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A review by mollykduncan
The Caine Mutiny: A Novel of World War II by Herman Wouk
4.0
I absolutely adored The Henry Family series ([b:The Winds of War|21484|The Winds of War (The Henry Family, #1)|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1442187661l/21484._SY75_.jpg|1936731] and [b:War and Remembrance|42986|War and Remembrance (The Henry Family, #2)|Herman Wouk|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1422331351l/42986._SY75_.jpg|376293]), so I was eager to read this. After all, this is the book for which he won a Pulitzer, so it must be even better, right? And a novel about a mutiny on a navy ship, that has to be an amazing story, right? But I'm still leaving the Henry books near the top of my favorites list, while this book, although a really good story, is somewhat further down.
Maybe this is just Wouk's style, but this book is loooong. I like long books, but if you go into this one expecting to read about a mutiny, you should settle in for a looooong exposition. And then the mutiny. And then what seems like an entirely different book about the court martial, complete with a new character who basically becomes the protagonist for about a fifth of the book, and then disappears altogether. And then a hundred pages or so of making you rethink all the opinions you've formed about everyone and everything, and tying up some other loose ends. It's good, but it's not a very modern idea of pacing.
But I think this is the kind of book that sticks in your head for a long time afterward, because it's so complex and real, and that's my favorite kind of story. So really my only criticism is that I went in thinking this might be even better than one (two) of my brand new favorites, and instead it was only really really good.
Maybe this is just Wouk's style, but this book is loooong. I like long books, but if you go into this one expecting to read about a mutiny, you should settle in for a looooong exposition. And then the mutiny. And then what seems like an entirely different book about the court martial, complete with a new character who basically becomes the protagonist for about a fifth of the book, and then disappears altogether. And then a hundred pages or so of making you rethink all the opinions you've formed about everyone and everything, and tying up some other loose ends. It's good, but it's not a very modern idea of pacing.
But I think this is the kind of book that sticks in your head for a long time afterward, because it's so complex and real, and that's my favorite kind of story. So really my only criticism is that I went in thinking this might be even better than one (two) of my brand new favorites, and instead it was only really really good.