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Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub: Writing During World War II
How World War II became central in our culture.
Even as World War II raged on, contemporary writers were riveted by its every twist and turn. One of the war’s most fascinating features was that it was subject to constant change, surprises, and fate reversal. It ensured that wartime writers, who did not yet know of its outcome, adopted points of view that were entirely spontaneous, rather than based on historical hindsight.
This remarkable book presents the war in its entirety, with all its force, suspense, and drama. With exceptional clarity it shows how the extreme events of war challenged writers, inspired their art, and in turn produced a modern legacy of literature.
Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub makes a convincing case for the permanent centrality of World War II in our present-day culture, literature, and history. The war was not separate from the cultural trends that preceded it before 1939, or the postwar world after 1945. In this extraordinary book, many of the major writers of the time—Samuel Beckett, Richard Hillary, Norman Mailer, Pearl Buck, James Jones, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others—are put in an entirely new context.
Even as World War II raged on, contemporary writers were riveted by its every twist and turn. One of the war’s most fascinating features was that it was subject to constant change, surprises, and fate reversal. It ensured that wartime writers, who did not yet know of its outcome, adopted points of view that were entirely spontaneous, rather than based on historical hindsight.
This remarkable book presents the war in its entirety, with all its force, suspense, and drama. With exceptional clarity it shows how the extreme events of war challenged writers, inspired their art, and in turn produced a modern legacy of literature.
Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub makes a convincing case for the permanent centrality of World War II in our present-day culture, literature, and history. The war was not separate from the cultural trends that preceded it before 1939, or the postwar world after 1945. In this extraordinary book, many of the major writers of the time—Samuel Beckett, Richard Hillary, Norman Mailer, Pearl Buck, James Jones, Albert Camus, Jean-Paul Sartre, and others—are put in an entirely new context.
- GenresWorld War II
304 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2014
About the author
John R. Carpenter
3 books4 followersJohn Randell Carpenter
Writer, Translator, Editor. Brought up in Massachusetts and California. Schools in Berkeley, Ojai, Putney Vermont. Harvard College. Doctorate (Sorbonne) in Comparative Literature. Numerous publications. Translation awards: Islands and Continents Translation Award, Witter Bynner Poetry Translation Award, Award Andrew Mellon Foundation, Translation Center Award Columbia University, Fellow National Endowment for the Arts, twice in writing twice in translation. Married to Bogdana Chetkowska Carpenter. Two children, four grandchildren. Lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, part of year in Warsaw.
Writer, Translator, Editor. Brought up in Massachusetts and California. Schools in Berkeley, Ojai, Putney Vermont. Harvard College. Doctorate (Sorbonne) in Comparative Literature. Numerous publications. Translation awards: Islands and Continents Translation Award, Witter Bynner Poetry Translation Award, Award Andrew Mellon Foundation, Translation Center Award Columbia University, Fellow National Endowment for the Arts, twice in writing twice in translation. Married to Bogdana Chetkowska Carpenter. Two children, four grandchildren. Lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, part of year in Warsaw.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
March 18, 2016
They say hindsight is 20/20 - and they are wrong. This book takes the reader and serious historian into the heat of the moment, not the revisionist aftermath. The difference? In the heat of battle, in the midst of conflict the raw and visceral emotions are not colored by desire to achieve new beginnings... the moment of strife is all about truth and survival. Only when looked at cleanly and clearly can we begin to decide the merits of war, of death and sacrifice. For any so-called patriot who thinks they support the troops for what they survived - they had better understand the true sacrifice of the warrior because truth of war is far more than simple flag-waving; assess what it means to be actually brave, actually strong enough, actually patriotic.
February 16, 2021
This book was not at all what I expected, and I did not enjoy the book. The main reason for this is because the book is mainly about what the various authors "meant" in their writings, with in-depth analyses of the words used, the phrasing, etc. I have never found this to be interesting (for a number of reasons I won't list here). If this is of interest to you, you will probably enjoy the book.
The book wanders in its purpose - at some points it seems to be attempting to describe WW II (a task at which it does not succeed), at others remarking on the difficulty of producing literature during a war, and sometimes wandering into the future to discuss literary works that were produced after the war, but which seem to be of interest because they discuss the war. One theme throughout the book is on the influence literature has on people - but a number of the works analyzed were not produced during the war. OK, perhaps he's speaking in general terms. But then we read how the works produced supposedly (remember the difficulties in publishing in wartime) inspired readers to act during the war.
The author does make a valiant attempt to group writings together by topics (as defined in the various sections of the book), but there is a lot of overlap between them - as would be expected - and that requires remembering the previous analysis of those works (something that, given my lack of interest in literary analysis, I'm not good at).
The book wanders in its purpose - at some points it seems to be attempting to describe WW II (a task at which it does not succeed), at others remarking on the difficulty of producing literature during a war, and sometimes wandering into the future to discuss literary works that were produced after the war, but which seem to be of interest because they discuss the war. One theme throughout the book is on the influence literature has on people - but a number of the works analyzed were not produced during the war. OK, perhaps he's speaking in general terms. But then we read how the works produced supposedly (remember the difficulties in publishing in wartime) inspired readers to act during the war.
The author does make a valiant attempt to group writings together by topics (as defined in the various sections of the book), but there is a lot of overlap between them - as would be expected - and that requires remembering the previous analysis of those works (something that, given my lack of interest in literary analysis, I'm not good at).
January 17, 2019
This was a very difficult book to read for me because of the heart-wrenching human-suffering sections in it, but it is also the book I am very glad to have read. Not that I didn’t know enough about World War II, but I always looked at it from where I was, from the American point of view and to a degree from a limited European point of view.
The fact is, World War II was world-wide, both with its fighting and its horrors, and it started during the 1930s in Asia. What makes this book a winner is that it shows a war that involved many nations, and in doing that, it gives varied and widespread examples and stories of incidents.
The first chapter is especially poignant because it points to the worldwide disbelief that a couple of decades after World War I, such a disaster could and was about to happen.
The second thing that impressed me the most was the people’s willingness and extraordinary efforts of keeping a record of events, even in death camps, against all terror and suppression. They wrote on everything they could get their hands on, including scraps of paper, plaster, walls, stones, anything, and they something buried notebooks deep in the earth. After the war, at least some of this data was unearthed, cleaned, and made public. Also, some of what is written are beyond heartbreak and tears.
Then, the book delves deeply into the facts of the war and gives its details in an original and an impeccable style. The references to the strategies and the events do not follow a chronological sequence, however. In the beginning chapters, it is quite commonplace for the end of the war to be mentioned. Rather, the book follows a sequence of certain concepts. For example, one chapter deals with animals, which were mostly eaten, another farms and fields, yet another occupation and people under the occupying forces, especially the writers, a mass prisoner grave under Russian occupation in Kolyma, sending and receiving messages. Yet, other chapters take each nation and bring to light its involvement and suffering during this horrific time.
Then, an interesting movement took place during the war where writing was concerned. Rhetoric was sneered at, and just about everything was told in their simplest forms, and the mention of objects took a significant role rather than the human qualities and individualities or references to anything alive. This and similar literary movements of the war era are explained under the last tenth section, {i}The Great Revolt{/i}, in four chapters, and through the works of many nations.
While this book may be the fare of history and literature buffs, I feel, because of its fascinating and sophisticated content, it should be circulated as required reading for us all, young and old alike.
The fact is, World War II was world-wide, both with its fighting and its horrors, and it started during the 1930s in Asia. What makes this book a winner is that it shows a war that involved many nations, and in doing that, it gives varied and widespread examples and stories of incidents.
The first chapter is especially poignant because it points to the worldwide disbelief that a couple of decades after World War I, such a disaster could and was about to happen.
The second thing that impressed me the most was the people’s willingness and extraordinary efforts of keeping a record of events, even in death camps, against all terror and suppression. They wrote on everything they could get their hands on, including scraps of paper, plaster, walls, stones, anything, and they something buried notebooks deep in the earth. After the war, at least some of this data was unearthed, cleaned, and made public. Also, some of what is written are beyond heartbreak and tears.
Then, the book delves deeply into the facts of the war and gives its details in an original and an impeccable style. The references to the strategies and the events do not follow a chronological sequence, however. In the beginning chapters, it is quite commonplace for the end of the war to be mentioned. Rather, the book follows a sequence of certain concepts. For example, one chapter deals with animals, which were mostly eaten, another farms and fields, yet another occupation and people under the occupying forces, especially the writers, a mass prisoner grave under Russian occupation in Kolyma, sending and receiving messages. Yet, other chapters take each nation and bring to light its involvement and suffering during this horrific time.
Then, an interesting movement took place during the war where writing was concerned. Rhetoric was sneered at, and just about everything was told in their simplest forms, and the mention of objects took a significant role rather than the human qualities and individualities or references to anything alive. This and similar literary movements of the war era are explained under the last tenth section, {i}The Great Revolt{/i}, in four chapters, and through the works of many nations.
While this book may be the fare of history and literature buffs, I feel, because of its fascinating and sophisticated content, it should be circulated as required reading for us all, young and old alike.
February 7, 2021
I don't think I read the description well enough and it wasn't quite what I was expecting. It was somewhat interesting, but I decided I'd rather read something else.
May 3, 2016
In his book “Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub: Writing During World War II,” John Carpenter shares his truly insightful perspective about the critical role of writing during wartime, when (as Carpenter describes it) “the writers were close to the events, in extremely difficult conditions and under great pressure.”
Carpenter relates the unusual circumstances of the War---focusing on the period between 1939 and 1945---particularly as they relate to those who struggle to chronicle its events even as they are thrust headlong into turmoil and suffering. As Carpenter points out, World War II comprised something not previously witnessed by humanity. It was a war of incredible destruction and unfathomable human suffering, in which armies did not just attack other armies, but set out to destroy entire nations. Cities were burned and bombed, and millions of civilians imprisoned and murdered. It was a horrific time like no other.
Carpenter describes the effects of secrecy and propaganda, and the challenges they presented to contemporary writers. In this era of absolutely immediate reporting from the battlefield, it is difficult to comprehend the lot of those World War II writers who sought to accurately represent history even as it was unfolding, and when the ultimate outcome was far from known.
“Only the dead have seen the end of war,” said Plato. This might be true, but it is still crucial that reasonable men and women strive to understand the causes and nature of conflict, so that they can seek to prevent it. Carpenter provides us with a lens to help us in this endeavor. This is an extremely well-researched and well-written book that should reach a wide audience.
Carpenter relates the unusual circumstances of the War---focusing on the period between 1939 and 1945---particularly as they relate to those who struggle to chronicle its events even as they are thrust headlong into turmoil and suffering. As Carpenter points out, World War II comprised something not previously witnessed by humanity. It was a war of incredible destruction and unfathomable human suffering, in which armies did not just attack other armies, but set out to destroy entire nations. Cities were burned and bombed, and millions of civilians imprisoned and murdered. It was a horrific time like no other.
Carpenter describes the effects of secrecy and propaganda, and the challenges they presented to contemporary writers. In this era of absolutely immediate reporting from the battlefield, it is difficult to comprehend the lot of those World War II writers who sought to accurately represent history even as it was unfolding, and when the ultimate outcome was far from known.
“Only the dead have seen the end of war,” said Plato. This might be true, but it is still crucial that reasonable men and women strive to understand the causes and nature of conflict, so that they can seek to prevent it. Carpenter provides us with a lens to help us in this endeavor. This is an extremely well-researched and well-written book that should reach a wide audience.
February 15, 2016
The author tells the story of WWII in a completely different way. Hundreds of non-fictional and fictional accounts of that war have been written - but all of them thru the lens of the post-war. All of them had the luxury of hindsight - knowing what had happened, what the results had been, what the plans were, etc. On the other hand, Carpenter's book relies on works written DURING the war, by authors from several different countries - none of whom had any idea what would happen next, or even the extent of the events they were personally witnessing and/or recording.
And the writers' limitations of knowing the full story were further limited by the need for secrecy, let alone various nations, armies, and leaders trying to maximize their own credentials in items published back home.
This is a fascinating, thought-provoking piece of literature - a scholarly text, perhaps. But one any student of history should read.
And the writers' limitations of knowing the full story were further limited by the need for secrecy, let alone various nations, armies, and leaders trying to maximize their own credentials in items published back home.
This is a fascinating, thought-provoking piece of literature - a scholarly text, perhaps. But one any student of history should read.
February 11, 2016
This should be essential reading for anyone wanting to get at the heart of the WWII experience from those who wrote about it, unsung or well-known. Reminds me of Paul Fussell (The Great War and Modern Memory) in its scope and insightfulness. I look forward to using it in my research.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews