The Thin Red Line
by James Jones
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Book Summary Information
Author: James JonesEdition: Paperback
Format: Bargain Price
Published: 1998-02-09
ISBN: N/A
Number of pages: 528
Book Reviews of The Thin Red Line
Book Review: So So War Book
Summary: 2 Stars
So here is my review for The Thin Red Line. This book is basically about an extended series of battles on Guadalcanal. Most of the men have never seen combat before this and are rightly terrified. The author goes from man to man exploring each ones fears and thoughts. This could've been a good thing except for the fact that there are like twenty guys that he does this with. It just gets overbearing at times, at a lot of times. Also, none of the characters was particularly likable. At best, I found myself just tolerating them and at worst, hating them. They are either arrogant, cowards, selfish, whiny, or any number of unappealing character traits that completely define them. Something else I did not understand was the overt homesexual theme that ran throughout the novel. I didn't know that so many U.S. soldiers engaged in guy on guy action just because there were no women around. It seemed awkward to me and, though I wasn't there, I found myself doubting whether it really happened to the extent that it did in the story. This book pulls itself along like a snail and except for the battles, nothing else remotely interesting happens. Like I said, you see what each man is thinking, and then you see that man get gunned down. And you don't even care. The author does do a good job of describing the battle scenes themselves, but I found myself not really understanding what they were doing as far as strategy goes. I just concentrated on the combat and not the tactics themselves. I forced myself to finish this book because I was on a war-novel binge and this was supposed to be a good one. Now I wonder why I even bothered at all. Approach with caution.
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