A review by oceanwriter
The Winds of War by Herman Wouk

adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I won’t lie. This was an intimidating book to start. Typically 500+ pages in books don’t phase me, but for me, that usually means nonfiction. I seldom find a fiction book so long that interests me. This book was suggested to me and I jumped in blindly, purchasing the book only to see the length afterward. I ended up opting for the audiobook to help me through it before the end of the year. 
 
The book is broken up into different POVs in the Henry family as they go their separate ways in the early days of World War II (namely, America’s part in it). Pug is a Navy man, something his wife Rhoda grows to resent more and more now that their children, Warren, Byron, and Madeline are grown and leading their own lives. 
 
The book covers a lot of World War II history, often at the expense of the flow of the story. I’m not sure if these more nonfiction sections were footnotes being read at the end of certain chapters or full chapters themselves, but the first couple of times it happened I ended up checking the book to see if Audible had somehow changed my books. I didn’t love the pacing or the organization. I can blame being accustomed to modern historical novels for that undoubtedly. That was a fair trade for the content, however. It was refreshing to be reading a piece of World War II fiction that didn’t rely on the same handful of tropes and their variations. The story was deep, meticulous, and aimed at educating rather than romanticizing. For that, I enjoyed it immensely. 
 
Some of the characters didn’t feel necessary. Even while I was actively reading the book, I couldn’t distinguish Warren from Pug and found myself forgetting his existence completely. I could say the same for Madeline although her scenes felt like such a distraction from the meat of the story that she became memorable. I was most invested in Byron and Pug’s storylines. Toward the end, I felt as though I was wading through the rest just so I could carry on with the stories I cared about. 
 
I kept telling myself throughout the entire book that I wasn’t hooked enough to continue with the next installment. The last 100 pages or so changed my mind which I suppose should have surprised me as it was obvious where the build-up was leading to. On I go to War and Remembrance, in the new year… 
Expand filter menu Content Warnings