Beautifully written. Junger has extraordinary gifts as a writer. The one thing that makes it harder to connect with his accounts was his cool detachmeBeautifully written. Junger has extraordinary gifts as a writer. The one thing that makes it harder to connect with his accounts was his cool detachment in his presentation of events and experiences. Beneath the surface is a bit of soft nationalism which is obnoxious but not completely blind or extreme, at least not as blind or extreme as one would expect from a French or German citizen/soldier who was constantly indoctrinated with this nationalistic state propaganda of the times. It really is pretty much unavoidable in this time period except for a small sliver of exceptional individuals who somehow managed to defy this conformity to nationalism (of which there are examples in all of the WWI countries). I don't mean to be unfair by judging Junger via the prism of our contemporary standards, I mean, we are all products of our own time and that should be taken into consideration. But it does seem like Junger embraced a deeper more radical nationalism at certain points in his life, but in this book it isn't too bad, at least from what I can tell. Nationalism is just the worst though, I really have a hard time standing it at any level...
Another quibble against Junger is he does seem to find some primeval enjoyment in war, there is a joy and celebration of war that is a bit scary/crazy to me. It is a bit hard to swallow such sentiments... but overall he crafts an amazing memoir which captures the essence of the times. The writing is too good, and I do like how he presents things, overall he is a very good nuanced thinker and writer (in spite of the critiques I make), so well worth the read if you are interested in this history.
I'm curious to learn more about Junger, read more of his works, he seems to have been a complex figure.
I'd like to keep reading more memoirs from the war, would like to read memoirs from various participants. I don't know much about the Eastern front, would be nice to read some Russian memoirs of this experience. There is something about WWI, it is the ultimate testament to how far human folly can go, one of the grandest most pointless operatic human tragedies. Maybe reading about it helps me, helps me to contextualize modern suffering and modern problems. But it serves as a reminder as to the horrors and idiotic mistakes humanity is capable of, and why we should always remain vigilant. Even moreso nowadays, with the technological prowess we have we can destroy ourselves much more easily, which is why it is more important than ever to buttress systems of international cooperation and avoid war. Given our destructive capabilities we have less margin for error than 100 years back, with hot-headed ethnonationalists coming to power who view foreign policy as a zero-sum game, there are reasons to worry.
Nationalism in my eyes is the bane of the human species, we will accomplish so much more and improve human welfare by leaps and bounds if we can ever transcend this pernicious ideology. But it is so seductive, and exquisitely wielded by those in power to control and trick us into blindly following and serving their narrow interests no matter the ultimate costs....more
The opening about his school years was surprisingly interesting and would have loved for that to have been explored in more depth. Graves was bullied The opening about his school years was surprisingly interesting and would have loved for that to have been explored in more depth. Graves was bullied and had issues concerning identity (having a multinational background/ancestry). He was a nerd (ie true scholar!), he gets bullied by the richer kids who can coast on connections and money and find scholarship tedious (reminds of Kvothe in Name of the Wind when he goes to magic school). Graves goes full Karate Kid, takes up boxing and lays waste to his childhood enemies (well, sort of).
The rest of the text concerning WWI is good, but Graves has a rather dry, clinical approach - a choice of style that often makes him seem disassociated from the events themselves. There are some funny moments, especially the depictions of the gallows humor typical in such barbaric endeavors. And it was amazing how many of his generations most important figures he formed relationships with, including people like Siegfried Sassoon and Bertrand Russell.
The acerbic commentary on the political and military leaders is sprinkled throughout the text, and from the WWI memoirs I’ve read seems to have been a common sentiment among a lot of the front-line ranks. Hard not to get pissed off when you see a captain/generals bounding around town in Rolls-Royces, all the while castigating the frontline guys for some minor bullshit. Not to mention paying lipservice to the frontline soldiers’ sacrifices while staying safely far behind the lines enjoying caviar and champagne.
Even if the clinical style of writing is somewhat underwhelming, it is well-executed. And I love these memoirs on WWI, very important reminder of the capacity for arrogance and idiocy that political and military leadership can have - which can lead to grand operatic tragedies at the largest scales. A good reminder to always be leery of those who are in charge, and if possible have to try and keep them accountable if and whenever possible. Ambition and arrogance (and nationalism) run amok is a frightening thing, a toxic blinding stew....more
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