An immensely entertaining and thought provoking account of one man's experience in WWII. Despite Guy Crouchback's (thinly veiled fictional version of Evelyn Waugh) best efforts to "do his part" to he is destined to always be on the periphery of the war. Contributing, but not very heroically. Even when he finds himself in the thick of things (Battle of Crete. May 1941) his experience is as a glorified message boy. He is constantly walking from one post to another during the battle. An officer without troops. No chance to make his mark. In the end though Guy's unspectacular wartime career ends up working out for the best. He is spared being horrifically wounded and maimed, he isn't shattered by his experiences and ,of course, he lives.
I've never read Evelyn Waugh before. Like millions of other Americans I've seen the television mini-series of Brideshead Revisited, but this is the first time I've read any of his work. Though I know that others have expressed a distaste for Waugh's satire and prose I found myself likely it almost instantly. I don't know if the upper class and middle class of England were really like this, but I had a great time nevertheless. I felt as if I was in an Agatha Christie story and went left when Hercule Poirot went right and found myself in the study with Waugh and his creations. There is humor and gravity in this novel. Waugh combines the two elements and it works very well. I'm impressed. This is not a glorification of the war or the generation that had to participate in it. People are just people. Some are heroic while others are cowardly. Often at the same time. Competence and incompetence go hand in hand. Though there is the exaggeration that is to be expected of a work of fiction ,especially a satirical work of fiction, the descriptions of the sheer boredom and ennui and the chaos of "Action Now" are dead on. Armies exist to fight wars and wars are both ludicrous and deadly serious. Often at the same time. Waugh realized this and he does an excellent job bringing this dichotomy to life.
If you go into this book expecting a novel about British WWII daring-do ,along the lines of Alistair Maclean or Hammond Innes, you will be tremendously disappointed. You probably won't get beyond the first fifty pages. However if you're wanting to read a novel about how one of the greatest catastrophes in Human history effected the small island of England (people, society,Catholic church and so on) I think you'll enjoy "Sword of Honor".
I've never read Evelyn Waugh before. Like millions of other Americans I've seen the television mini-series of Brideshead Revisited, but this is the first time I've read any of his work. Though I know that others have expressed a distaste for Waugh's satire and prose I found myself likely it almost instantly. I don't know if the upper class and middle class of England were really like this, but I had a great time nevertheless. I felt as if I was in an Agatha Christie story and went left when Hercule Poirot went right and found myself in the study with Waugh and his creations. There is humor and gravity in this novel. Waugh combines the two elements and it works very well. I'm impressed. This is not a glorification of the war or the generation that had to participate in it. People are just people. Some are heroic while others are cowardly. Often at the same time. Competence and incompetence go hand in hand. Though there is the exaggeration that is to be expected of a work of fiction ,especially a satirical work of fiction, the descriptions of the sheer boredom and ennui and the chaos of "Action Now" are dead on. Armies exist to fight wars and wars are both ludicrous and deadly serious. Often at the same time. Waugh realized this and he does an excellent job bringing this dichotomy to life.
If you go into this book expecting a novel about British WWII daring-do ,along the lines of Alistair Maclean or Hammond Innes, you will be tremendously disappointed. You probably won't get beyond the first fifty pages. However if you're wanting to read a novel about how one of the greatest catastrophes in Human history effected the small island of England (people, society,Catholic church and so on) I think you'll enjoy "Sword of Honor".
