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Dill Carver wrote:

The Jacket of 'To the Last Man'

The painting is a work of art (IMO)

Absolutely. As if it's still moving. I was at Kennesaw Mountain recently and stood near one of the trenches the Confederates used when they were trying to keep the Northern soldiers out of Atlanta. The Union was extremely close to this trench (which is still faintly visible). Here's a painting of the Battle of Kennesaw. Each image seems to be moving.

corra wrote:

Dill Carver wrote:

I've reached a section that has grated and annoyed until it has gotten to the point that I'm starting to hate the book. I might toss it Tess style, unfinished into the next convenient bin. In fact I feel that I definitely will. I'll never read another Shaara and that is for sure.

What happened?

Jeff Shaara writes in that time honoured fashion of a North American; where one would suppose that his work reads fine within North America, yet sounds very arrogant and inappropriate outside of the USA.

He’ll routinely refer to the Scots as the Scotch and the British Army as the English Army. And Britain, England; and Ulster, North Ireland… ad infinitum.

This is like a Brit referring to the USA as Texas and the indigenous populace as Bourbon.

However, this is so common as to be accepted. (Charles_F_Bell of this very site explained the situation very well; being the defining force and world authority, if an American author coins a word, misspells, abbreviates or adapts an existing ‘foreign’ word then it becomes valid within ‘American English, which is the essential version of English). This is what led to that nut of fried dough, the doughnut, becoming the donut and crème brûlée morphing into, brolee. It’s why flammable objects became inflammable etc. etc.

It’s not so much that… although Shaara is heavy on the Americanisms that he applies to Europe. It comes out very strange within the dialogue of a supposed English Infantryman of the Royal Leicestershire Regiment circa 1916; who with fervent Bronx-edged conviction pledges his life to his home and regiment when he clearly doesn’t seem to know what actual country he is from or what army he belongs to.  Stranger still, the dialogue of the Prussian Sargent (Vizefeldwebel… All of the German and French military are awarded the nearest comparable American rank or title so as not to upset or confuse the reader with the reality of words they’ll never comprehend like, ‘Hauptmann’ and ‘Cuirassier’ where ‘German Captain’ and ‘French Cavalryman’ are all the reader is credited with being able to understand).

Not that, (annoying as it is). But the fact that Shaara is promising to faithfully represent the historical facts. In truth he does just that in terms of accuracy with the times and dates of events. The problem for me is that he totally opinionizes from within his narrative voice and from within his characters. All of the British are arrogant uncaring inbred narcissist imperialists, the French are bungling treacherous agricultural idiots whilst the Germans are mindless repressed autonomon who can only act within the scope of authoritative orders.

The Americans, they are sparkling sophisticated free-thinkers, self-aware, unrepressed, liberal minded, intellectually, politically and culturally superior in every respect. Shaara writes from the POV of John J Pershing and he is a demi-god. So superior to his bungling, inane British, French, German and Russian counterparts that he is elevated to super-human status. He is so astute, can clearly interpret and pre-empt every mistake or bad decision that any other leader makes or is about to make. Pershing is immaculate in every sense of the word. He came, he saw, he conquered. Not a foot wrong or a hair out of place. Not only did he win the war singlehandedly he exposes every non-American in the world as being inferior, incapable and stupid.

The First World War, the struggle suffering and demise of millions of people, trashed.

This happened with The Time Traveler's Wife! I found that film quite disappointing.

But Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol, which is all magic and utterly enchanting and brilliant. Creepy talking candles and hooded men with no eyes, eh?

And what about The Tempest (sorcerers), Macbeth (witches), Hamlet (a ghost)?

corra wrote:

Dill Carver wrote:

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins

I had to read what the hype is all about.

I picked it up about a month ago for the same reason! Don't say what happens! Well, I suppose that defeats the purpose of this forum, but I'll avoid any spoilers, if you please. I had to return it to the library mostly unread because we have a limited time to borrow new releases at my library, and I'd barely had the time to make a dent before they claimed it back! It's on the rotation for another try soon...

Forgot to mention that I did get this one borrowed again and completed recently. I enjoyed it.