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During the last year, I have read several war novels, Joseph Heller's satire of military leadership, Catch-22, Cormac McCarthy's Blood Meridian, a reflection on violence and war during the Indian wars of the 1840s and 50s, and German soldier and writer Erich Maria Remarque's classic All Quiet on the Western Front.
Heller and Remarque directly experienced their wars, although the works themselves are fiction. Heller flew 60 combat missions over Italy as B-25 bombardier, while Remarque spent several weeks in the trenches of the western front during the summer of 1917 before shrapnel injuries saw him spend the rest of the war in hospital. Readers of the book won't easily forget his "fictionalized" accounts of the German war hospitals. I feel war novels provide a completely different opportunity to experience, reflect and understand war, usually through a personal lenses, as opposed to the strategic and operational, impersonal discussions that usually take place.
Heller's 22 might be an exception in this case, because quality of leadership is a major factor in war outcomes, if not always the ultimate strategic outcome, it can affect timelines and ultimately the number of casualties suffered. It seems fitting that Heller's novel was based on the Italian Front given the subsequent focus on american leadership by General Clark, and the arguments surrounding his ego and the effects in may have had on his decision to focus on capturing an undefended Rome. Separately (perhaps harshly), continued pointless allied offensives late in the campaign may be attributable to egotistical leadership. Ultimately war can provide us with countless examples of this theme in operation. Heller's 22 also deals with much more more than the theme of military leadership. It offers an alternative perception, flipping the accepted logic of the nature of motivation for a soldier, nationalism and self-sacrifice. The themes are fascinating to reflect upon for those interested in studying war. Has anyone on the board read the novel?
Remarque's book was hated by the Nazis, which is in itself a ringing endorsement if I ever heard it. The book manages to handle both the war and home front and Remarque describes how the war destroyed a generation, not just those who died, but those who lived. It's a fascinating account of life as a soldier in the trenches. The "naive" discussions between the German soldiers are rare moments the novel reflects on the greater idea of the war and its strategic merit, and are equally fascinating, and touch more personally with the idea that this war really was more pointless and mad than usual.
Blood Meridian is a masterpiece of writing. Published in 1985, McCarthy didn't receive widespread recognition until another of his great works, All the Pretty Horses won several awards in 1992. Now he is considered one of the great modern american novelists and subsequently Blood Meridian has received acclaim, appearing in many lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Its themes are man's relationship with war and violence and be warned, the novel is astonishing in the severity of its violence. When I finished it, I felt raw and exposed to the concept of what war is really like in the flesh, what violence is really like, yet never in the book does it feel like McCarthy is taking a stance against war, merely a description, an account and, despite it being historical fiction, the novel seems to be to be an invaluable way for those who have not lived with war to experience more closely its reality. McCarthy hasnt lived with war, fiction such as this is ultimately a lie, but it doesnt seem to matter when you have an author of this talent produce a masterpiece such as this.
Can anyone recommend great war novels they have read?
Heller and Remarque directly experienced their wars, although the works themselves are fiction. Heller flew 60 combat missions over Italy as B-25 bombardier, while Remarque spent several weeks in the trenches of the western front during the summer of 1917 before shrapnel injuries saw him spend the rest of the war in hospital. Readers of the book won't easily forget his "fictionalized" accounts of the German war hospitals. I feel war novels provide a completely different opportunity to experience, reflect and understand war, usually through a personal lenses, as opposed to the strategic and operational, impersonal discussions that usually take place.
Heller's 22 might be an exception in this case, because quality of leadership is a major factor in war outcomes, if not always the ultimate strategic outcome, it can affect timelines and ultimately the number of casualties suffered. It seems fitting that Heller's novel was based on the Italian Front given the subsequent focus on american leadership by General Clark, and the arguments surrounding his ego and the effects in may have had on his decision to focus on capturing an undefended Rome. Separately (perhaps harshly), continued pointless allied offensives late in the campaign may be attributable to egotistical leadership. Ultimately war can provide us with countless examples of this theme in operation. Heller's 22 also deals with much more more than the theme of military leadership. It offers an alternative perception, flipping the accepted logic of the nature of motivation for a soldier, nationalism and self-sacrifice. The themes are fascinating to reflect upon for those interested in studying war. Has anyone on the board read the novel?
Remarque's book was hated by the Nazis, which is in itself a ringing endorsement if I ever heard it. The book manages to handle both the war and home front and Remarque describes how the war destroyed a generation, not just those who died, but those who lived. It's a fascinating account of life as a soldier in the trenches. The "naive" discussions between the German soldiers are rare moments the novel reflects on the greater idea of the war and its strategic merit, and are equally fascinating, and touch more personally with the idea that this war really was more pointless and mad than usual.
Blood Meridian is a masterpiece of writing. Published in 1985, McCarthy didn't receive widespread recognition until another of his great works, All the Pretty Horses won several awards in 1992. Now he is considered one of the great modern american novelists and subsequently Blood Meridian has received acclaim, appearing in many lists of the greatest novels of the 20th century. Its themes are man's relationship with war and violence and be warned, the novel is astonishing in the severity of its violence. When I finished it, I felt raw and exposed to the concept of what war is really like in the flesh, what violence is really like, yet never in the book does it feel like McCarthy is taking a stance against war, merely a description, an account and, despite it being historical fiction, the novel seems to be to be an invaluable way for those who have not lived with war to experience more closely its reality. McCarthy hasnt lived with war, fiction such as this is ultimately a lie, but it doesnt seem to matter when you have an author of this talent produce a masterpiece such as this.
Can anyone recommend great war novels they have read?
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