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saareman 's review for:
War and Turpentine
by Stefan Hertmans
I hadn't heard of Stefan Hertmans' memoir-fiction about his amateur artist grandfather Urbain Martien (1891-1981) until it showed up on the New York Times 10 Best Books of 2016 year-end list. The description there of "a masterly book about memory, art, love and war," intrigued me immediately.
I have to say honestly that the Part I Pre-1914 Section didn't really grab me and I found myself plodding through it for a long time. I mention this as I suspect there may be others with the same experience who may be tempted to give up on the book due to this seemingly rambling first half where often it is the story of Hertmans' great-grandfather that is being told. Don't give up on the book early.
The Part II 1914-1918 Section plunges you along with the young Urbain Martien into the face of the German Army's August 1914 "blitzkrieg" (the word apparently wasn't invented until 1935, but Hertmans uses it here on pg. 144 to describe the "shock and awe" tactics used) on Belgium in its roundabout path to attacking France. Suddenly I was totally swept up in the story as now it is being delivered as a first-person account as if in the voice of Urbain himself. The sheer terrors faced by the Flemish speaking Walloon soldiers in the middle between the ruthless German advance and their own contemptuous French-speaking officers. This is among the best on-the-ground descriptions of the chaos & desperation of war that I've ever read, certainly as good as, if not better than, Hemingway's "The Retreat from Caporetto" section in [b:A Farewell to Arms|17978811|A Farewell to Arms|Ernest Hemingway|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369579147s/17978811.jpg|4652599] (that section is sometimes excerpted under that title in anthologies such as [b:Hemingway on War|16001183|Hemingway on War|Ernest Hemingway|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1379313462s/16001183.jpg|151960]).
The final Part III is a post-1918 section where we return to Hertmans' point-of-view as he describes his grandfather's post-war years and the copies that the elderly Urbain made of classic paintings as his hobby. But now the seemingly rambling style of Part I feels completely engrossing as Hertmans tries to piece together the story of his grandfather's life from the few clues that he has. I should probably re-read Part I with this hindsight as it wasn't until the Part II Section that I suddenly totally identified with Urbain and his life.
Still I don't hesitate to call this a 5 out of 5 based on the 2nd half alone.
I have to say honestly that the Part I Pre-1914 Section didn't really grab me and I found myself plodding through it for a long time. I mention this as I suspect there may be others with the same experience who may be tempted to give up on the book due to this seemingly rambling first half where often it is the story of Hertmans' great-grandfather that is being told. Don't give up on the book early.
The Part II 1914-1918 Section plunges you along with the young Urbain Martien into the face of the German Army's August 1914 "blitzkrieg" (the word apparently wasn't invented until 1935, but Hertmans uses it here on pg. 144 to describe the "shock and awe" tactics used) on Belgium in its roundabout path to attacking France. Suddenly I was totally swept up in the story as now it is being delivered as a first-person account as if in the voice of Urbain himself. The sheer terrors faced by the Flemish speaking Walloon soldiers in the middle between the ruthless German advance and their own contemptuous French-speaking officers. This is among the best on-the-ground descriptions of the chaos & desperation of war that I've ever read, certainly as good as, if not better than, Hemingway's "The Retreat from Caporetto" section in [b:A Farewell to Arms|17978811|A Farewell to Arms|Ernest Hemingway|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1369579147s/17978811.jpg|4652599] (that section is sometimes excerpted under that title in anthologies such as [b:Hemingway on War|16001183|Hemingway on War|Ernest Hemingway|http://images.gr-assets.com/books/1379313462s/16001183.jpg|151960]).
The final Part III is a post-1918 section where we return to Hertmans' point-of-view as he describes his grandfather's post-war years and the copies that the elderly Urbain made of classic paintings as his hobby. But now the seemingly rambling style of Part I feels completely engrossing as Hertmans tries to piece together the story of his grandfather's life from the few clues that he has. I should probably re-read Part I with this hindsight as it wasn't until the Part II Section that I suddenly totally identified with Urbain and his life.
Still I don't hesitate to call this a 5 out of 5 based on the 2nd half alone.