War and Remembrance

War and Remembrance – by Herman Wouk

After finishing this massive 1400 page book, the first three things that came to my mind were a) this book was not as good as its predecessor, Winds of War.  b) this book was way way WAY too long. c) Yet, this was still an excellent, 5 star book.  Even if you haven’t read either one of these epic tales by Herman Wouk of a family thrown into the travails of World War II, odds are you’re at least familiar with the titles and/or remember the highly publicized television mini-series that came out sometime during the 1980s.

It took author Herman Wouk six years to write this follow up.  I’m actually surprised it didn’t take him a lot longer.  This guy knows how to write.  He has an incredible style that pays meticulous attention to facts and character development, as well as ensuring that he’s telling his readers many of the real-life incidents of this horrible conflict.  There were times when I would forget that I was reading a novel and thought that I was, instead, reading a history book about many of the events that occurred during the war.  Most authors couldn’t pull this off, but Wouk manages to keep everything so well interconnected, that his leaping from fact to fiction never seems to take away from the experience.

This book picks right up where the first volume left off – the battle of Pearl Harbor which thrusted the United States into the conflict.  The major players are again the Henry family.  Admiral Pug, his wife Rhoda (who never seems to be too far away from a martini) and their three grown children that have all been bolted into the conflict as well.

Unlike the first book, Wouk seems to narrow his focus much more in this story.  There aren’t quite as many plots intertwined.  Many of the major players from Winds of War have been demoted to minor actors so he can spend more pages on the characters and stories that he wants to see develop.  Our main focus is Pug’s daughter-in-law Natalie.  Natalie is a young woman, and new mother, who’s basically stuck behind enemy lines with her famous uncle who is a teacher and author.  The main problem is, well, it just so happens that they’re Jewish.  This makes for an interesting, compelling, yet somewhat depressing tale of the misfortunes of the millions of European Jews that Hitler massacred in cruel, unfathomable methods.  We read a lot about these events in detail, and it really is a good story despite the ongoing churning in the stomach.

The other main focus is the withered relationship between Pug and Rhoda.  We saw cracks in the marriage in the first book, and we see them trying to pick up the pieces and make things right again.  One classic line is when Pug’s son, Bryan, asks his Dad what happened to him and Mom.  Pug’s response: “The war”.  That may seem like a vague reply, but after reading both of these +1000 page books, you realize that his answer makes perfect sense.

My main criticism of this book is that it spends a bit too much time describing some of the naval battles in too much detail.  I’ve always had a problem reading about such high adventure episodes – it’s always more enjoyable (dare I use that word) to see conflict on a movie screen as opposed to reading about it.  I wouldn’t really mind this too much had this book been, say, 800 pages instead of 1400.  I found myself skimming incidents such as the Battle of Midway or Leyte Gulf.  Fortunately, I didn’t miss much.

For the introduction to this volume, the author points out two things that surprised me before I began reading this book: 1) He stated that this book “stands alone”, and it really isn’t necessary to read the first book – and- 2) He describes this book as a “Romance”.  I would agree with the latter sentiment, but definitely not the first one.  You must read the first book before tackling this one.  Yes, it’s a bit laborious (the first one is “only” about 1100 pages), but I found it to be necessary before taking this book on and fully enjoying.  It’s an arduous task, but well worth it in the end.  Wouk does a magnificent job of teaching us that people are not only wounded on the battlefield in a war, but on the home front as well. Lives can be, sadly, changed forever by the experience.

A blueprint for anyone that wishes to write historical fiction.