The Naked and the Dead
by Norman Mailer
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Read in March, 2008
This is a book about America. Its no secret that Tolstoy is Mailer's favorite author, and reading this book right after reading War and Peace gave me a good perspective on everything defined in this book. It captures a uniquely American milieu of characters at a time when a uniquely american sence of Idenity and patriotism was being forged. It spoke of the physical and intellectual challenges of various backgrounds through about a dozen main characters with learned empathy. And in the end and th...more
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Read in August, 2007
This one took me forever to get through. I kept putting it aside for books I was more excited to read.
It is both astonishing and obvious that this is a first novel. Mailer's depth of knowledge about the US in all its white male aspects is surprising. But his need to write "THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL ABOUT THE WAR" is tiresome, as are his formal cribs of Dos Passos that make the book over serious and distanced.
Which does not help Mailer's petty misogyny and overall misanthropy....more
It is both astonishing and obvious that this is a first novel. Mailer's depth of knowledge about the US in all its white male aspects is surprising. But his need to write "THE GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL ABOUT THE WAR" is tiresome, as are his formal cribs of Dos Passos that make the book over serious and distanced.
Which does not help Mailer's petty misogyny and overall misanthropy....more
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This is an amazing book considering it was the author's first published novel. All the more amazing considering Mailer was something like 20 years old when he wrote it. I picked it up after reading somewhere that Mailer actually joined the military during WWII in order to gain some life experience so he could write a book. I really enjoyed Mailer's writing style. It was vivid, alive and gritty.
Mailer describes the jungle in perfect detail. You can almost feel yourself being smothered b...more
Mailer describes the jungle in perfect detail. You can almost feel yourself being smothered b...more
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Read in July, 2007
I read this book mostly for the satisfaction of completing a 700-paged book. I was also somewhat interested in branching off into different types of books - in this case a war book. The Naked and the Dead is set during World War 2 on a Japanese island. This book is said to be one of the best war stories ever and it accurately depicts the men at war. If this is true, war lacks combat and excitement and it is filled with endless routine. If you are expecting an action packed book, following the li...more
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This is a big, fat book. I read a new library copy and when I was done the binding was ripping, just from the heft of the pages. The amazing thing? It flies by. Or, it mostly flies by. Basic premise: war novel, without the war. Or, without much fighting. Mostly guys, US guys, suffering, being made to suffer, inflicting suffering on each other, waiting, listening, perceiving. Tons of POV shifts, all fluid. Absolutely stunning descriptions. The last two hundred pages were brutal. Sweet tor...more
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Read in January, 2007
recommended to Charles by:
The wife of a soldier who was their.recommends it for: Anyone who calls for war without the facts or evidence to support
An interesting book that presents a good view of what it was like fighting in the New Guinea area in the early 1940’s. The difficulties of the New Guinea campaign can clearly be seen in the novel which illustrates the individualism of each soldier. The Book in general terms represents all soldiers of many nations torn from their simple and polite societies and thrust into an alien world of incomprehensible savagery. A bit too long and at times arduous, the reader is introduce to characters th...more
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Read in July, 2008
Probably the best war epic in the "from here to eternity" vein I've read. And all the more astonishing because mailer seems to have started that style - at least in America; I've not read Tolstoy. And then even moreso because Mailer was only 24 when it came out. Definitely a spectacular first novel.
The problem is that it also confirmed for me that I'm just not all that into the war epic in the "from here to eternity" style. I admire Mailer's plot and character develop...more
The problem is that it also confirmed for me that I'm just not all that into the war epic in the "from here to eternity" style. I admire Mailer's plot and character develop...more
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Read in March, 2008
recommended to Kate by:
Book Club choice of the monthrecommends it for: Serious Book Readers
At first I wasn't sure I would like this book because it had so much military and battle scenes. I persevered and after getting about 100 pages into it was compelled to continue reading. It was an easy book to read but also a hard one. It seemed I kept reading and reading but still had alot of book left. The characters were all very interesting, and many not that likeable. I like Mailer's style of going back into each character's history to flesh out who they were before they went to war. ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
war book junkies
Ehhh I liked it but was expecting much more. I've heard Norman Mailer mentioned as one of the American literary greats, and I wanted this to shake my foundation, but ehhhh it didn't. It follows several characters from one platoon and traces their background and personality through a retrospective glance at their days before the Army, and then following them throughout their stay in Anopopei, Japan. Some of the characters are solid, but the plot is weak. However, other reviews suggest that th...more
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Read in July, 2008
Usually I am not into a seven-hundred page motherfucker, but I have a nonsecret boner for war stories and character sketches so this was basically pornography for my forebrain. One of the fun things about this book was seeing how the archetypical personas of males in our culture have changed. One of the other fun things was reading Mailer's foreword to the book where he basically disses his own writing over and over despite it winning the Pulitzer. I am also beginning to suspect that people w...more
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This is part 1 in my never ending Norman Mailer series. I am going to try to alternate Mailer books with other books...forever. I am oddly attracted to Mailer (as an author! geez.), I feel like I have an obligation to be reading him right now. Sure enough, this book did not put me down from start to finish. Whoa. I'm sort of blanking on really articulate ways to sum up my experience, but trust me. It hit the spot. I even started carrying rations and a blanket around with me and let go of persona...more
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Read in December, 2005
recommended to Van by:
Lee Lungrenrecommends it for: Mature Audience Only
This book painted pictures in my head I will never soon forget. The interactions among the characters (on every level)as well as the thoughts of the characters themselves brought the realities of life in a combat zone to my attention at a very personal level, and I have never been in a combat zone. It is humanity in your face. A realist's labyrinth for thought or straight forward punch in the face, whichever you may prefer. I love it.
P.S. I read the 1st Edition (hopefully the 50th Ann. ...more
P.S. I read the 1st Edition (hopefully the 50th Ann. ...more
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Since Norman Mailer just shuffled off this mortal coil I thought I'd go back and revisit his first novel. I'd tried to read it a few years ago (after all it is about world war two and I've made something of a study about novels of or from that war) but found it tedious and put it aside. I still find it so, though I'll try to get through it. Most critics seem to consider it his best novel. I think Mailer was to the literature what Andy Warhol was to the visual arts, in a word: a fraud.
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
Those who love beautiful prose
I love the prose in this book. More than just being an account of war which presents its horrors without falling into the trap of focusing on "rivers running red with blood," this book is lyrical and beautiful, even at it's most shocking. There is a scene where the GI's are attempting to move a piece of artilery, stuggling to pull it up a hill through the mud. When you get to this scene you'll know what I'm talking about. I've never read a more perfect passage of prose in my life.
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This is Mailer's best book. Well, I've only read one other, but the he so got the misery of war and the awful physical deprivations that those young, clueless WWII boys had to endure. Mailer was only 23 I think when he wrote this book and had to live up to the magnificance of this, his first published accomplishment. I still think about some of those scenes where the boys were crawling through the mud in the rain without any idea where they were going or what they were doing.
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Read this book in the late 50s or early 60s. It is about WWII in the Pacific theater, specifically the jungles of New Guinea etc. The book really got to me. The soldiers suffered from dysentery and I had diarrhea. He describes how the soles of their feet are shredded due to fungus rot and the pain they endured. Thru the entire read I had stomach aches and my feet hurt. I have never read any other Mailer but this one is not to be missed
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Read in January, 1947
recommended to Mythster34 by:
My dadrecommends it for: Anyone who is interested in our American history
Undoubtedly the greatest novel to come out of WW II. This is the quintessential war story. Like "All Quiet on the Western Front" for the first world war, it is the definitive work about the war and the people who fought it. Like many first novels it reaches to heights that the author never quite achieves again. It should have gotten a Nobel prize about it was probably a little too "raw" for the Scandinavian gnomes who make the selections.
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Read in December, 2004
This sat on my bookshelf for years before I actually cracked the cover. In fact, I only had a copy of it because it came in a box of assorted books that someone was giving away. I'm not usually one for war novels, but this one is really great. The character development and story progression is superb, and it reads quickly, even at over 700 pages. Unfortunately, war novels never seem to lose their relevance. This one certainly hasn't.
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A great, fulfilling read, but a difficult book to get through. The character development is astounding and the empathy you feel for each man is almost unbearable at times. After spending a few months with this small group of soldiers, it's like I'm dreading every misstep and celebrating every victory right along with them.
As an aside, it's completely absurd that Mailer wrote this book at the ripe old age of 24.
As an aside, it's completely absurd that Mailer wrote this book at the ripe old age of 24.
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Read in August, 1965
Actually, it wasn't the 50th anniversary edition that I read in the summer of 1965. But it still had a very powerful impact on my anti-war leanings.
Aside from the policital and sociological analysis that enriches the book, this is also a very good war story. The narrative is very well-construted and well-written. I would have enjoyed it tremendously even if I had not been drawn to the social commentary.
Aside from the policital and sociological analysis that enriches the book, this is also a very good war story. The narrative is very well-construted and well-written. I would have enjoyed it tremendously even if I had not been drawn to the social commentary.
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