The Naked and the Dead (Flamingo Modern Classics)
by Norman Mailer
published
January 4th 1999
(first published 1948)
by Flamingo
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binding
Paperback, 720 pages
isbn
0586091157
(isbn13: 9780586091159)
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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 June, 2007
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.
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Expert writing. An intriguing portrayal of individual soldiers' psyches and subjective experiences of a singular island battle. I read this in Kuwait while awaiting redeployment after a year at war and often still think of it even two years later.
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Read in October, 2008
The first 500 pages were brutal. There wasn't a single character about whom I cared even the slightest. The passive aggressive warfare between commanders and subordinates dragged on. Action was sparse. Drama abundant.
The last 200 pages were worlds better. Action. Death. Success. Failure.
The more I think about it though, Mailer may very well have taken his readers through the WWII Army experience. Boredom, tedium, childish drama over little things, endless waiting. Then. every once in a ...more
The last 200 pages were worlds better. Action. Death. Success. Failure.
The more I think about it though, Mailer may very well have taken his readers through the WWII Army experience. Boredom, tedium, childish drama over little things, endless waiting. Then. every once in a ...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 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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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 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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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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Insightful. The relationship between Hearn and General Cummings is much deeper in every encounter than it appears. Cummings is a genius and can manipulate Hearn any way he wants in order to teach him what he considers the most valuable lessons the Army can deliver.
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An amazing cast of characters, and the prose is excellent. I highly recommend this book.
(spoiler)
I loved how so much of what went on throughout the book is revealed as futile at the very end. Hearn's mission and the Cumming's careful strategizing both turn out to be almost completely irrelevant compared to the slow starvation of the Japanese forces that going on, unbeknownst to the reader, throughout the entire book. That the final pages choose to focus on the Dalleson's banal day-to-day ...more
(spoiler)
I loved how so much of what went on throughout the book is revealed as futile at the very end. Hearn's mission and the Cumming's careful strategizing both turn out to be almost completely irrelevant compared to the slow starvation of the Japanese forces that going on, unbeknownst to the reader, throughout the entire book. That the final pages choose to focus on the Dalleson's banal day-to-day ...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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Has a copy to sell/swap
Slowly pacing myself through this one, have a copy at home and one at school to facilitate more reading time, but have been too busy to keep a faster pace. I love Mailer's characters and the hyper realistic imagery the writing conjures...amazing for a dude who was 25 at the time of publication, so probably 22, 23 during the writing.
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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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