing together characters from vastly different worlds almost just to see what will happen. This sometimes feels a bit like experimental cookery.
In this story, a dispassionate letter informing a pharmaceutical company of the death of an emissary catapults another employee into actions she wouldn't normally take. It's important not to give anything away, though, because the reader will enjoy this book far more coming into it with complete ignorance. I would recommend not even reading the jacket blurb.
Last week I spent most of my spare time (when I wasn't grading papers or reading essays) reading The Storm of War, a new history of World War II. By Andrew Roberts, this book covers the topic admirably, and I should know by now, having attempted to read nearly everything I can get my hands on within this topic. Roberts puts forth the thesis that Hitler's war was a war fought for ideological as opposed to political reasons; he proposes this as the answer to why this war was lost as well. This is a very thorough treatment of the events of World War II, and Roberts manages to combine this thoroughness with a brevity and concision of writing which is a pleasure to read. This book would make a good companion to Richard J. Evans' Third Reich series, which delves much more deeply into the psyche of Hitler's Germany, and you can read about these books here.
Another book in the NYT spotlight this week is State of Wonder, by Ann Patchett. Patchett originally rocketed to the top of the bestseller lists with her beautifully written Bel Canto; its odd plot notwithstanding, it is a wonderful book. State of Wonder is set in a different type of world than Bel Canto, but one similarity is how Patchett seems to enjoy pushing together characters from vastly different worlds almost just to see what will happen. This sometimes feels a bit like experimental cookery.
In this story, a dispassionate letter informing a pharmaceutical company of the death of an emissary catapults another employee into actions she wouldn't normally take. It's important not to give anything away, though, because the reader will enjoy this book far more coming into it with complete ignorance. I would recommend not even reading the jacket blurb.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
The Fantasy and Sci-Fi Post
I think that this genre is very "love it or hate it." Readers who like fantasy can't get enough of it, will try practically any kind, and sometimes even write their own. Those who don't can't stay far enough away. There's a small, small subgroup in the middle, consisting of those who dip a toe in very cautiously and seldom: that's where I fit in. I'm not talking about juvenile fantasy a la Harry Potter -- adult fantasy and sci-fi is a completely different kettle of fish. Being asked as a rational grown-up to suspend your disbelief and bear with the author for a while is a lot more difficult than whiling away a couple of hours with what is essentially a fairy tale.
I'm going to single out Mistwood, by Leah Cypess, not simply because it's a good read, but because I've known Leah practically forever and it tickles me to know a published author. This is actually a Young Adult book; I enjoyed it and I'm waiting to buy the next book, Nightspell. The books deal with shape-shifters, and have just the right amount of suspense and creepiness minus the gore you might find in an adult book of this kind.
I'm not sure how Tolkien would feel being relegated to second place here, but here he is: The Lord of The Rings. Somehow, TLOTR doesn't seem like fantasy to me -- it's almost like historical fiction. Tolkien was, in fact, a historian, and he even created languages (with grammar!) for the different races he dreamed up. The writing is absolutely beautiful, though I will admit the length is off-putting -- I would recommend getting it volume by volume rather than in the single book form. I also recommend the movie, which I normally would never do, as movies based on books tend to completely ruin the book for me; this one, however, is terrific.
Isaac Asimov is always an easy choice. He's written the same book about a hundred times, but always quite competently. I prefer the Foundation series; also good is Caves of Steel.
One aspect of sci-fi that makes it a classic (or not) is the degree to which it actually anticipates the future. I think that one element that keeps the classic Star Trek episodes constantly in reruns is the fact that so much of the technology used in the show is actually reality today. On the other hand, books written years ago which failed to anticipate today's way of living tend to disappoint. For example, The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, published in 1992, describes a near future in which time travel is possible, but fails to predict the wide usage of cell phones. The first time I read this book I enjoyed it tremendously; one of the protagonists goes back to the Middle Ages and gets stuck at the time of the Black Death (also, sort of historical fiction). I read it again and found it ridiculous -- back at Oxford, where they are desperately trying to retrieve the lost character, the other figures in the story race each other all over town, missing vital phone calls as they chase their tails. The absence of something that is today ubiquitous seemed obvious and totally ruined the book for me. Don't let it hold you back, though, if you want to try it. Willis recently published two companion books which take place during WWII; some of the same characters time-travel back to the Blitz: Blackout and All-Clear. They're poorly edited and full of errors; don't bother.
Any opinions here?
I'm going to single out Mistwood, by Leah Cypess, not simply because it's a good read, but because I've known Leah practically forever and it tickles me to know a published author. This is actually a Young Adult book; I enjoyed it and I'm waiting to buy the next book, Nightspell. The books deal with shape-shifters, and have just the right amount of suspense and creepiness minus the gore you might find in an adult book of this kind.
I'm not sure how Tolkien would feel being relegated to second place here, but here he is: The Lord of The Rings. Somehow, TLOTR doesn't seem like fantasy to me -- it's almost like historical fiction. Tolkien was, in fact, a historian, and he even created languages (with grammar!) for the different races he dreamed up. The writing is absolutely beautiful, though I will admit the length is off-putting -- I would recommend getting it volume by volume rather than in the single book form. I also recommend the movie, which I normally would never do, as movies based on books tend to completely ruin the book for me; this one, however, is terrific.
Isaac Asimov is always an easy choice. He's written the same book about a hundred times, but always quite competently. I prefer the Foundation series; also good is Caves of Steel.
One aspect of sci-fi that makes it a classic (or not) is the degree to which it actually anticipates the future. I think that one element that keeps the classic Star Trek episodes constantly in reruns is the fact that so much of the technology used in the show is actually reality today. On the other hand, books written years ago which failed to anticipate today's way of living tend to disappoint. For example, The Doomsday Book, by Connie Willis, published in 1992, describes a near future in which time travel is possible, but fails to predict the wide usage of cell phones. The first time I read this book I enjoyed it tremendously; one of the protagonists goes back to the Middle Ages and gets stuck at the time of the Black Death (also, sort of historical fiction). I read it again and found it ridiculous -- back at Oxford, where they are desperately trying to retrieve the lost character, the other figures in the story race each other all over town, missing vital phone calls as they chase their tails. The absence of something that is today ubiquitous seemed obvious and totally ruined the book for me. Don't let it hold you back, though, if you want to try it. Willis recently published two companion books which take place during WWII; some of the same characters time-travel back to the Blitz: Blackout and All-Clear. They're poorly edited and full of errors; don't bother.
Any opinions here?
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Welcome to My New Blog
I've been thinking about starting a blog now for months, figuring it would be a lot easier than emailing those of you who are always asking for a good book to read. Hence this new blog! No doubt other blogs like this exist, but this is mine, and if you are reading it, you know me (or of me) and you know a little bit about where my recommendations are coming from.
This blog is intended as a place for you to find book recommendations, as well as a venue to recommend to others books that you have read and loved. Please comment on my posts or email me with your good reads!
As this is my very first post, I will begin with a book that is not new but is a very old favorite of my own. Strictly speaking, it's a pair of books that should be read one after the other: The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, by Herman Wouk. Some of you will have read (or were compelled to read) The Caine Mutiny or Marjorie Morningstar by the same author; the writing style is more or less the same but the story he tells in the War series is far more historical and epic.
The Winds of War introduces the reader to Victor Henry, a naval officer, during the 1930's and the slow build-up to World War II. As the books go through the story of the Henry family, in a sort of soap-opera-ish way, Wouk intersperses the plot with chapters (fictionally written by General Armin von Roon, a supporting character) of straight history, written from the German's point of view. The history segments are very accurate; Wouk appears to have done an incredible amount of research in order to write this book. These sections serve the purpose of setting a historical backdrop to the story itself.
The actual plot, the Henry family and their various experiences throughout the World War II period, is fairly riveting -- most of the characters are well-drawn and complex enough that the reader is left thinking of them as real people. This book has been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager, and I re-read it periodically. Every time I read it I find something new in it, or something new in my reaction to it. Parts of it are extremely moving, and it's clear that Wouk meant this as an evocative work. Read it and let me know what you think!
This blog is intended as a place for you to find book recommendations, as well as a venue to recommend to others books that you have read and loved. Please comment on my posts or email me with your good reads!
As this is my very first post, I will begin with a book that is not new but is a very old favorite of my own. Strictly speaking, it's a pair of books that should be read one after the other: The Winds of War and War and Remembrance, by Herman Wouk. Some of you will have read (or were compelled to read) The Caine Mutiny or Marjorie Morningstar by the same author; the writing style is more or less the same but the story he tells in the War series is far more historical and epic.
The Winds of War introduces the reader to Victor Henry, a naval officer, during the 1930's and the slow build-up to World War II. As the books go through the story of the Henry family, in a sort of soap-opera-ish way, Wouk intersperses the plot with chapters (fictionally written by General Armin von Roon, a supporting character) of straight history, written from the German's point of view. The history segments are very accurate; Wouk appears to have done an incredible amount of research in order to write this book. These sections serve the purpose of setting a historical backdrop to the story itself.
The actual plot, the Henry family and their various experiences throughout the World War II period, is fairly riveting -- most of the characters are well-drawn and complex enough that the reader is left thinking of them as real people. This book has been a favorite of mine since I was a teenager, and I re-read it periodically. Every time I read it I find something new in it, or something new in my reaction to it. Parts of it are extremely moving, and it's clear that Wouk meant this as an evocative work. Read it and let me know what you think!
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