The Thin Red Line by James Jones Summary and Reviews
|
List Price: Our Price: $10.54 You Save: $1.41 (12%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $3.46 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of The Thin Red Line
Book Review: A classic that is still worth reading
Summary: 4 Stars
I think reviews are most effective if you compare the book in question to others that most of us have read, so prospective readers have something to measure it against. The Thin Red Line could be best described as a war novel of action, suspense, and revealing characterizations of combat soldiers--with the relentless pace and stunning power of war genre gems like The Triumph and the Glory and The Killer Angels, with an authoritative style that reflects the author's own experience in WWII.Book Review: Skip the film, read this book, and be absorbed
Summary: 5 Stars
In a word - incredible. Terrence Malick's sketchy, loooong, underdeveloped movie does not do this classic justice. If you care about the WW II soldier, what this generation did for ours, and what it was like to fight on an infernal island thousands of miles from home, witnessing savagery and experiencing traumas that you could never fully recover from, you simply must read this one.James Jones masterfully goes from one character to another, introducing the reader to the character's internal thoughts, while keeping the novel moving, marching through the jungle, to a conclusion that is exactly how it was for the soldier - this battle over, on to the next, what for, who cares - you didn't die, but you probably will on the next island.
How does one manage these thoughts, as a sane, rational human being? Jones' does an amazing job of bringing out these subleties in each character, how each one deals with it, how each one thinks about it. You can almost feel yourself there on the island, having made it through a day of horrors, lost some acquaintances, exhausted, and what for? In WW 2, it wasn't one year and out of service - you were in it 'til A.) you died, B.) you were maimed, or C.) the war ended. After 24 hours of constant combat and no water during a battle, all you had to look forward to during your "recovery" (a day, two days, a week?) was the same thing all over again, until you either died or somehow, the war ended.
While Mallick's films fails spectacularly in attempting to illustrate these points, Jones succeeds in ways that will only cause you to keep reading, imagining what it must have been like, yet thanking your God that you weren't there, and that these brave men were there for us.
I cannot imagine why the earlier reviewer here at Amazon trashed this book. Please make your judgements based on the 30-some glowing reviews and his/her one negative review. My only criticism with this book is that Jones seems to be fixated on the p*nis (can you write p*nis at Amazon?!), and writes about homosexuality among the troops quite frequently. Well, he was there, so he must know, and while I personally don't enjoy reading about a man longing for another's "sweet, girl-like buttocks," I have to defer to the author and trust his experience on this one.
Do yourself a favor, buy this book, and like "All Quiet on the Western Front," add a timeless war classic to your collection that will help add to your "humanistic" understanding of the war, a war which was about tactics and generals and presidents and prime ministers, but more than anything, like all wars, came down to the individual courage and suffering of the individual soldier.
Sermon over.
Book Review: for me the best book , read it!
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book after to see the movie. For me the movie is very good: to see the War in a beautifull country like that is interresting because it prove that War can be "beautifull". It has enough violence, not more and it's good. The charactere Witt is very interresting I think: What Welsh thinks it's a bad Soldier? What would Witt like to go in all of the battles? I admire also The Capt. Stein because he loves his men and respect them!After saw this movie I would like to read the book, but I was afraid to don't like it. I was surprise because the book is better than the film! James Jones wrotte the best War book that I ever read. In his book, he explain the impress of the soldiers before and in the battles, the tensions before the debarquement. Can the boot explose? Where are the Japs? How lot are they?... We discover other interresting characteres like Fife, another Welsh, Don Doll...
You must be read this book! (and see the movie?). I give ten stars for James Jones, thank you for your all good books!
If you would like to compare your impress with me or say me what other books what I must be read, writte me! @+ Mia (excuse my bad enghish but I speak French!)
Book Review: Without question, the worst book I have ever read.
Summary: 1 Stars
I think I was on page 118 when I realized for certain that I was, indeed, reading one of the worst books I had ever read. At that point I was already further into this book than I had ever gone into a book I didn't like, and so I made a conscious decision to finish it. I now have a "worst book I ever read" under my belt. And, it was strictly voluntary. Nothing forced on me by educators in my past compares. While it is not my greatest achievement I am proud to have endured such claptrap. Don't recall ever using that word before, but it fits perfectly, I think. If you think about it you may agree that an author who offers you fictional characters on fictional topography in a World War II battle with a real name probably has an agenda. After reading this (pardon the redundancy but I really like this word) claptrap I am convinced the author set out to denigrate the American soldier of the period as well as the cause for which they fought. Since he too is a veteran of that war it may be that he is getting even with a drill sergeant who was mean to him, a supervisor who failed to see his merits and denied his promotion or he simply sympathizes with the opposition America faced. I don't know what his agenda is/was, but I do know that I won't spend any more money on books or movies where any portion of it would go to him. When I finished this (ahem) claptrap I tried to recall one character I liked, made me proud or about whom I could care even in the slightest, and I failed on all counts. While these are not necessarily requirements for enjoyable reading, in the setting provided it should have been relatively easy considering what we know about the real battle. If you feel you have to read this book, borrow it from the library. And, return it on time. Not having spent one red cent in association with this book will be some consolation for the time you wasted on it.Book Review: A realistic and stirring account of war.
Summary: 5 Stars
I read this book before the film came out and I loved it. Although you don't really like any of the charactors you can relate to many of the things they are feeling. This books censors none of the atrosities of war. It is very real and gripping. For the first time I began to understand why they say "war is hell".