A Mind @ Play

The Grapes of Wrath

On 18th July 2012

A work born of the Great Depression, The Grapes of Wrath is surely one of the greatest, most powerful and important books in American literature. Focusing on a poor family of tenant farmers escaping the Dust Bowl of Oklahoma, Steinbeck set out with the express intention of shaming the people he held responsible for the plight of these losers of the Depression, and aimed quite simply to “rip a reader’s nerves to rags” with his tale. The Joad family sets out for California with their few remaining possessions, seeking work, land and new lives among the colourful orchards and vineyards of the western state, a veritable promised land. Instead they find further hardship, exploitation and abuse, labelled as ‘Okies’ and reds, welcome if they’re willing to work for a pittance, hounded should they try to make a living for themselves.

Very reminiscent of Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle, it’s easy to understand why the book was rewarded with so many accolades, and its author with the Nobel Prize for Literature. What sets the book apart from Sinclair’s style is the directness of Steinbeck’s writing. The family is full of quirky and unique characters, entirely believable, if slightly monochrome in flavour. Other readers have complained the book is divided rather obliquely into the ‘good’ and the ‘bad’, and whilst they make a reasonable point, this neither detracts from the overall message of the novel, nor prevents those characters from acting as the real driving force of the story. The heroes of the novel are true salt of the earth, which gives the book openness and accessibility: that Steinbeck writes their dialogue in their vernacular is a powerful motif.

Steinbeck intersperses his tale of the Joads with rather more artistic and morally or politically charged chapters covering the broader sweep of change facing America in the ’30s. In effect, the chapters intertwine the individual experiences of the Joad family with the macrocosmic overview of society in the Depression years. Steinbeck’s rather more loaded and overt statements appear in these segments, but he also allows his characters to speak for him, especially Tom Joad and the preacher.

The Grapes of Wrath is entirely deserving of its accolades, and its place on countless lists of best novels or works to read before you die. Some reviewers had difficulty persevering past the book’s opening, others found the vernacular language distracting, but generally speaking this is an extremely accessible novel which doesn’t require a great deal of background knowledge to be appreciated.

Citizen Soldiers: U.S. Army from the Normandy Beaches to the Bulge, to the Surrender of Germany, June 7, 1944 to May 7, 1945

By Fips

On 31st May 2012

In Books, Reviews

This is the only Stephen Ambrose book I’ve read, spurred on by recently rewatching Saving Private Ryan and Band Of Brothers. A look at the American soldiers in the European theatre from D-Day to the end of the war, the book is based on oodles of research and countless memoirs, oral and written, from the people who were actually there. It doesn’t go into the actual events of the war in any detail, so it would behoove readers to have some background knowledge, but Ambrose does a decent job of sketching out the general situation.

Technically, this book should have been easy to whole-heartedly recommend. Ambrose has sewn together an extremely important collection of memories, thoughts and feelings of the troops on the front lines of the last war, allowing the people who were actually there to tell their stories. Whilst some have criticised the relative paucity of attention to the other Allies, other theatres, the Germans etc., that is precisely because they fall outside this book’s remit. Concentrating on the written and oral memories of US soldiers, Ambrose nevertheless weaves them into the course of the war, so even people relatively unfamiliar with events on the Western front should not get lost.

One particular strength of the book is its organisation. The different campaigns during the war are dealt with separately, as one might expect, but there is also a whole part dedicated to different groups and aspects of the war. It is very welcome that chapters are dedicated to such oft ignored facets as the ‘Medics, nurses and doctors’, ‘Prisoners of war’ and especially a chapter on the uglier side of war, on the criminals, profiteers and racists. Aside from these specific chapters, there are plenty of other interesting titbits of information scattered throughout the book, such as the reports of dud ammunition (sadly not researched, but backed up in a letter to the author from a Jewish slave labourer in a German concentration camp in the afterword), the fanaticism of some of the SS troops (one is mentioned dying after refusing a transfusion from a US medic, on the chance it might contain Jewish blood), or the German soldier executed for spying when caught with forged papers (the original reading “Not a Pass–For Indentification Only”, and the forger having corrected the spelling mistake).

Sadly, for all this the book is not without its flaws. Another reviewer, when trying to come up with a single word to sum up the book decided on ‘frustrating’, and I think this rather hits the nail on the head. This book is well written, well compiled, well researched, but unfortunately it isn’t a great piece of history, when if very much should have been. Ambrose writes with an agenda, one that is seldom disguised, seldom explored, rarely supported. He seems to have a personal vendetta against Montgomery, and on numerous occasions quotes sources to the effect that he was responsible for much of the mishandling of the war effort. Granted, the work is entirely concentrated on the US army’s endeavours, but such focus is also combined with a very dismissive attitude to the soldiers of the other nations. The one great hypothesis that Ambrose seems wont to flaunt is that the greatest capitalist democratic economy simply produced the best soldiers in the world, despite the very same book deriding the army’s lack of training, the system of replacements, the ignorance of the army commanders, the poor or unsuited equipment etc. Given the otherwise relatively sober portrayal of events from the eyes of those who fought, such jingoist conclusions are unfitting and unnecessary.

Rumours of plagiarism aside (Ambrose states clearly in the introduction that his aim was to “let [his] characters speak for themselves by quoting them liberally”), there is also call to believe that some of his quotes are taken well out of context to further his agenda. I don’t believe for a second that this is particularly warranted, but his openly opinionated comments unfortunately lead to such nagging suspicions. Finally, there were apparently also numerous obvious inaccuracies in the book, the sort of figures and facts which most WW2 enthusiasts soon spot, and which also detract from its overall image (I think these errors were corrected in the version I read, which included an afterword dealing with the many letters the author had received).

Ultimately, as a testament to the people who fought, this book is an important and engaging work, and well worth reading for anyone with an interest in the Second World War, the US army, or wartime and soldiering in general. It is well organised, well structured and relatively readable, despite occasionally having too many different opinions and quotes tied into a handful of paragraphs. The accompanying maps and pictures are also a welcome complement to the stories and eyewitness accounts. But unfortunately the author’s reputation and his rather opinionated style detract from all of this, and leave something of a sour aftertaste to what is otherwise a very mature and sobering story.

Vollidiot: Der Roman

By Fips

On 4th May 2012

In Books, Reviews

Much as I enjoyed another Tommy Jaud book (Resturlaub: Das Zweitbuch), I found Vollidiot somewhat unrounded and altogether disappointing after finishing it. The story revolves around Simon Peters, a late-20s youngster in Cologne, who is fed up with his job, his friends, his being single–his life in general–and how he goes about trying to set things to rights. Essentially, of course, everything he tries to achieve goes wrong, and every action he takes has a punchline waiting around the corner.

There isn’t much by way of a story here – most of the action is punctuated by nights in the pub, and the best intentions trying to get a date, but Jaud has an eye for making even the most mundane humourous. Our antihero Simon’s cleaner, a Croatian by the name of Lala, adds a lot to the mix with her antics, setting him up on a blind date, accompanying him to a gig whilst he is on another date, as well as breaking things around the flat and apologising in her heavily accented German. Jaud could probably have enough material for another book just based on her day-to-day life.

Nevertheless, there simply isn’t enough here to tie the book together. Little happens of any consequence, and the humour factor ranges from sometimes inciteful, biting sarcasm, to simple cringe-inducing moments of mania on the part of the main character(s). It starts off strong, with some great descriptions of Ikea’s policy towards single people, or the gym Simon joins to get fit (which turns out to be a haven for homosexuals), but towards the end of the book I found there were fewer and fewer laughs to be had, and the ending is rather abrupt and feels somewhat rushed.

Still, like the previous reviewer, I can certainly recommend reading something like this to people interested in learning German. This is by no means a prize-winning piece of literature, but the language is very contemporary, and should be relatively easy to follow for learners. It would probably appeal to most men in the same age-range (particularly anyone who’s experienced that feeling of being fed up with everything), and no doubt to the many women who find themselves in a relationship with one of these Vollidioten!

Screw It, Let’s Do It: Lessons in Life

By Fips

On 24th April 2012

In Books, Reviews

Dieser Eintrag ist auch auf Deutsch verfügbar.

Not normally one for autobiographies, I picked this book up on a whim as it was standing proudly on the local library shelf. It’s a pretty short, easy read with some interesting ideas and amusing anecdotes, essentially snippets hewn from Branson’s life and career with some generic advice strewn about. The autobiographical sections are probably the most interesting, though given the book’s format are often repeated or presented in a strange order.

There are plenty of interesting comments on Branson’s approach to sustainable capitalism, or his humanitarian and voluntary work. Occasionally, however, there are chapters dealing with issues like global warming which read all too much like a diatribe copied verbatim from some other book and feel like they have little place here. It would have been enough for Branson to say that he perceives global warming as an all-too-real threat to the planet, and is determined to tackle the problem head-on with his Virgin Empire, without trying to go into detail convincing readers that the figures add up.

All in all for a quick light read there were plenty of interesting titbits and anecdotes to make it worth picking up, but the haphazard and repeated presentation of events, and the over-the-top explanation of global warming were a distraction. I imagine Branson’s autobiography would make a much more worthwhile read.

Geht nicht gibt’s nicht!

By Fips

On 24th April 2012

In Books, Reviews

This post is also available in English.

In der Regel interessiere ich mich nicht für Autobiografien, aber da dieses Buch so stolz auf dem Bibliotheksregal da stand, habe ich es einfach aus der Laune heraus mal mitgenommen. Es ist eine relativ kurze und einfache Lektüre, im Grunde bestehend aus Bruchstücken aus dem Leben und der Karriere Bransons mit einigen interessanten Ideen und unterhaltsamen Anekdoten, verstreut mit allgemeinen Ratschlägen. Die autobiografischen Stücke sind wohl am interessantesten, aufgrund des Buchformats sind sie jedoch oft wiederholt oder in einer komischen Reihenfolge präsentiert.

Wesentlich vorhanden sind Kommentare über Bransons Vorgehensweise in Bezug auf den nachhaltigen Kapitalismus und seine humanitäre und ehrenamtliche Arbeit. Leider gibt es aber einige Kapitel, die von Themen wie der globalen Erwärmung handeln, die sich wie Wort für Wort aus einem anderen Buche abgeschriebene Diatriben lesen und hier ziemlich fehl am Platz sind. Es hätte genügt, wenn Branson erklärt hätte, er nehme die globale Erwärmung als eine ernste Bedrohung für den Planeten und engagiere sich deswegen mit seinem Virgin-Imperium, diesem Problem ohne Umschweife entgegenzutreten, ohne so ins Detail gehen zu müssen, um seine Leser davon zu überzeugen, die Firmenzahlen gehen auf.

Ein letztes Wort über die Übersetzung: Obwohl ich das Original „Screw It, Let’s Do It“ nicht gelesen habe, sehe ich ein, dass es schwierig sein musste, dem Original treu zu bleiben und gleichzeitig das Argument zu überliefern. Deshalb bieten viele Anmerkungen des Übersetzers wertvolle Hintergrundinformationen oder erklären Wortspiele, die auf Deutsch einfach nicht funktionieren. Dennoch wimmelt das Buch von typographischen und anderweitigen Fehlern, die den Lesefluss stören und teilweise ein wiederholtes Lesen verlangen, um den Fehler zu entdecken.

Als schnelle, leichte Unterhaltung bietet das Buch genügend Anekdoten und Informationsleckerbissen für die, die für die Erfolgsgeschichte und Geschäftsphilosophie Bransons interessieren. Jedoch stört die planlose und teilweise wiederholte Darstellung der Firmengeschichte, und die übertriebene Belehrung über die globale Erwärmung gehört eigentlich auf einer anderen Bühne. Wahrscheinlich wäre seine Autobiografie die interessantere Lektüre.