March / War Novel Poll

[JBI]

God, I hope Helprin loses- that book is tosh - I wrote a senior paper on it in high school, after randomply picking it off a list, and all I can say is it is complete rubbish in terms of writing - the characters seem like they are preaching more than talking - they seem to not think but only be fuel for his random "philosophical insights," which for the most, are crap.

[Virgil]

hello everyone! i've not been here almost a year. I decided to skip 2008 foreign reading, came back in december, and skipped january reading too, i'm not in thriller at all. i looked at young adult poll - i'll go with the winner, would be glad even to reread "catcher in the rye". i'm not in war fiction either, but right now i'm reading "african gueen" by Forester and it's good, i'm so glad that i avoided to watch the movie several times.
i've read a lot of novels about Word War II, Napaleon wars, but nothing on Word War I. i hope there's already some book on that subject in our list.
i've read "for whom the bells tolls" and other book of Hemingway :"farewell to arms" years ago. I don't like hemingway- and i know why- if we end up reading him we can discuss it.

All Quiet on the Western Front and A soldier of the Great War both are set during WWI.

[bazarov]

i've read a lot of novels about Word War II, Napaleon wars, but nothing on Word War I. i hope there's already some book on that subject in our list.
.

Try Good soldier Švejk; excellent story about WWI. It's bit too long for book of the month; I guess.

[Virgil]

God, I hope Helprin loses- that book is tosh - I wrote a senior paper on it in high school, after randomply picking it off a list, and all I can say is it is complete rubbish in terms of writing - the characters seem like they are preaching more than talking - they seem to not think but only be fuel for his random "philosophical insights," which for the most, are crap.

Hmm, I did not know that. I've read one novel (Memoirs from an Ant Proof Case) by Helprin and while it wasn't a great novel it wasn't a bad one either. I much admire Helprin's prose, though that may not lead to good character development. But given your warning, I'll probably won't vote for A Soldier of the Great War, even though i nominated it.

[kelby_lake]

A farewell to arms?

[PabloQ]

hello everyone! i've not been here almost a year. I decided to skip 2008 foreign reading, came back in december, and skipped january reading too, i'm not in thriller at all. i looked at young adult poll - i'll go with the winner, would be glad even to reread "catcher in the rye". i'm not in war fiction either, but right now i'm reading "african gueen" by Forester and it's good, i'm so glad that i avoided to watch the movie several times.
i've read a lot of novels about Word War II, Napaleon wars, but nothing on Word War I. i hope there's already some book on that subject in our list.
i've read "for whom the bells tolls" and other book of Hemingway :"farewell to arms" years ago. I don't like hemingway- and i know why- if we end up reading him we can discuss it.

Three Soldiers by John Dos Passos also takes place during WWI.

[JBI]

I really hope Obasan wins, as it is a very strong novel, written by a great author, as for those still suggesting books, check page 2 - the 10 have already been selected, and the reason we are not going to poll is that we are waiting for the end of the month.

[Virgil]

I really hope Obasan wins, as it is a very strong novel, written by a great author, as for those still suggesting books, check page 2 - the 10 have already been selected, and the reason we are not going to poll is that we are waiting for the end of the month.

That really doesn't strike me as a war novel. Sounds more like a social issues novel.

[JBI]

That really doesn't strike me as a war novel. Sounds more like a social issues novel.

It's a good book, and it deals with the war - just because it doesn't have a cliché romance or some blood and guts doesn't make it a bad book. That's the problem with these genre things - people only seem to be willing to vote for books they have heard about, and potentially already have read. Notice also the divide of books by nationality - 7 American, one English, one German, and one Canadian - clearly the expansion of viewpoints is being jeopardized, the same way a thriller that 3 people had already read won for January, whereas a unique book that many hadn't heard about, but had heard good things about was completely ignored.

If I were to talk about War Novels, I would think this one far more important to the genre, and the history of war literature than the others, simply because it is offering the perspective of someone who is truly marginalized by the war, and offering a perspective that goes against the image of the "noble victor" that seems to pollute the rest of these books (with the exception I believe of For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Master and Commander, which offer the good guys tragically losing, and with All Quiet on The Western Front, which begins to approach somewhat a notion of mature war narrative) but even so, where are the minorities caught up in these? Where are the other voices, of Women, of children, of those involved, of those reduced to a status less than human because of cultural bias, and in essence full fledged racism? One book, ironically. Yes, it most certainly is a war novel.

Either way though, I bet Hemmingway wins, he being the most well known of the list, I think.

[Dr. Hill]

Slaughterhouse Five.

[JBI]

Slaughterhouse Five.

Read the thread - too late.

[NickAdams]

It's a good book, and it deals with the war - just because it doesn't have a cliché romance or some blood and guts doesn't make it a bad book. That's the problem with these genre things - people only seem to be willing to vote for books they have heard about, and potentially already have read. Notice also the divide of books by nationality - 7 American, one English, one German, and one Canadian - clearly the expansion of viewpoints is being jeopardized, the same way a thriller that 3 people had already read won for January, whereas a unique book that many hadn't heard about, but had heard good things about was completely ignored.

If I were to talk about War Novels, I would think this one far more important to the genre, and the history of war literature than the others, simply because it is offering the perspective of someone who is truly marginalized by the war, and offering a perspective that goes against the image of the "noble victor" that seems to pollute the rest of these books (with the exception I believe of For Whom the Bell Tolls, and Master and Commander, which offer the good guys tragically losing, and with All Quiet on The Western Front, which begins to approach somewhat a notion of mature war narrative) but even so, where are the minorities caught up in these? Where are the other voices, of Women, of children, of those involved, of those reduced to a status less than human because of cultural bias, and in essence full fledged racism? One book, ironically. Yes, it most certainly is a war novel.

Either way though, I bet Hemmingway wins, he being the most well known of the list, I think.

Well said. I sympathize with you, but I've been pushing a Hemingway read since I joined to no avail.

[Dark Muse]

I loved Gates of Fire I thought it was an amazing book, and Catch-22 I enjoyed throughly, but I am going to have to go with Red Badge of Courage becasue it is one I have not read yet that I would like to do so.

I will try to partake in this discussion if I can.

[papayahed]

Well said. I sympathize with you, but I've been pushing a Hemingway read since I joined to no avail.

I've been here for 5 years and haven't had a book win - except once but that was a sympathy vote and it was only for a halloween read.

[Drkshadow03]

I really enjoyed The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brien actually. It was the last book I read, with a blog post here (note: all my posts contain plenty of SPOILERS).

So I wouldn't cry if it managed to win because it would be fun to engage in a dialogue about it and see what other people made of it. However, I wouldn't mind the Hemingway or the Catch-22! I always love when there are a couple of decent options.