Letting someone else do the writing.

Just a quick note of congratulations this morning to my friend Minnesota Sarah (sorry, Sarah, I just like the way that makes you sound, like a pool hustler or something), who has had a lovely article on World War II nonfiction published in Library Journal. You can, and should, read it here:

http://www.libraryjournal.com/article/CA6652458.html

This is a very useful article for me, because I do not naturally gravitate to World War II fiction and nonfiction. In fact, I naturally gravitate away from it. I think it has something to do with having to check out way too many copies of Tom Brokaw's shit book The Greatest Generation to, well, too many members of the Greatest Generation. Also, the general glorification of war doesn't do much for me, and WWII is definitely glorified, I feel (unlike the Vietnam War, which is emphatically not glorified, and about which I have read a lot more).

All of that is the long way to say, you may have noticed from this blog that I don't read or post much about World War II. So now I'm lucky to have access to Sarah's article to which I can link!

Comments

[Brandon]

Hey, if you want to read a book that doesn't glorify WWII, try "Human Smoke." It's not the greatest book, but it doesn't make Churchill or FDR look like saints, either.

[Brandon]

One more thing. You asked in a comment who likes Roth. Answer: the "greatest generation." Coincidence? You decide.

[Citizen Reader]

Brandon--
forgive me for saying OMG--but OMG!! (I just finished watching Gossip Girl, what can I say?)

I was going to say, I don't read much about WWII (with the exception of Nicholson Baker's "Human Smoke"), but then decided not to get into it. When did you read it? What did you think?

And about Roth and the Greatest Generation--well, that certainly clears that up. Are they the ones reading Mailer and Updike, too?

[Ruthiella]

Hi CR,

I think I would be termed a Generation X member, but I read "Rabbit Run" and "The Naked and the Dead" and thought they were pretty good. I think this fits in the WWII genre: "Slaughterhouse 5" by Kurt Vonnegut, one of the best books I have read ever.

BTW I am new to your site and I like it a lot. I don't always agree with you, but I like your style and always enjoy reading your opinions.

[Citizen Reader]

Hello Ruthiella!
Can I ask what you liked about "Rabbit Run"? I ask that in all seriousness. It's the book that made me hate John Updike forever (okay, well, that and "Couples" and "The Coup"), but I'm still interested to hear what people liked about it. Clearly I'm in the minority on that one, as it's considered one of the classics of 20th century literature.

Now, Slaughterhouse 5 being one of the best books ever, THERE we can agree.

And welcome to the site! I'm glad you don't mind my opinions--and kudos for noting that's all they are--and you should always feel free to share yours as well! We're all readers here, after all, and we readers have to stick together.

[Ruthiella]

Hi CR,

I read “Rabbit Run” quite a few years ago. It was one of first times I read and enjoyed a book for its language more than for its story. That said, I think a lot of reader-enjoyment depends on time and place. When I read “Rabbit Run”, I was living in Germany. This was before amazon.com and widespread internet access. I was figuratively starved of reading material in English and too lazy to even try to read more than a TV guide in German. So that might have played into my appreciation of the book. My sister (in her mid 30’s,) read “On the Road” a couple of years ago and her main reaction was, “That guy should get a job”. I have never read “On the Road”, but I imagine my sister’s reaction would have been different, had she read the book in her late teens or early 20’s.

[Brandon]

Yeah, they read Mailer and Updike, too. I wonder what exactly gave rise to the postwar navel-gazing of Roth and company.

As for "Human Smoke," it has its moments, but not enough of them to justify a recommendation. I mean, it's not terrible. It gives an entirely new perspective on WWII, without focusing on military tactics or showing maps with arrows converging on Berlin. I was disappointed because I went into thinking it was a history book, and it's nothing of the sort. In fact, I still haven't figured out the point of the book. Except that I should be a pacifist.