Reviews

The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II by Herman Wouk

stevem0214's review

5.0

I haven't read this in years. A wonderful novel!!! If you haven't read this book (or seen the movie) you owe it to yourself to check out this store of WWII.

gma2at's review

4.0

I read this as part of a plan to read Pulitzer prize winners. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Character development was great, subtle, and believable. The descriptions of the ship were well done and I could picture the settings. I even got a bit attached to the Caine myself. I liked that the ending isn't tied up in a nice little bow like so many novels. Loved that things were not as black and white as one may have been buying into all along. Worth the read.

"The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots."

When in danger or in doubt,
Run in circles, scream and shout.

shadowjinkus's review

adventurous lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

jeffmauch's review

5.0

A very enjoyable classic. Great character development. Really makes you think about tge nature and degrees of mental illness and instability vs what is just other insecurities manifesting themselves to appear as mental illness. I liked how it was told from Keith's point of view and followed him from the US to war and back . I'm looking forward to seeing the 1950s movie with Humphrey bogart in the near future.

cammschwartz's review

4.0

I don’t know where to begin. I remember page 299 when Tom is stark naked and is being bitten by Paytners crab. I was laughing so hard. In the beginning I didn’t really like Willie I thought he was privileged, cruel to May, and stupid at times. When Willie got on the Caine and hated De Vriess I thought that Willie’s hate was unwarranted. Later on when captain Queeg joins the Caine I can’t stand him. I grow to absolutely despise Queeg and I saw him as incompetent and a coward. I thought Maryk would have made a great captain and he knew how to control the ship better than Queeg ever did. Then the story went to the trial and we meet Greenwald... Greenwald gets Maryk acquitted but Maryk’s Navy career is officially over. Then at Keefers celebratory dinner Greenwald accuses Tom of spinning the idea into Maryks head because he wanted to be the captain. Greenwald also says how he was thankful to Queeg for fighting for his mother against the Germans. I still don’t know how I feel about the accusation. It makes sense because when Keefer spoke at the trial I was confused why he blamed it all on Maryk. In the end Keith proves himself a true captain when Keefer runs overboard during a Kamikaze attack and Keith saves the ship. Keith is eventually made the captain and served the ship well as the last captain of the Caine. At the end of the story Wille searches for May because he wants to marry her I think it is a sad part of the book. Willie obviously loves May and treated her terribly when he first left her but realizes that he truly loves her. It’s especially sad when Wille didn’t realize in the middle of the book how he wanted to talk things over with May like a husband needs to talk to his wife.

gwa2012's review

5.0

Probably my favorite book that I have read to date.

drewmoody321's review

4.0

"On Goodreads, I really wrestled between giving The Caine Mutiny four or five stars, but I decided on four and here’s why: even though Wouk is a really good writer, even though his characters are fantastically and fully developed, and even though this story is very genuinely interesting and engaging, Wouk was guilty of one thing that absolutely drives me crazy in literature: the author being way too obvious and preachy."

Read more here:

http://thepulitzerblog.wordpress.com/2014/09/16/chapter-84-the-caine-mutiny-by-herman-wouk-1952/

chealey14's review

adventurous emotional reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

joestewart's review

5.0

Another well written book by Herman Wouk, my second. I think this one qualifies as literature. I’d recommend reading the afterword before reading the book as he did a nice job of setting up the characters. Now on to another of his books – I really like the writing.

emilybryk's review

4.0

first-rate. it has a breezy style (which strunk and white have long ago taught me to avoid), but it's . . . immensely readable. in general, I'm a sucker for a book set at sea, and the addition of a tone that reminded me of my grandfather and a certain moral ambiguity surrounding, well, nearly all of the main characters made everything about this surprisingly fun.