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hammo 's review for:
The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion
by Ford Madox Ford
Yet another novel which made no-particular-impression on me. It took me a while to get into and I had to re-start about a sixth of the way in because I had no idea what was going on. I didn't quite find it boring; it was able to hold my attention without much effort on my part, although I don't think I was ever particularly curious to find out what would happen next. It's quite interesting: some novels really suck you in so that you need to expend effort to stop reading/listening. Some novels are slogs which require renewed effort every step of the way. This one sat comfortably between these two poles. It was effort-neutral.
I've heard that the narrator is unreliable. If this is true it went over my head.
Ford Madox Ford is a neat name. It makes me think of moustaches and smoking jackets.
So what's it about? I dunno. Some guy has a string of affairs. One of his affairs is with the narrator's wife. Lessons learned? New sociological or geographical frontiers explored? Empathy invoked? NOPE.
But the important thing is that I've almost completed my first column on my "100 Essential Novels" poster. I've just got to read "The Golden Notebook" and I'm there.
"It occurs to me that some way back I began a sentence that I have never finished."
"In all matrimonial associations there is, I believe, one constant factor—a desire to deceive the person with whom one lives as to some weak spot in one's character or in one's career. For it is intolerable to live constantly with one human being who perceives one's small meannesses."
I've heard that the narrator is unreliable. If this is true it went over my head.
Ford Madox Ford is a neat name. It makes me think of moustaches and smoking jackets.
So what's it about? I dunno. Some guy has a string of affairs. One of his affairs is with the narrator's wife. Lessons learned? New sociological or geographical frontiers explored? Empathy invoked? NOPE.
But the important thing is that I've almost completed my first column on my "100 Essential Novels" poster. I've just got to read "The Golden Notebook" and I'm there.
"It occurs to me that some way back I began a sentence that I have never finished."
"In all matrimonial associations there is, I believe, one constant factor—a desire to deceive the person with whom one lives as to some weak spot in one's character or in one's career. For it is intolerable to live constantly with one human being who perceives one's small meannesses."