War and Remembrance by Herman Wouk Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of War and Remembrance
Book Review: Great writing, history and storytelling
Summary: 5 Stars
As I read this novel, I kept thinking that it should just never end-- just be a continuing story about the aftereffects of WW II
and how the Henry family continued in the following years.But of
course all good things must end at some time- so read this book
after the first- Winds of War- and enjoy it and come back to it and read it again.I am definitely reading more of Herman Wouk's novels!
Book Review: Gripping historical fiction
Summary: 4 Stars
I agree with the reviewer who claims that some of the situations in which the main character, Victor Henry, finds himself are ridiculously fortuitous. Had any American seen so much and influenced as many people as Henry did, he would have been recorded in the annals of United States history. The fact remains, however, that this is fiction, not history, and these episodes contribute to the overall effect of this work as a sweeping historical drama. I love _War and Remembrance_, and its companion piece, _The Winds of War_. The books contain complementary human dramas: the struggle of a family to survive and the defining conflict of the twentieth century. Herman Wouk certainly succeeded in his aim to use fiction to demonstrate the horrific effects of global conflict. I have read these books several times throughout the years, and feel confident that I will continue my enjoyment indefinitely
Book Review: Is it really 5 stars?
Summary: 5 Stars
Why did I give this novel 5 stars? As others have noted, there is more than a trace of soap opera in this saga. And the plot does stretch your credulity; how else to get the members of one family in all the right places during WWII at just the right time? And yet, if WOW and WAR are soap operas, they are very, very, good soap operas. In other words, you keep tuning in, you keep turning the pages, all 2000 of them. I first read these books when I was in the Army in the late 1970s. I took the books with me as I traveled around Europe on leave. I visited London, Paris, Italy, etc. And at night in my hotel room, I'd often find a chapter that described the very city I was visiting. Another reason these books stick in your memory after 30 years was the mini-series. The TV version reinforces the written version. So like other readers have commented, the characters become real after 2000 pages and 30 hours of TV. In fact 2000 pages and 30 hours of TV is more exposure than a lot of REAL people will ever get in their lives. Maybe that's why I find myself comparing a friend's son to Warren Henry, or a good looking blonde to Janice; two people who are totally fictitious. Just the fact that I'm taking the trouble to write a review 27 years after finishing these novels shows how much they stuck in my head. And I note that Herman Wouk is still alive. I can picture him in his rocking chair, passing his days reading reviews of his life's work on Amazon. Well, as others have said, WOW and WAR are America's version of War and Peace. In fact, they're better than War and Peace. Nuff said.Book Review: Love wins again
Summary: 4 Stars
As always, Herman writes to the point of love wins over war and deceit and the best man does win, as we knew Pug would.Book Review: Magnificent and gut wrenching, stays with you for a long time
Summary: 5 Stars
As the sequel to Winds of War, this surpasses the considerable depth of that novel. This is one of the most difficult books I've read in years, I had to put it down for days in between reading sessions because it was gut wrenching. I literally sweated. There are parts that are extremely unpleasant, but vital to the story.
The scenes depicting the war and the Holocaust are outstanding, why this book did not win an award of some kind is beyond me. The author TAKES you there and shows you, and the images will be with you for a long time.
By contrast, the characters seem to be more archetypes than living human beings. Maybe that was intended so that they wouldn't overshadow the story. And wow, is it a story.
This should be required reading in college. People need to know how WWII happened and the type of human decisions that shaped it. The characters seems to grow in some ways, or rather, they solidify. Most were perfect for the story, but some were so aggravating that they bear mentioning.
Spoiler alert
Pug remains an android. For cripes sake, you mean to tell me he had no carnal relations with Pam until they were married? Sheesh. Too perfect. He makes the right decision with eerie frequency, maybe he's really from the future and already knows all the answers . . .I halfway expected that to be it. Nope. Just an android. The only emotion he has is drowned in booze on occasion, then he smartens up and reports for duty bright eyed and bushy tailed. Maybe a little haggard, but he shows up. And pulls off another miracle.
Rhoda. Ugh. I literally wanted her dead halfway through. Pug stayed married to this bimbo for HOW long?! Android. She gets over Palmer when he stops worshiping her and sees her with contempt, and needs another moth to dance around her aging flame. What gets her hot is the idea that a man, any man wants her. At the end, she gets what she deserves, marriage to another suitor who is already bored with her, and the knowledge she frittered away a good husband and family.
Briny/Natalie. They come as a pair. Both their decisions rank equally in terms of idiocy. You will be screaming in frustration as we go into a second huge tome with Natalie seeming determined to paint herself into the corner known as Auschwitz. Briny is Mr. Heroic that will save her no matter what, but fumbles his way around ineffectually. Couldn't they have put her and Aaron on the $#%^@ submarine?! They could have dropped them off anywhere in 1000 miles out of Hitler's way. Or she should have stayed hidden in the mountains of Corsica.
Pamela/Shamela the only one more shallow than Rhoda. The 'Whore who couldn't'.
She could not get Pug into bed, even though she had wild fun other places and apart from her lame idealistic soul mate speeches to him, she just wants to bag him. She followed him around the globe for that purpose. It's stretching it a bit to think a May/December pairing has raging hormones to that extent- you know, when the old boy can't salute as often? Viagra wasn't invented yet. And they never got in bed even once in almost 2000 pages of story. Not real.
Android.
Leslie almost grows a, er spine. But he manages to get killed just when he might actually get interesting. I would have loved to see the quandary Natalie would be in if he had been the one to rescue her and the baby. Briny would have had to sweat it out . . .
The ending does not give happy, easy answers. People bear deep scars. It is doubtful if Natalie and Briny can really make a life together. It is glaringly obvious at the end they don't even know what to say to each other. Maybe she and Rabinovitz would have made a better couple, both having survived hellish experiences. Briny is still too safe, to much the spoiled American boy who thinks he can fix everything.
This is the kind of book that will make you lie awake at night trying not to think about the images in the concentration camps. Mr. Wouk hits very heavy in these sections. The actual fighting was easier to bear than the stream of consciousness method he uses in telling of the final journey of Natalie and Uncle Aaron to Auchwitz.
This is a masterpiece that re creates the war and lets the reader inside in spite of a handful of shallow characters. The book soars beyond them, a stage that outshines the actors in chronicling the darkest time in human history.