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lattelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
I read this one separate from Ford's tetralogy for a class, and it stands well on its own. It's a little hard to read, but Valentine and Christopher's characters are extremely well written and very intricate.
orlion's review against another edition
5.0
All right, one more to go! This series of four books, known collectively as Parade's End, is easily the comprehensive declaration of post-World War I modernism. Through its techniques and story we see the soul of a movement that had roots in previous literary movements but was forced to move on and change as the landscape of the world changed. Even then, the initial modernist writers would not give up their roots entirely, even though they knew these traditions would die with them.
Some critics, like Grahme Green iirc, believed that Parade's End was originally meant to end with A Man Could Stand Up. They make the claim that Mr. Ford was forced to write the fourth book, The Last Post, and that he always regretted it. As a result, to these critics, I've all ready finished Parade's End. And in a sense, I can see that. Christopher Tietjens has gone through a character change, from the pure eighteenth century Tory of parades to a Man who could stand up in the new post-war world. A way of being has passed away, and Tietjens will never be able to return completely to them, but he has found a new society, one that may lack the glory and nobility of his Victorian upbringing, but that nontheless contains what he desires most.
I'll try to come up with a more coherent review of the entire tetrology when I finish the Last Post.
Some critics, like Grahme Green iirc, believed that Parade's End was originally meant to end with A Man Could Stand Up. They make the claim that Mr. Ford was forced to write the fourth book, The Last Post, and that he always regretted it. As a result, to these critics, I've all ready finished Parade's End. And in a sense, I can see that. Christopher Tietjens has gone through a character change, from the pure eighteenth century Tory of parades to a Man who could stand up in the new post-war world. A way of being has passed away, and Tietjens will never be able to return completely to them, but he has found a new society, one that may lack the glory and nobility of his Victorian upbringing, but that nontheless contains what he desires most.
I'll try to come up with a more coherent review of the entire tetrology when I finish the Last Post.
igivemyselfthecreeps's review against another edition
4.0
Damn these books are challenging. I couldn't get through it all at once..had to take numerous breaks and read other books. But no matter. I got through this one finally.
The chapters with Valentine are 10x better than just Tietjens...easier to follow. But they're all still brilliant. It's hard to describe. Because it makes me brain hurt. But I still love it somehow.
I'm sure one day I'll read it again and love/appreciate it even more. Or that's the plan.
The chapters with Valentine are 10x better than just Tietjens...easier to follow. But they're all still brilliant. It's hard to describe. Because it makes me brain hurt. But I still love it somehow.
I'm sure one day I'll read it again and love/appreciate it even more. Or that's the plan.
jason461's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bookpossum's review against another edition
3.0
As the series progressed, each book covered a shorter time span. This one covers just two days- Armistice Day 1918, and a day in April 1918 when Christopher might have been killed, but was not.
I shall move straight on to the final book, though I am reliably informed that Ford should have stopped with the third one.
I shall move straight on to the final book, though I am reliably informed that Ford should have stopped with the third one.
manwithanagenda's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Never mind the previous. This is war, man.
Review: Parade's End
Review: Parade's End
hairymclary28's review against another edition
4.0
This was a very intense book, but not for the reasons that I had expected. The frustration that builds up in the first two books, as Tietjens is forced into worsening situations, comes to a head at last in the trenches. Here, he resolves (at last) to abandon his "Parade" with Sylvia and to take up with Valentine when he returns home. The scenes in the trenches are of course arresting, but by far the more compelling storyline is that of the forbidden love between Valentine and Tietjens.
smcleish's review
2.0
Originally published on my blog here in September 2000.
The third of Ford's Parade's End series also has a title which looks to the end of the First World War; it is a remark made by one of the men in the trenches that peace will make it possible for a man to stand up without risking being killed. However, when the end of the war comes, Christopher Tietjens is not in a position to stand up; he is suffering from shellshock exacerbated by the treatment he receives from his dreadful wife Sylvia. The outer two thirds of the novel are about this period in his life, the central part being a flashback to the last few months of the war when he was on the front line.
A Man Could Stand Up is the weakest of the four novels in Parade's End, not really advancing the plot nor giving any new insight into the characters. What it does is perform the task of informing the reader that Christopher (and, of course, the English gentleman he symbolises) was transformed to the point of destruction by the war. He wasn't completely destroyed, but he would never be the same, a shadow, almost a mockery of his former self.
The third of Ford's Parade's End series also has a title which looks to the end of the First World War; it is a remark made by one of the men in the trenches that peace will make it possible for a man to stand up without risking being killed. However, when the end of the war comes, Christopher Tietjens is not in a position to stand up; he is suffering from shellshock exacerbated by the treatment he receives from his dreadful wife Sylvia. The outer two thirds of the novel are about this period in his life, the central part being a flashback to the last few months of the war when he was on the front line.
A Man Could Stand Up is the weakest of the four novels in Parade's End, not really advancing the plot nor giving any new insight into the characters. What it does is perform the task of informing the reader that Christopher (and, of course, the English gentleman he symbolises) was transformed to the point of destruction by the war. He wasn't completely destroyed, but he would never be the same, a shadow, almost a mockery of his former self.
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