Sam read and liked Jack's review of The Naked and the Dead:

"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 o...more 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 development on principle, and there are some brilliantly written passages. But the structure just doesn't click for me. I also thought the characters, while portrayed well, often fell into stereotypes.

The greatest touch getting at their humanity is how equitable is the time Mailer gives them. Deaths are not foreshadowed, nor are they parts of an arc. It's a war, and people often die without dramatic music to prepare the audience for what's coming.(less) "