false <![CDATA[The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion]]> 7628 47 First published in 1915, Ford Madox Ford's <I>The Good Soldier</I> begins, famously and ominously, "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." The book then proceeds to confute this pronouncement at every turn, exposing a world less sad than pathetic, and more shot through with hypocrisy and deceit than its incredulous narrator, John Dowell, cares to imagine. Somewhat forgotten as a classic, <I>The Good Soldier</I> has been called everything from the consummate novelist's novel to one of the greatest English works of the century. And although its narrative hook--the philandering of an otherwise noble man--no longer shocks, its unerring cadences and doleful inevitabilities proclaim an enduring appeal.<p> Ford's novel revolves around two couples: Edward Ashburnham--the title's soldier--and his capable if off-putting wife, Leonora; and long-transplanted Americans John and Florence Dowell. The foursome's ostensible amiability, on display as they pass parts of a dozen pre-World War I summers together in Germany, conceals the fissures in each marriage. John is miserably mismatched with the garrulous, cuckolding Florence; and Edward, dashing and sentimental, can't refrain from falling in love with women whose charms exceed Leonora's. Predictably, Edward and Florence conduct their affair, an indiscretion only John seems not to notice. After the deaths of the two lovers, and after Leonora explains much of the truth to John, he recounts the events of their four lives with an extended inflection of outrage. From his retrospective perch, his recollections simmer with a bitter skepticism even as he expresses amazement at how much he overlooked.<p> Dowell's resigned narration is flawlessly conversational--haphazard, sprawling, lusting for sympathy. He exudes self-preservation even as he alternately condemns and lionizes Edward: "If I had had the courage and the virility and possibly also the physique of Edward Ashburnham I should, I fancy, have done much what he did." Stunningly, Edward's adultery comes to seem not merely excusable, but almost sublime. "Perhaps he could not bear to see a woman and not give her the comfort of his physical attractions," John surmises. Ford's novel deserves its reputation if for no other reason than the elegance with which it divulges hidden lives. <I>--Ben Guterson</I> Edited by Kenneth Womack and William Baker 1881188 1915 The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion total:1448|5:387|4:527|3:354|2:134|1:46| 1448 5419 2304 190 4 9 false false Fri Jul 11 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Jul 11 17:31:37 -0700 2008 Mon Jul 14 18:14:24 -0700 2008
I really did not think I was going to enjoy this book one bit; I also erroneously believed it was included in the collection of crap known as ...more...]]> 4 4 false false Fri Oct 01 00:00:00 -0700 2004 Fri Oct 19 03:02:27 -0700 2007 Fri Oct 19 03:02:27 -0700 2007 American Psycho comes to mind as a possible least-favorite and The Good Soldier as a certain favorite. It would be too much to call any of these char...more...]]> 5 3 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Tue Oct 16 15:50:52 -0700 2007 Sat Feb 02 19:43:29 -0800 2008
The book is a thorough condemnati...more...]]> 1 3 false false Fri Sep 26 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 11:09:58 -0700 2008 Fri Sep 26 11:18:25 -0700 2008 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 23 22:57:26 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 23 23:06:00 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Nov 03 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 18:20:04 -0800 2009 Tue Nov 03 18:33:51 -0800 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Tue Sep 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 15:34:14 -0700 2009 Wed Sep 16 15:41:48 -0700 2009
But in general, I was disappointed. I liked the issues that Ford explores, moral ambiguity, relationships, fact v. inte...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Jul 17 09:14:08 -0700 2009 Fri Jul 17 09:14:32 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 2 false false Thu Apr 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 13:52:00 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 30 19:38:26 -0700 2009
The answer comes down to the writing, though creative technique also deserves mention. Ford Maddox For...more...]]> 3 0 false false Wed Mar 04 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Mar 04 14:26:13 -0800 2009 Sat Mar 14 14:24:08 -0700 2009
Narrated by Frank Muller
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc (1986)
Appears to be out of print.

Frank Muller is (was) "the first true superstar of spoken audio."

Links:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Good_So...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Madox_......more...]]> 2 1 false false Fri Oct 24 19:54:38 -0700 2008 Fri Oct 24 19:57:19 -0700 2008 2 0 false false Mon Aug 24 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 06:00:41 -0700 2009 Mon Aug 24 06:09:16 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Wed Mar 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Jun 14 22:14:33 -0700 2007 Thu Jun 14 23:59:38 -0700 2007 ]]> 4 1 false false Mon Jun 23 09:52:58 -0700 2008 Tue Jun 24 09:52:50 -0700 2008 4 0 false false Tue Aug 04 18:35:23 -0700 2009 Thu Aug 06 18:38:44 -0700 2009
I knew I was done for when I read this:

"This is the saddest story I have ever heard." ...more...]]> 1 0 false false Sun Jul 12 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 03 21:14:37 -0700 2009 Sun Jul 12 19:06:02 -0700 2009
Take a look at this selection from Mark Twain:

1. That a tale shall accomplish something and arrive somewhere. But the "Deerslayer" tale accomplishes nothing and arrives in air.

2. They require that the episodes in a...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 15:20:58 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 18 15:27:59 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 1 false false Sat Jun 07 17:08:34 -0700 2008 Mon Jun 09 20:00:14 -0700 2008 5 0 false false Fri Sep 11 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Dec 22 16:10:58 -0800 2008 Fri Sep 11 05:11:38 -0700 2009 CAREFUL! 
THERE'S A KINDA SPOILER AT THE VERY END!


What a remarkably peculiar reading experience. What a bizarre style, narrator, narrative. What a unique structure. What an engrossing (re)view of early 20th century morality, social norms, personality.

I don't normally go ...more...]]> 4 0 false false Thu Dec 04 07:17:35 -0800 2008 Mon Mar 02 06:10:52 -0800 2009 more...]]> http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=7628