The Soldier’s Art by Anthony Powell

 The Soldier’s Art by Anthony Powell


 

Fabulous book- as mentioned in the reviews for the previous 7 volumes of A Dance to the Music of Time, I enjoyed this long novel very much.

 

In the eights installment heroes and heroines have started to die; Chips, Patricia, Lady Molly…there’s even a suicide at the unit where Nick Jenkins is on duty, stationed. Germany has attacked the Soviet Union.

Windmerpool, one of the nastiest characters of the novel, is doing bad things again. He’s moving Stringham about, just to avoid having any annoyance for himself. Windmerpool doesn’t care about anybody, including Nick, but himself.

There is humor and here are some samples:

“Balzac!” General Liddament roared the name. It was impossible to know whether Balzac had been a good answer or a very bad one…”

“He talked about Trollope and Balzac.”

“The authors?”

I was tempted to reply, “No-the generals”, but discretion prevailed.

Then there is the keen power of observation:

“While others lived for money, power, women, the arts, domesticity, Pennistone liked merely thinking about things….”

And humor again:

You should see him in bed in the morning before he’s shaved. You couldn’t help being a fan then”

 

The name of the book comes from:

“Think first; fight afterwards- the soldier’s art”

 

I like to repeat it: these eight volumes have given me a tremendous pleasure; I think Anthony Powell is a great writer and his A Dance to the Music of Time is a masterpiece.

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