Scan barcode
A review by wwatts1734
The Glory by Herman Wouk
4.0
"The Glory" is the second volume of the two volume epic of the war history of Israel from its founding in 1948 until around 1990. "The Glory" covers the period from just after the Six Day War in 1967 until around 1990. Honestly, this novel struck me as much the same as the "Winds of War" and the "War and Remembrance" novels of Wouk. Both "The Glory" and "War and Remembrance" are about the wartime adventures of a military family, members of which served in all fronts of the war, the senior member of which was a senior commander and the senior member's wife divorces him during the course of the novel. Really, the paradigm that drove the plots of these novels are exactly the same, which was disappointing.
However, "The Glory" is a good story about Israel and its struggle for existence in the 20th Century. It brings into sharp relief the constant attacks on its borders, the relentless need for vigilance since an attack could come at any time and anywhere along its frontier, and even in places far removed from the country itself. Wouk, like many popular 20th century novelists, has a bit of a misogynist streak. His female characters seem to be faithless, flighty and distractions for the male characters. Fortunately, Wouk focuses his story on the war and the male characters who fight it.
One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the degree to which Israel was a militaristic society from its founding until the end of the 20th Century, and undoubtedly even until now. Everyone in Israel serves in the military, and many are combat veterans. Several of the subplots in "The Glory" have to do with "black ops" type operations, like the raid on the terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 and the bombing of Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility in 1981. Wouk has some interesting quotes in the book, such as "with this victory, Israel can continue to exist for another 10 years," implying that every 10 years or so Israel faces an existential military threat, and this has certainly borne itself out since 1948.
One small complaint that I have about the book is the use of Hebrew phrases often, and the Hebrew is rarely translated. Not many people speak Hebrew these days, even Jews. So this gets confusing. Perhaps even more confusing is the amount of French used in the novel. This is a novel about Israel, taking place mostly in Israel, yet French seems to be everywhere. Perhaps the use of French gives the novel a kind of sophistication that it would lack if it were merely a war novel about Israel. Frankly I disagree with that assessment.
Still, I really enjoyed "The Glory" and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading a good historical novel about Israel.
However, "The Glory" is a good story about Israel and its struggle for existence in the 20th Century. It brings into sharp relief the constant attacks on its borders, the relentless need for vigilance since an attack could come at any time and anywhere along its frontier, and even in places far removed from the country itself. Wouk, like many popular 20th century novelists, has a bit of a misogynist streak. His female characters seem to be faithless, flighty and distractions for the male characters. Fortunately, Wouk focuses his story on the war and the male characters who fight it.
One of the most interesting aspects of this story is the degree to which Israel was a militaristic society from its founding until the end of the 20th Century, and undoubtedly even until now. Everyone in Israel serves in the military, and many are combat veterans. Several of the subplots in "The Glory" have to do with "black ops" type operations, like the raid on the terrorists in Entebbe, Uganda in 1976 and the bombing of Saddam Hussein's nuclear facility in 1981. Wouk has some interesting quotes in the book, such as "with this victory, Israel can continue to exist for another 10 years," implying that every 10 years or so Israel faces an existential military threat, and this has certainly borne itself out since 1948.
One small complaint that I have about the book is the use of Hebrew phrases often, and the Hebrew is rarely translated. Not many people speak Hebrew these days, even Jews. So this gets confusing. Perhaps even more confusing is the amount of French used in the novel. This is a novel about Israel, taking place mostly in Israel, yet French seems to be everywhere. Perhaps the use of French gives the novel a kind of sophistication that it would lack if it were merely a war novel about Israel. Frankly I disagree with that assessment.
Still, I really enjoyed "The Glory" and would recommend it to anyone interested in reading a good historical novel about Israel.