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Sword of Honour #1
Men at Arms
"An eminently readable comedy of modern war" ( New York Times ), Men at Arms is the first novel in Evelyn Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy.
Guy Crouchback, determined to get into the war, takes a commission in the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. His spirits high, he sees all the trimmings but none of the action. And his first campaign, an abortive affair on the West African coastline, ends with an escapade that seriously blots his Halberdier copybook.
Men at Arms is the first novel in Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy recording the tumultuous wartime adventures of Guy Crouchback ("the finest work of fiction in English to emerge from World War II" -- Atlantic Monthly ), which also comprises Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender.
Guy Crouchback, determined to get into the war, takes a commission in the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. His spirits high, he sees all the trimmings but none of the action. And his first campaign, an abortive affair on the West African coastline, ends with an escapade that seriously blots his Halberdier copybook.
Men at Arms is the first novel in Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy recording the tumultuous wartime adventures of Guy Crouchback ("the finest work of fiction in English to emerge from World War II" -- Atlantic Monthly ), which also comprises Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender.
342 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1952
192 people are currently reading
3735 people want to read
About the author
Evelyn Waugh
358 books2,964 followersEvelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book “The Loom of Youth” (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, “…the whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.” He went on to Hertford College, Oxford, where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, “I drank for Hertford.”
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, “Decline and Fall” in 1928.
In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of “A Handful of Dust” from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.
During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: “Vile Bodies” (1930), “Black Mischief” (1932), the incomparable “A Handful of Dust” (1934) and “Scoop” (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, “Brideshead Revisited,” in which his Catholicism took centre stage. “The Loved One” a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his “Sword of Honour Trilogy” about his experiences in World War II - “Men at Arms” (1952), “Officers and Gentlemen” (1955), “Unconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, “Basil Seal Rides Again” (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.
Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.
See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_W...
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August 22, 2024
ADDIO BRITISH STYLE
Daniel Craig è Guy Crouchback nel filmTV del 2001 “Sword of Honour” diretto da Bill Anderson.
Nei miei anni d’università, tra le letture non di studio che ho preferito, Evelyn Waugh ha avuto un posto privilegiato.
Probabilmente perché era inglese, e ho avuto un debole per la letteratura in questa lingua.
Probabilmente perché faceva sorridere, e talvolta ridere.
Ma più probabilmente, perché sapeva andare oltre riso e sorriso, sapeva raggiungerne la radice e la fonte: le lacrime.
L’abilità di coniugare i due elementi, lacrima e sorriso, che si possono sovrapporre, per me è stato il tratto distintivo di questo scrittore britannico, che ha cantato la finis Inghilterrae con una leggerezza che i cantori della finis Austriae non sapevano neppure dove abitasse.
Conservatore, perfino nostalgico, ma lucido come pochi, comprese che la Seconda Guerra Mondiale spazzava via definitivamente un’epoca.
E per quello che la precedente era diventata, perdendo i suoi valori di base e formazione, portando a galla le incongruenze e le finzioni di cui era intrecciata, era meglio così. Quel mondo, per lui ideale, scompariva per sempre, perché ormai diventato caricatura di se stesso, cancellato dalla mostruosa macchina di sangue della guerra mondiale
E quindi, strano tipo di nostalgico questo Waugh: se si attribuisce al Gattopardo la frase “cambiare tutto per non cambiare niente” (in realtà mi pare fosse Tancredi a dire Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come è, bisogna che tutto cambi), Waugh direbbe, cambiamo tutto per cambiare davvero.
La serie in undici episodi del 1981 tratta da “Brideshead Revisited – Ritorno a Brideshead” diretta da Charles Sturridge (e Michael Lindsay-Hogg) è una pietra miliare della serialità televisiva dell’epoca, ebbe un grande successo. Jeremy Irons era uno dei due protagonisti.
Uomini alle armi (Men at Arms, 1952) è il primo romanzo della trilogia Spada e onore.
Seguirono Ufficiali e gentiluomini (Officers and Gentlemen, 1955), e per finire, Resa incondizionata (Unconditional Surrender, 1961).
Sono una meraviglia che credo leggerò per la terza volta, mai sazio dei migliori romanzi di Evelyn Waugh, che sa arrivare dove non molti riescono.
Il protagonista è Guy Crouchback, l’ultimo erede maschio di un’aristocratica famiglia nobile e cattolica in declino.
All’inizio del primo romanzo vive ormai da trent’anni nel suo ‘buen retiro’ italiano di Santa Dulcinea delle Rocce e ha alle spalle un primo matrimonio ormai finito, che ha comunque lasciato un ottimo rapporto tra i due ex coniugi (lei se ne è andata con un altro, Guy però se la riprenderebbe).
Villa Altachiara a Portofino servì da modello per la residenza italiana di Guy, il castello Crouchback.
”Adesso il nemico era uno, enorme, odioso, senza maschera. Era l’Età Moderna in armi. Qualunque fosse il risultato c’era posto per lui in quella guerra.” Questi furono i pensieri di Guy Crouchback nel 1939, quando apprese la notizia del patto Ribbentrop-Molotov. Quel che segue è la storia dei tentativi da lui fatti per trovare il suo “posto” in quella guerra.
”A Handful of Dust – Il matrimonio di Lady Brenda” di Charles Sturridge (1988). Un buon film con Kristin Scott Thomas, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Judy Dench, Anjelica Huston, Stephen Fry. Indimenticabile il finale dove appare il sommo Sir Alec Guinness.
Da notare che a fine conflitto, si narra che Churchill abbia pronunciato una celebre frase: We killed the wrong pig. Il maiale sbagliato ucciso era Hitler: quello che sarebbe davvero dovuto essere eliminato era Stalin. E da quel momento iniziò una nuova guerra, quelle denominata “cold war – guerra fredda”.
Questo probabilmente spiega perché l’accordo russo-tedesco del 1939, infiamma l’animo di questo rampollo di nobile stirpe, cresciuto in Kenya e ancora più a lungo in Italia.
Se non che, Guy è ormai un po’ agé per fare la guerra, e quindi fatica a trovare una collocazione. Quando la trova, ha poco a che fare con armi e battaglie.
Infatti, in questo romanzo, e nei due a seguire, di guerra vera, sangue, spari, bombe, armi, battaglie se ne incontrano assai poche.
”The Loved One – Il caro estinto” di Tony Richardson, 1965.
Tutte le richieste di arruolamento presentate da Guy vengono sistematicamente rifiutate. Finché il nostro riesce ad aggirare l’ostacolo accedendo a un corso ufficiali di un corpo speciale, gli alabardieri, esterno agli impedimenti della burocrazia di stato.
Comincia così un lungo training. Che si rivela presto metterlo alla prova: perché per sopraggiunta età, viene soprannominato ‘zio’, ed è circondato solo da pischelli: questi giovani sono scapestrati, fantasiosamente anarchici, insofferenti alla disciplina militare, che è quella che invece Guy insegue sperando di esserne re-istradato sul sentiero di una vita più utile e concreta.
”Bright Young Things” di Stephen Fry (2003) dal romanzo “Vile Bodies – Corpi vili”.
Echi di “Catch 22”, di “M.A.S.H.”, in salsa rigorosamente british. Ciò nonostante Waugh racconta la sua Inghilterra e il suo mondo, assai distante dagli umori a stelle e strisce: c’è molto di autobiografico, ma soprattutto è un buon ‘pasticcio’ di realtà e finzione.
L'upper class, l’aristocrazia snob, le magioni di campagna e i club di città, feste e concerti, matrimoni e tradimenti, vecchi integerrimi e giovani scavezzacollo, padroni e servitori, tic e manie. Più o meno tutti hanno frequentato le stesse scuole, sono spesso imparentati tra loro, vivono di rendita, la conoscenza e il rispetto di regole non scritte è la conditio sine qua non per farne parte.
Waugh affronta ogni cosa seria con leggerezza e ogni cosa leggera con gravità. Qui non è il Waugh umoristico de “Il caro estinto” o “Scoop”: come dicevo prima, l’abilità di passare dal sense-of-humour al tono drammatico è la maggior delizia di questo scrittore.
Ritratto di Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (1903 – 1966).
Daniel Craig è Guy Crouchback nel filmTV del 2001 “Sword of Honour” diretto da Bill Anderson.
Nei miei anni d’università, tra le letture non di studio che ho preferito, Evelyn Waugh ha avuto un posto privilegiato.
Probabilmente perché era inglese, e ho avuto un debole per la letteratura in questa lingua.
Probabilmente perché faceva sorridere, e talvolta ridere.
Ma più probabilmente, perché sapeva andare oltre riso e sorriso, sapeva raggiungerne la radice e la fonte: le lacrime.
L’abilità di coniugare i due elementi, lacrima e sorriso, che si possono sovrapporre, per me è stato il tratto distintivo di questo scrittore britannico, che ha cantato la finis Inghilterrae con una leggerezza che i cantori della finis Austriae non sapevano neppure dove abitasse.
Conservatore, perfino nostalgico, ma lucido come pochi, comprese che la Seconda Guerra Mondiale spazzava via definitivamente un’epoca.
E per quello che la precedente era diventata, perdendo i suoi valori di base e formazione, portando a galla le incongruenze e le finzioni di cui era intrecciata, era meglio così. Quel mondo, per lui ideale, scompariva per sempre, perché ormai diventato caricatura di se stesso, cancellato dalla mostruosa macchina di sangue della guerra mondiale
E quindi, strano tipo di nostalgico questo Waugh: se si attribuisce al Gattopardo la frase “cambiare tutto per non cambiare niente” (in realtà mi pare fosse Tancredi a dire Se vogliamo che tutto rimanga come è, bisogna che tutto cambi), Waugh direbbe, cambiamo tutto per cambiare davvero.
La serie in undici episodi del 1981 tratta da “Brideshead Revisited – Ritorno a Brideshead” diretta da Charles Sturridge (e Michael Lindsay-Hogg) è una pietra miliare della serialità televisiva dell’epoca, ebbe un grande successo. Jeremy Irons era uno dei due protagonisti.
Uomini alle armi (Men at Arms, 1952) è il primo romanzo della trilogia Spada e onore.
Seguirono Ufficiali e gentiluomini (Officers and Gentlemen, 1955), e per finire, Resa incondizionata (Unconditional Surrender, 1961).
Sono una meraviglia che credo leggerò per la terza volta, mai sazio dei migliori romanzi di Evelyn Waugh, che sa arrivare dove non molti riescono.
Il protagonista è Guy Crouchback, l’ultimo erede maschio di un’aristocratica famiglia nobile e cattolica in declino.
All’inizio del primo romanzo vive ormai da trent’anni nel suo ‘buen retiro’ italiano di Santa Dulcinea delle Rocce e ha alle spalle un primo matrimonio ormai finito, che ha comunque lasciato un ottimo rapporto tra i due ex coniugi (lei se ne è andata con un altro, Guy però se la riprenderebbe).
Villa Altachiara a Portofino servì da modello per la residenza italiana di Guy, il castello Crouchback.
”Adesso il nemico era uno, enorme, odioso, senza maschera. Era l’Età Moderna in armi. Qualunque fosse il risultato c’era posto per lui in quella guerra.” Questi furono i pensieri di Guy Crouchback nel 1939, quando apprese la notizia del patto Ribbentrop-Molotov. Quel che segue è la storia dei tentativi da lui fatti per trovare il suo “posto” in quella guerra.
”A Handful of Dust – Il matrimonio di Lady Brenda” di Charles Sturridge (1988). Un buon film con Kristin Scott Thomas, James Wilby, Rupert Graves, Judy Dench, Anjelica Huston, Stephen Fry. Indimenticabile il finale dove appare il sommo Sir Alec Guinness.
Da notare che a fine conflitto, si narra che Churchill abbia pronunciato una celebre frase: We killed the wrong pig. Il maiale sbagliato ucciso era Hitler: quello che sarebbe davvero dovuto essere eliminato era Stalin. E da quel momento iniziò una nuova guerra, quelle denominata “cold war – guerra fredda”.
Questo probabilmente spiega perché l’accordo russo-tedesco del 1939, infiamma l’animo di questo rampollo di nobile stirpe, cresciuto in Kenya e ancora più a lungo in Italia.
Se non che, Guy è ormai un po’ agé per fare la guerra, e quindi fatica a trovare una collocazione. Quando la trova, ha poco a che fare con armi e battaglie.
Infatti, in questo romanzo, e nei due a seguire, di guerra vera, sangue, spari, bombe, armi, battaglie se ne incontrano assai poche.
”The Loved One – Il caro estinto” di Tony Richardson, 1965.
Tutte le richieste di arruolamento presentate da Guy vengono sistematicamente rifiutate. Finché il nostro riesce ad aggirare l’ostacolo accedendo a un corso ufficiali di un corpo speciale, gli alabardieri, esterno agli impedimenti della burocrazia di stato.
Comincia così un lungo training. Che si rivela presto metterlo alla prova: perché per sopraggiunta età, viene soprannominato ‘zio’, ed è circondato solo da pischelli: questi giovani sono scapestrati, fantasiosamente anarchici, insofferenti alla disciplina militare, che è quella che invece Guy insegue sperando di esserne re-istradato sul sentiero di una vita più utile e concreta.
”Bright Young Things” di Stephen Fry (2003) dal romanzo “Vile Bodies – Corpi vili”.
Echi di “Catch 22”, di “M.A.S.H.”, in salsa rigorosamente british. Ciò nonostante Waugh racconta la sua Inghilterra e il suo mondo, assai distante dagli umori a stelle e strisce: c’è molto di autobiografico, ma soprattutto è un buon ‘pasticcio’ di realtà e finzione.
L'upper class, l’aristocrazia snob, le magioni di campagna e i club di città, feste e concerti, matrimoni e tradimenti, vecchi integerrimi e giovani scavezzacollo, padroni e servitori, tic e manie. Più o meno tutti hanno frequentato le stesse scuole, sono spesso imparentati tra loro, vivono di rendita, la conoscenza e il rispetto di regole non scritte è la conditio sine qua non per farne parte.
Waugh affronta ogni cosa seria con leggerezza e ogni cosa leggera con gravità. Qui non è il Waugh umoristico de “Il caro estinto” o “Scoop”: come dicevo prima, l’abilità di passare dal sense-of-humour al tono drammatico è la maggior delizia di questo scrittore.
Ritratto di Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (1903 – 1966).
January 31, 2023
2021 read: Waugh's modern classic originally published in 1952 tells the story of upper middle class Guy Crouchback having returned from Fascist Italy to London desperate to take part in the war effort. He gets a non commissioned officer with the Royal Corps of the Halberdiers, and this darkly comic story related the tale of his induction, training and first war mission. There's plenty of evidence of Waugh's powerful ability to use language to create a reality and tell a story in this work based on his wartime diary / experience. I was indeed mesmerised for the first two thirds of this book to a degree, but it never really changed and when the story left behind the darkly comedic and wonderfully created 'officers in training' section and moved into the war arena, it lost some of its shine for me. 6 out of 12.
October 20, 2020
The best way to describe this book in a word or two is to ask you to imagine M*A*S*H played out with aristocratic gentlemen and high ranking but inept military figures in a British milieu. Less plebeian, more posh, a bit more sophisticated--quite simply British rather than American. It offers a sharp criticism of war and of the military. Isn’t it better to deliver a message through humor rather than through a didactic sermon or a lecture?
The humor is a mix of satire with a message and simple, laugh out loud amusing scenarios. I am sure you are going to crack a smile when you read about officer Apthorpe’s “thunderbox”. You don’t know what a “thunderbox” is? Figuring this out is part of the fun! British idioms abound. For the most part, they are not difficult to get a handle on from the context.
Men at Arms is the first of a trilogy, the second and the third being Officers and Gentlemen followed by Unconditional Surrender. In 1965 the three were revised and collected into a one volume edition--The Sword of Honour Trilogy. It is this version Waugh recommended. It was not available to me.
The books are a fictionalized version of Waugh’s experiences during the Second World War.
The three stories belong together; stopping somewhere in the middle is not an alternative. It is impossible to accurately rate the first book separately, but at this point I have opted out for three stars. I like it enough to want to continue. I sense the beginning of a change in the central figure’s personality. I am curious to see where this will lead.
Christian Rodska narrates the three separate audiobooks. He dramatizes. He dramatizes in spades. At times, the dramatization is superb; I like how he performs the lines of Apthorpe, referred to above, and Guy, the central character and substitute for Waugh. Other military figures are blatantly exaggerated to further enhance the satire. This is not always pleasant to listen to. The listening experience is, on the other hand, immersive, if that is what you are looking for. Some words are impossible to decipher no matter how many times you rewind and relisten. The narration I have given three stars.
On concluding this, I have immediately begun the next in the series.
***********************'
*Brideshead Revisited 4 stars
*Decline and Fall 3 stars
*A Handful of Dust 2 stars
The Sword of Honour Trilogy
or
*Men at Arms 3 stars
*Officers and Gentlemen 2 stars
*Unconditional Surrender not-for-me
*Scoop TBR
The humor is a mix of satire with a message and simple, laugh out loud amusing scenarios. I am sure you are going to crack a smile when you read about officer Apthorpe’s “thunderbox”. You don’t know what a “thunderbox” is? Figuring this out is part of the fun! British idioms abound. For the most part, they are not difficult to get a handle on from the context.
Men at Arms is the first of a trilogy, the second and the third being Officers and Gentlemen followed by Unconditional Surrender. In 1965 the three were revised and collected into a one volume edition--The Sword of Honour Trilogy. It is this version Waugh recommended. It was not available to me.
The books are a fictionalized version of Waugh’s experiences during the Second World War.
The three stories belong together; stopping somewhere in the middle is not an alternative. It is impossible to accurately rate the first book separately, but at this point I have opted out for three stars. I like it enough to want to continue. I sense the beginning of a change in the central figure’s personality. I am curious to see where this will lead.
Christian Rodska narrates the three separate audiobooks. He dramatizes. He dramatizes in spades. At times, the dramatization is superb; I like how he performs the lines of Apthorpe, referred to above, and Guy, the central character and substitute for Waugh. Other military figures are blatantly exaggerated to further enhance the satire. This is not always pleasant to listen to. The listening experience is, on the other hand, immersive, if that is what you are looking for. Some words are impossible to decipher no matter how many times you rewind and relisten. The narration I have given three stars.
On concluding this, I have immediately begun the next in the series.
***********************'
*Brideshead Revisited 4 stars
*Decline and Fall 3 stars
*A Handful of Dust 2 stars
The Sword of Honour Trilogy
or
*Men at Arms 3 stars
*Officers and Gentlemen 2 stars
*Unconditional Surrender not-for-me
*Scoop TBR
February 16, 2021
Part 1 of Sword of Honour.
What fun - a bit like a cross between MASH, PG Wodehouse and Brideshead!
An upper class British Catholic divorcé leaves his home in Italy at the start of WW2 to try to join the army, and eventually succeeds.
The story is populated by quirky characters and strange coincidences, with glimpses of poignancy. Most of the characters are in a perpetual state of genial incomprehension and incompetence.
Waugh served in WW2 and if his experience was anything like what was described, it's amazing that we won. However, there are clearly some parallels, as the book is peppered with mentions of specific dates and events (helpfully explained in footnotes, in my edition).
Apthorpe's too literal "thunderbox", the old colonel that should have retired but no one quite wants to tell him he's not needed any more, bizarre and nonsensical bureaucracy, all beautifully written.
And best of all, there are two sequels - let's hope they're as good.
My (brief) reviews of the other two in the trilogy:
Officers and Gentlemen
and
Unconditional Surrender
What fun - a bit like a cross between MASH, PG Wodehouse and Brideshead!
An upper class British Catholic divorcé leaves his home in Italy at the start of WW2 to try to join the army, and eventually succeeds.
The story is populated by quirky characters and strange coincidences, with glimpses of poignancy. Most of the characters are in a perpetual state of genial incomprehension and incompetence.
Waugh served in WW2 and if his experience was anything like what was described, it's amazing that we won. However, there are clearly some parallels, as the book is peppered with mentions of specific dates and events (helpfully explained in footnotes, in my edition).
Apthorpe's too literal "thunderbox", the old colonel that should have retired but no one quite wants to tell him he's not needed any more, bizarre and nonsensical bureaucracy, all beautifully written.
And best of all, there are two sequels - let's hope they're as good.
My (brief) reviews of the other two in the trilogy:
Officers and Gentlemen
and
Unconditional Surrender
January 5, 2018
‘Men at Arms’ (1952) by Evelyn Waugh is the first part of Waugh’s ‘Sword of Honour’ trilogy of books (along with ‘Officers and Gentlemen’ and ‘Unconditional Surrender’).
‘Men at Arms’ tells the story of Guy Crouchback and his endeavours to, in his way – play his part, do his bit and get actively involved in World War II and The British Army.
Unfortunately, I struggled to engage with either the narrative or the main protagonist. ‘Men at Arms’ is a novel that reads, at least for the most part, as a somewhat uninspiring, pedestrian and underwhelming story of an over-privileged member of upper class English society – playing at war, playing with an honourable view of being a soldier, a member of The British Army; trying to play his part and do his bit.
Eventually, Crouchback is commissioned into the fictional Royal Corp of Halberdiers, which seemingly operates in turns more along the lines of a gentleman’s club; an old boy’s network or a minor public school. (I am presuming that is probably the intention?). In the course of Crouchback’s military endeavours to do his bit – he finds himself regularly lost and somewhat out of his depth.
Apparently Waugh’s ‘Sword of Honour’ trilogy is deemed to be a ‘satirical masterpiece’ – which unfortunately for me (at least based on this first instalment) it was not. Sadly, ‘Men at Arms’ lacked any real interest and was ultimately tedious and uninspiring more or less throughout. Over and above the somewhat dull central story of Crouchbacks attempts to ‘play his part’ – the core of the novel seems to focus tediously on the inadequacies and the poorly managed logistics concerning The British Army at that time, along with the interests of those therein.
Disappointingly, ‘Men at Arms’ doesn’t entertain, amuse, inspire, excite or even greatly interest; neither does it paint an insightful and wisely satirical portrait of either our main protagonist, The British Army, the British ‘war effort’ or Britain and its class/social structures at that time.
Mildly diverting at best – disappointing to say the least. On this basis I have no plans to read the remaining instalments in the trilogy, but do however still hold out high hope of Waugh’s ‘Brideshead Revisited.
‘Men at Arms’ tells the story of Guy Crouchback and his endeavours to, in his way – play his part, do his bit and get actively involved in World War II and The British Army.
Unfortunately, I struggled to engage with either the narrative or the main protagonist. ‘Men at Arms’ is a novel that reads, at least for the most part, as a somewhat uninspiring, pedestrian and underwhelming story of an over-privileged member of upper class English society – playing at war, playing with an honourable view of being a soldier, a member of The British Army; trying to play his part and do his bit.
Eventually, Crouchback is commissioned into the fictional Royal Corp of Halberdiers, which seemingly operates in turns more along the lines of a gentleman’s club; an old boy’s network or a minor public school. (I am presuming that is probably the intention?). In the course of Crouchback’s military endeavours to do his bit – he finds himself regularly lost and somewhat out of his depth.
Apparently Waugh’s ‘Sword of Honour’ trilogy is deemed to be a ‘satirical masterpiece’ – which unfortunately for me (at least based on this first instalment) it was not. Sadly, ‘Men at Arms’ lacked any real interest and was ultimately tedious and uninspiring more or less throughout. Over and above the somewhat dull central story of Crouchbacks attempts to ‘play his part’ – the core of the novel seems to focus tediously on the inadequacies and the poorly managed logistics concerning The British Army at that time, along with the interests of those therein.
Disappointingly, ‘Men at Arms’ doesn’t entertain, amuse, inspire, excite or even greatly interest; neither does it paint an insightful and wisely satirical portrait of either our main protagonist, The British Army, the British ‘war effort’ or Britain and its class/social structures at that time.
Mildly diverting at best – disappointing to say the least. On this basis I have no plans to read the remaining instalments in the trilogy, but do however still hold out high hope of Waugh’s ‘Brideshead Revisited.
March 12, 2023
"Gentlemen rankers out on the spree
Damned from here to Eternity
God ha' mercy on such as we
Baa! Yah! Bah!" - Rudyard Kipling
In his effusive and affectionate tribute to his peer and best friend Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene remarked rather astutely that "there was always, in Evelyn, a conflict between the satirist and the romantic." This applies perfectly to the two most recognisable aspects of Waugh's works - the serious, even elegiac novels that were wistfully nostalgic about an older, more traditional England and the broad, savage farces that mocked all and sundry with droll irreverence. The Sword Of Honour trilogy of novels, revolving around Guy Crouchback, an almost-middle-aged Englishman and his futile attempts to achieve some glory on the battlefields of the Second World War, was his attempt to blend both these facets but a closer look reveals, in Greene's unerring judgement, that it expressed his disillusionment with the Army.
It is easy to see the resemblance. Crouchback is very recognisably an alter-ego for Waugh himself, who himself joined the war in his late thirties, was disillusioned after the failure of his first marriage and who was also trying to reconcile himself diligently to the new faith he had chosen - Catholicism. Unlike his more open-minded and reflexive friend Greene however, Waugh was indeed a traditionalist, wherein his "romanticism" might have lain coiled to strike with "cynical" malice at the unprecedented cultural changes sweeping through Britain. However, "Men At Arms" is primarily a scathing and scabrous, despite the silken turns of phrase and acid wit, attack on the pompous formality of the Army and the eventual ignoble futility of war itself. The story follows Crouchback as he alternately struggles and succeeds at establishing himself as a worthy soldier in the relentless rigmarole of training and then at the frustrating flap of action and inaction on the very brink of military engagement as things go berserk across the continent with the beginning of the 1940s.
It is worth mentioning here however that while "Men At Arms" is primarily concerned with chronicling the (mis)fortunes and (mis)adventures of Crouchback, the novel is divided into chapters that mention a secondary character in their titles. That character is Apthorpe, Crouchback's fellow thirty-something conscript, a Monty-Python archetype of a cocksure army officer who is interestingly also something of an unabashed romantic, full of Quixotic ideas of heroism and even hygiene, fond of footwear and of carrying along his gear from one training encampment to another and prone quite easily to hilarious and not so hilarious hangovers. This seems like a deliberate decision on Waugh's side; he strives to contrast the almost adolescent idealism of Apthorpe, that suffers its fatal blow in an uproarious scene of catharsis with the more cautious idealism of Crouchback that gradually gives way to an equally exasperated form of disillusionment. The repartee between these two characters lends some of the most memorably witty segments of the novel, not quite preparing us for the devastating end that awaits them both.
In a sense too, the pitch-perfect humour of the novel is also demonstrative of this paradoxical contrast. It is at times almost deadpan and dry-witted, though always chuckle-worthy and on occasions, almost outrageous and even hilariously scandalous. This is again intentional of Waugh - even his broad satire of sensationalist journalism "Scoop" (hitherto the only Waugh novel I had read) exhibits this uneasy contrast - uneasy because, just as the romantic and the cynical aspects don't quite fit in smoothly, the satire and the slapstick do not always compliment each other. The duality of humour in Waugh's prose reminded me of Greene's "Travels With My Aunt" - a novel which let both the manic and depressive facets of its author's personality loose to delightful yet delicately poignant effect - that novel was both a rollicking, irreverent romp and a nostalgic and even love-lorn ode to a colourful and not necessarily innocent past far from dying out but there is another crucial difference. Greene was capable, even more than Waugh, of creating extremely compelling, believable and even enjoyably flawed characters while the latter merely drew his characters as entertaining caricatures - which is why we never quite believe Crouchback's yearning for glory or understand just what makes Apthorpe stick out as a sore thumb in his team.
That is perhaps a bit of a disappointment for at heart, beneath its deconstruction of heroism and patriotism, "Men At Arms" is a surprisingly sombre, even dispiriting portrait of the chaos and banality of war, of the ultimate defeat of pride and honour on an ignoble battlefield and how men's spirits can be rendered bereft of heroism or courage by the senseless tumult of these proceedings. Above all, Waugh must have been disillusioned with the Army indeed - his cartwheeling depiction of the boredom and mediocrity of the establishment and then at the domineering force of authority, as represented by the vicious and delusional Brigadier Ritchie Hook, a character with his own reserve of almost dangerous Quixotic idealism that borders on sadism, rings very true and plausible because one senses this happening not only in the army but in every organisation of the modern world today. His clipped prose style, vivid yet trimmed and finely cut as a well-tailored military uniform, also renders many scenes remarkably and also lets in a whiff, from time to time, of upheavals unfolding on the bigger stage of the global conflict, upheavals that cause domestic situations no less eventful or dramatic.
"Men At Arms" is indeed a strange beast of a novel - it is both hilarious and deeply upsetting, it is charmingly droll and even delightful and downright cynical and it does not really give the reader a very cheerful note to end on so as to whet his or her appetite up for the next novel in the trilogy. That said, Waugh was indeed a writer of consummate skill and perceptive insight and even a seriously flawed novel by a good writer is immeasurably better and worthier of reading than most other fiction, indeed.
Damned from here to Eternity
God ha' mercy on such as we
Baa! Yah! Bah!" - Rudyard Kipling
In his effusive and affectionate tribute to his peer and best friend Evelyn Waugh, Graham Greene remarked rather astutely that "there was always, in Evelyn, a conflict between the satirist and the romantic." This applies perfectly to the two most recognisable aspects of Waugh's works - the serious, even elegiac novels that were wistfully nostalgic about an older, more traditional England and the broad, savage farces that mocked all and sundry with droll irreverence. The Sword Of Honour trilogy of novels, revolving around Guy Crouchback, an almost-middle-aged Englishman and his futile attempts to achieve some glory on the battlefields of the Second World War, was his attempt to blend both these facets but a closer look reveals, in Greene's unerring judgement, that it expressed his disillusionment with the Army.
It is easy to see the resemblance. Crouchback is very recognisably an alter-ego for Waugh himself, who himself joined the war in his late thirties, was disillusioned after the failure of his first marriage and who was also trying to reconcile himself diligently to the new faith he had chosen - Catholicism. Unlike his more open-minded and reflexive friend Greene however, Waugh was indeed a traditionalist, wherein his "romanticism" might have lain coiled to strike with "cynical" malice at the unprecedented cultural changes sweeping through Britain. However, "Men At Arms" is primarily a scathing and scabrous, despite the silken turns of phrase and acid wit, attack on the pompous formality of the Army and the eventual ignoble futility of war itself. The story follows Crouchback as he alternately struggles and succeeds at establishing himself as a worthy soldier in the relentless rigmarole of training and then at the frustrating flap of action and inaction on the very brink of military engagement as things go berserk across the continent with the beginning of the 1940s.
It is worth mentioning here however that while "Men At Arms" is primarily concerned with chronicling the (mis)fortunes and (mis)adventures of Crouchback, the novel is divided into chapters that mention a secondary character in their titles. That character is Apthorpe, Crouchback's fellow thirty-something conscript, a Monty-Python archetype of a cocksure army officer who is interestingly also something of an unabashed romantic, full of Quixotic ideas of heroism and even hygiene, fond of footwear and of carrying along his gear from one training encampment to another and prone quite easily to hilarious and not so hilarious hangovers. This seems like a deliberate decision on Waugh's side; he strives to contrast the almost adolescent idealism of Apthorpe, that suffers its fatal blow in an uproarious scene of catharsis with the more cautious idealism of Crouchback that gradually gives way to an equally exasperated form of disillusionment. The repartee between these two characters lends some of the most memorably witty segments of the novel, not quite preparing us for the devastating end that awaits them both.
In a sense too, the pitch-perfect humour of the novel is also demonstrative of this paradoxical contrast. It is at times almost deadpan and dry-witted, though always chuckle-worthy and on occasions, almost outrageous and even hilariously scandalous. This is again intentional of Waugh - even his broad satire of sensationalist journalism "Scoop" (hitherto the only Waugh novel I had read) exhibits this uneasy contrast - uneasy because, just as the romantic and the cynical aspects don't quite fit in smoothly, the satire and the slapstick do not always compliment each other. The duality of humour in Waugh's prose reminded me of Greene's "Travels With My Aunt" - a novel which let both the manic and depressive facets of its author's personality loose to delightful yet delicately poignant effect - that novel was both a rollicking, irreverent romp and a nostalgic and even love-lorn ode to a colourful and not necessarily innocent past far from dying out but there is another crucial difference. Greene was capable, even more than Waugh, of creating extremely compelling, believable and even enjoyably flawed characters while the latter merely drew his characters as entertaining caricatures - which is why we never quite believe Crouchback's yearning for glory or understand just what makes Apthorpe stick out as a sore thumb in his team.
That is perhaps a bit of a disappointment for at heart, beneath its deconstruction of heroism and patriotism, "Men At Arms" is a surprisingly sombre, even dispiriting portrait of the chaos and banality of war, of the ultimate defeat of pride and honour on an ignoble battlefield and how men's spirits can be rendered bereft of heroism or courage by the senseless tumult of these proceedings. Above all, Waugh must have been disillusioned with the Army indeed - his cartwheeling depiction of the boredom and mediocrity of the establishment and then at the domineering force of authority, as represented by the vicious and delusional Brigadier Ritchie Hook, a character with his own reserve of almost dangerous Quixotic idealism that borders on sadism, rings very true and plausible because one senses this happening not only in the army but in every organisation of the modern world today. His clipped prose style, vivid yet trimmed and finely cut as a well-tailored military uniform, also renders many scenes remarkably and also lets in a whiff, from time to time, of upheavals unfolding on the bigger stage of the global conflict, upheavals that cause domestic situations no less eventful or dramatic.
"Men At Arms" is indeed a strange beast of a novel - it is both hilarious and deeply upsetting, it is charmingly droll and even delightful and downright cynical and it does not really give the reader a very cheerful note to end on so as to whet his or her appetite up for the next novel in the trilogy. That said, Waugh was indeed a writer of consummate skill and perceptive insight and even a seriously flawed novel by a good writer is immeasurably better and worthier of reading than most other fiction, indeed.
May 27, 2025
Само не разбрах - така ли е било, както го описва Уо или той преднамерено жестоко се подиграва с нефелността и безсилието на една прогнила империя...
И докато някои си играят на войници в дълбокия тил, други оставят костите си по кървавите полета на ВСВ.
Във всеоръжието са на мода безумието, парвенющината и нонсенса, до степен способна да отврати читателя. Трудно ми е даже да съжаля Краучбак, достоен персонаж от комедията на абсурда, наречена английска армия.
И още веднъж, вездесъщия "Параграф 22" властва на воля!
И докато някои си играят на войници в дълбокия тил, други оставят костите си по кървавите полета на ВСВ.
Във всеоръжието са на мода безумието, парвенющината и нонсенса, до степен способна да отврати читателя. Трудно ми е даже да съжаля Краучбак, достоен персонаж от комедията на абсурда, наречена английска армия.
И още веднъж, вездесъщия "Параграф 22" властва на воля!
July 4, 2023
I like Waugh, and all his good old fashion English upper class snobbery. And I love WW2 lit, but didn't want to commit to the Sword of Honour trilogy that is packed into one volume, so opted for a pre-owned copy of the first novel only, just in case things didn't work out the way I'd hoped. It's safe to say now that I'll read books two & three, just at another time.
With Waugh having served in both the Royal Marines and the Royal Horse Guards, the novel is very much semi-autobiographical in nature - like his anti-hero protagonist Guy Crouchback, Waugh was also deemed to old for active service but was helped by his friend Randolph Churchill - so the experiences of army life, both training, which gets a lot of focus here, along with his various postings, have a lot of realistic weight to them. Guy, a strict Catholic with a failed marriage behind him - on leave a run-in with his ex-wife in London results in a plan to seduce, isn't the most likeable of characters to begin with, but I warmed to him much more as the novel moved forward, while some of the other characters, like Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, who orchestrates a clandestine raid on the African coast later on, not so much. The raid itself, and the severed head of an African soldier which is seen as a prize, is the closest thing to the real combat of war, as mostly it's happening off-stage.
Unlike his early satirical comedies, Men at Arms, although there are moments of farce and toilet humour, and individual scenes one could find quite funny, I still found an all together melancholic seriousness in its veins. A really good start to what I hope will be a great trilogy.
June 1, 2025
Men at Arms is a pretty much perfect amalgam of Waugh's absurdist early comedies with the more mature tone of Brideshead Revisited. Guy Crouchback is our non-protagonist, an unremarkable, upperclass Catholic who joins the army at age 35 at the start of World War II. From there, he's picked up and blown about on the current of bureaucracy, ineptitude, and petty power struggles that defines army life.
The comic elements of the book are excellent, notably the character of Apthorpe, Guy's fellow "Uncle" in the regiment. Apthorpe is a gloriously un-self-aware drunk and blowhard who inspires some of Waugh's funniest passages.
At the same time, Apthorpe comes to embody the soul of the story. (The major sections of the book are even named in his honor.) He's ridiculous, but through a series of mishaps, he ends up gaining a kind of misplaced glory, which is inspiring to the younger soldiers nonetheless.
And that's really the point of the book. Unlike Decline and Fall, this isn't about nihilism. Waugh is clear that the English are fighting for a just cause. That doesn't mean that army life isn't still full of indignities and disappointments—only that those are unavoidable detours on what one hopes is the path to a greater good.
A few days after finishing this, I found myself thinking about Guy and all the ridiculous ups and downs that he experiences, and I felt such a sense of comfort. After all, what else is life but a series of problems, many of which aren't our fault, interspersed with a few minor triumphs and a vague sense that it's all worth something?
The comic elements of the book are excellent, notably the character of Apthorpe, Guy's fellow "Uncle" in the regiment. Apthorpe is a gloriously un-self-aware drunk and blowhard who inspires some of Waugh's funniest passages.
But Apthorpe did not move. He sat goggling sadly. It was like watching the ball at roulette running slow and slower, trickling over the numbers. What would turn up next: Women? Africa? Health? Golf? It clicked into Boots.
At the same time, Apthorpe comes to embody the soul of the story. (The major sections of the book are even named in his honor.) He's ridiculous, but through a series of mishaps, he ends up gaining a kind of misplaced glory, which is inspiring to the younger soldiers nonetheless.
And that's really the point of the book. Unlike Decline and Fall, this isn't about nihilism. Waugh is clear that the English are fighting for a just cause. That doesn't mean that army life isn't still full of indignities and disappointments—only that those are unavoidable detours on what one hopes is the path to a greater good.
The Halberdiers had been too much shifted, exhorted and disappointed during recent weeks. They accepted as part of their normal day the series of orders and cancellations and mishaps. Shore leave was given and then stopped; censorship of letters was raised and re-imposed; the ship cast off, fouled an anchor, returned to the quayside; the stores were disembarked and reimbarked in "tactical order." And then quite suddenly one afternoon, they sailed.
A few days after finishing this, I found myself thinking about Guy and all the ridiculous ups and downs that he experiences, and I felt such a sense of comfort. After all, what else is life but a series of problems, many of which aren't our fault, interspersed with a few minor triumphs and a vague sense that it's all worth something?
March 21, 2023
Коли ми приїхали на стрільбище в Англії і виявилося, що доки одні вояки стріляють, інші повинні підіймати для них мішені руками, сидячи в окопі, потім рахувати попадання і заліплювати дірки, мені спершу здалося, що це такий жарт, але тепер, приблизно через пів року, читаючи "Чоловіки у війську" Івліна Во, де його герой – майбутній офіцер Ґай Краучбек робить на стрільбищі точнісінько все те саме, що робив я, навіть збирає гільзи, розумію, як мало змінюються військові структури навіть у масштабах багатьох десятиліть.
Мобілізовані англійські вояки та добровольці постійно кудись раптово переміщаються, отримують, подім здають, потім знову отримують різноманітне військове причандалля, охороняють самі себе, остерігаються нападу уявного десанту – то з неба, то з моря – полюють на місцевих чабанів, чий шотландський акцент лякає їх "німецькою" вимовою, займаються стройовою та військовою підготовкою, вивчають Королівський Статут і чекають відправки у Францію. Тобто роблять практично все те саме, чим займаються мобілізовані, добровольці та кадрові військові ЗСУ весь час після повномасштабного вторгнення росіян, перш ніж потраплять на передову.
Ґай Краучбек та його колеги рано бо пізно очолять взводи та роти, отримають нові звання, братимуть участь в секретних і безглуздих операціях, а наразі ходять у звільнення на вихідні та п'ють віскі в клубах.
Сам Івлін Во під час Другої світової війни служив у морській піхоті, але більшість своїх персонажів помістив до складу вигаданого Алебардного полку. Утім деякі герої його трилогії "Клинок честі", котру відкриває роман "Чоловіки у війську", мали і реальних натхненників.
Під час читання цього класичного роману англійської літератури з'являється відчуття, що рано або пізно весь цей абсурд і фарс, якими зазвичай наповнені військова підготовка та побут, незабаром обернуться трагедією.
Так, наприклад, один із персонажів, який каже "...я точно знаю, що потрібно мені: Військовий хрест і малюсінька охайна ранка. Тоді решту війни я проведу під наглядом гарненьких медсестричок." потрапляє в полон або гине у Франції – військова пошта часто неточна і доля багатьох вояків довго залишається невідомою...
Мобілізовані англійські вояки та добровольці постійно кудись раптово переміщаються, отримують, подім здають, потім знову отримують різноманітне військове причандалля, охороняють самі себе, остерігаються нападу уявного десанту – то з неба, то з моря – полюють на місцевих чабанів, чий шотландський акцент лякає їх "німецькою" вимовою, займаються стройовою та військовою підготовкою, вивчають Королівський Статут і чекають відправки у Францію. Тобто роблять практично все те саме, чим займаються мобілізовані, добровольці та кадрові військові ЗСУ весь час після повномасштабного вторгнення росіян, перш ніж потраплять на передову.
Ґай Краучбек та його колеги рано бо пізно очолять взводи та роти, отримають нові звання, братимуть участь в секретних і безглуздих операціях, а наразі ходять у звільнення на вихідні та п'ють віскі в клубах.
Сам Івлін Во під час Другої світової війни служив у морській піхоті, але більшість своїх персонажів помістив до складу вигаданого Алебардного полку. Утім деякі герої його трилогії "Клинок честі", котру відкриває роман "Чоловіки у війську", мали і реальних натхненників.
Під час читання цього класичного роману англійської літератури з'являється відчуття, що рано або пізно весь цей абсурд і фарс, якими зазвичай наповнені військова підготовка та побут, незабаром обернуться трагедією.
Так, наприклад, один із персонажів, який каже "...я точно знаю, що потрібно мені: Військовий хрест і малюсінька охайна ранка. Тоді решту війни я проведу під наглядом гарненьких медсестричок." потрапляє в полон або гине у Франції – військова пошта часто неточна і доля багатьох вояків довго залишається невідомою...
April 19, 2011
After having been somewhat underwhelmed with Waugh's Decline and Fall, I had modest expectations for Men at Arms, but I ended up really enjoying it, and anticipate reading the last two books of the Sword of Honour (no omitting U's, please, we're British) trilogy. Full of dry and absurd humor, and infused with the gravity of World War II, the book follows in serial form the misadventures of our protagonist, Guy Crouchback, as he transitions from dreaming of playing solider to facing the daily mundanity and drudgery, interspersed with the occasional thrill, of life in the military. Seems pretty quintessentially British -- imperialism, stiff upper lip, the whole bit. I'm tickled to be reading the same paperback copy that my mom had in college. Hope I can pass down some books like this one day. Entertaining, well written and engaging.
July 17, 2019
If you, like me, have been reared on tales of the second World War as the just and virtuous struggle of the "greatest generation", Evelyn Waugh's arch novels (based loosely on his own war experiences) are an important and darkly enjoyable filling out of that two-dimensional view. The stakes here are still high. But the inevitable absurdities and inhumanities of a huge bureaucracy trying to lurch itself into action is here too. As the first novel of the Sword of Honor trilogy nears its climax, officers in the regiment are engaged in a life-and-death struggle for property rights over a portable Victorian chemical toilet while (as Waugh notes several times through the book) "Far away, trains rolled to the east with their innocent cargo."
March 13, 2023
An interesting historical fiction novel set in England during World War Two. The protagonist, Guy Crouchback, is in his mid thirties. His marriage failed and he moved to the family villa in Italy. He is a strict Catholic and cannot remarry. He volunteers to join the British army on learning of the declaration of war in 1939.
Much of the novel is about training as an officer and various random postings around England. His fellow officers are a bunch of oddballs!
There are some humorous scenes such as Guy’s attempt to seduce his ex wife, and the scene about a chemical toilet, highlighting how farcical army life can be.
A character based novel that reads like a memoir. The book is semi autobiographical, drawing from Waugh’s experiences of army life.
This book was first published in 1952.
Much of the novel is about training as an officer and various random postings around England. His fellow officers are a bunch of oddballs!
There are some humorous scenes such as Guy’s attempt to seduce his ex wife, and the scene about a chemical toilet, highlighting how farcical army life can be.
A character based novel that reads like a memoir. The book is semi autobiographical, drawing from Waugh’s experiences of army life.
This book was first published in 1952.
February 9, 2020
The ‘Sword of Honour’ is a World War Two trilogy that wonderfully evokes time and place and the delightful insouciance of its central character, Guy Crouchback makes him a reliable narrator. The series chronicles many aspects of war not necessarily visible in other WW2 writings, like the way the British class system played out in separating the officers from the rank and file, and occasioned the setting up of hierarchical structures in the British Army negating much of its efficacy as a fighting unit.
So much of Evelyn Waugh’s wonderful writing is founded on his characterisation based upon acute observation of amusing and bizarre personalities. Waugh’s own diaries show his personal life was chaotic with a failed marriage behind him after being cuckolded by a beautiful society wife, and an awkwardness with his own children, and his utter contempt for so many of his 'set'. He was himself cantankerous, mischievous, and spiteful, and he merely played at being a country gentlemen, although his family was of ancient lineage, and was 'disowned' by many of his associates and acquaintances. And his writing in ‘Men at Arms’ is, as usual, as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel; withering and scathing in pointing out pomposity and bunkum.
In Bellamy’s, his London club, we learn of Guy’s matrimonial difficulties in choosing Virginia, a ‘wrong-un’ who proved to be a ‘bolter’ ...
‘As Guy passed a member who greeted him another turned and asked : “Who was that ? Someone new isn’t it?”
‘No, he’s belonged for ages. You’ll never guess who he is. Virginia Troy’s first husband.’
‘Really? I thought she was married to Tommy Blackhouse.’
‘This chap was before Tommy. Can’t remember his name. I think he lives in Kenya. Tommy took her from him, then Gussie had her for a bit, then Bert Troy picked her up when she was going spare.’
So much of Evelyn Waugh’s wonderful writing is founded on his characterisation based upon acute observation of amusing and bizarre personalities. Waugh’s own diaries show his personal life was chaotic with a failed marriage behind him after being cuckolded by a beautiful society wife, and an awkwardness with his own children, and his utter contempt for so many of his 'set'. He was himself cantankerous, mischievous, and spiteful, and he merely played at being a country gentlemen, although his family was of ancient lineage, and was 'disowned' by many of his associates and acquaintances. And his writing in ‘Men at Arms’ is, as usual, as sharp as a surgeon’s scalpel; withering and scathing in pointing out pomposity and bunkum.
In Bellamy’s, his London club, we learn of Guy’s matrimonial difficulties in choosing Virginia, a ‘wrong-un’ who proved to be a ‘bolter’ ...
‘As Guy passed a member who greeted him another turned and asked : “Who was that ? Someone new isn’t it?”
‘No, he’s belonged for ages. You’ll never guess who he is. Virginia Troy’s first husband.’
‘Really? I thought she was married to Tommy Blackhouse.’
‘This chap was before Tommy. Can’t remember his name. I think he lives in Kenya. Tommy took her from him, then Gussie had her for a bit, then Bert Troy picked her up when she was going spare.’
January 9, 2026
That was a highly enjoyable, if very episodic, read. We don't get much of a charactor from anybody involved - it's kind of like a Catholic M*A*S*H crossed with Dad's Army crossed with Lucky Jim. How we ever won the war if this is what it was like, I'll never know.
September 1, 2013
I started reading this inspired by a good Channel 4 dramatization of Waugh’s Sword of Honour trilogy, starring Daniel Craig. I hadn’t read it before, though Waugh’s hilarious manic early novels were formative reading for me. I didn’t get on particularly well with Brideshead Revisited and assumed I only liked Waugh in his most straightwardly comic mode.
I was wrong! Men of Arms, which I read in the slightly modified version Waugh prepared in 1965 for the single-volume The Sword of Honour Trilogy, is an immensely enjoyable read. There’s undoubtedly a certain somberness to the narrative material. The protagonist—emphatically not “hero”—Guy Crouchback, is mildly depressed at the beginning of the novel, which starts with the outbreak of WW2 in 1939. Despite his initial embrace of the war as supplying meaning to his life, and his rather touching, schoolboy-crush feeling of warmth towards the regiment he joins, the fictional Royal Corps of Halbadiers (apparently loosely based on Waugh’s own regiment, the Royal Marines), the relationship is already deteriorating by the end of the novel, with a fair prospect of worse to come. Guy’s military training is presented as a rather surreal chapter of accidents, begotten by bureaucratic inefficiency out of borderline lunacy. Rules are followed, social niceties observed, pink gins consumed, myopic target practice endured, while inconceivable savagery is unleashed in continental Europe, not so far away. At a couple of points, Waugh reminds us of the “trains of locked vans still rolling East and West from Poland and the Baltic, that were to roll on year after year bearing their innocent loads to unknown ghastly destinations” (I assume the moral equivalency of the Nazi death camps and the Soviet gulags was an important statement on Waugh’s part at the moment of publication).
Given this generally miserable subject-matter, what I was amazed by was what an enjoyable read it was. Men at Arms has a large component of the antic spirit that is such a delight in Waugh’s earlier novels. Guy’s eccentric training comrade Apthorpe, a master of the surreal non-sequitur, is a magnificent comic character. I am not the greatest fan of toilet humor, but the extended sequence concerning Apthorpe’s battle with a mad-dog brigadier over possession of an Edwardian portable “thunderbox” is a masterpiece of its kind. The brigadier, Ben Ritchie-Hook, with his manic energy and sinister relish for “biffing” (a.k.a war) is also very fine (though Waugh had some help with reality here. The Wikipedia entry for the figure on whom this character is supposed to be based, Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, states that he was “shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip and ear, survived a plane crash, tunneled out of a POW camp, and bit off his own fingers when a doctor wouldn't amputate them. He later said ‘frankly I … enjoyed the war.’”)
There were so many lines in this novel that made me laugh out loud that it seems invidious to single out one. But I did particularly love this acute Freudian insight, from an army doctor in Africa, where the disturbing final section of the novel is set:
Queer bird, the mind. Hides things away and then out they pop. But I musn’t get too technical.
I was wrong! Men of Arms, which I read in the slightly modified version Waugh prepared in 1965 for the single-volume The Sword of Honour Trilogy, is an immensely enjoyable read. There’s undoubtedly a certain somberness to the narrative material. The protagonist—emphatically not “hero”—Guy Crouchback, is mildly depressed at the beginning of the novel, which starts with the outbreak of WW2 in 1939. Despite his initial embrace of the war as supplying meaning to his life, and his rather touching, schoolboy-crush feeling of warmth towards the regiment he joins, the fictional Royal Corps of Halbadiers (apparently loosely based on Waugh’s own regiment, the Royal Marines), the relationship is already deteriorating by the end of the novel, with a fair prospect of worse to come. Guy’s military training is presented as a rather surreal chapter of accidents, begotten by bureaucratic inefficiency out of borderline lunacy. Rules are followed, social niceties observed, pink gins consumed, myopic target practice endured, while inconceivable savagery is unleashed in continental Europe, not so far away. At a couple of points, Waugh reminds us of the “trains of locked vans still rolling East and West from Poland and the Baltic, that were to roll on year after year bearing their innocent loads to unknown ghastly destinations” (I assume the moral equivalency of the Nazi death camps and the Soviet gulags was an important statement on Waugh’s part at the moment of publication).
Given this generally miserable subject-matter, what I was amazed by was what an enjoyable read it was. Men at Arms has a large component of the antic spirit that is such a delight in Waugh’s earlier novels. Guy’s eccentric training comrade Apthorpe, a master of the surreal non-sequitur, is a magnificent comic character. I am not the greatest fan of toilet humor, but the extended sequence concerning Apthorpe’s battle with a mad-dog brigadier over possession of an Edwardian portable “thunderbox” is a masterpiece of its kind. The brigadier, Ben Ritchie-Hook, with his manic energy and sinister relish for “biffing” (a.k.a war) is also very fine (though Waugh had some help with reality here. The Wikipedia entry for the figure on whom this character is supposed to be based, Lieutenant General Sir Adrian Carton de Wiart, states that he was “shot in the face, head, stomach, ankle, leg, hip and ear, survived a plane crash, tunneled out of a POW camp, and bit off his own fingers when a doctor wouldn't amputate them. He later said ‘frankly I … enjoyed the war.’”)
There were so many lines in this novel that made me laugh out loud that it seems invidious to single out one. But I did particularly love this acute Freudian insight, from an army doctor in Africa, where the disturbing final section of the novel is set:
Queer bird, the mind. Hides things away and then out they pop. But I musn’t get too technical.
February 9, 2020
Pious, innocuous, nebbishy Guy Crouchback, last scion of an ancient and undistinguished Catholic family of the English landed gentry, decides to join the war effort in 1939 as a second lieutenant, despite his middle age and lack of military experience. It gives some purpose to his life, after his wife abandoned him for a series of subsequent exciting husbands. He has some trouble finding a regiment that will take him, but finally gets into officer training with the Royal Corps of Halberdiers. He earnestly tries to do everything right, while his fellow and foil Apthorpe gets into all kinds of preposterous scraps. It's all inexplicable training, orders and counterorders, hasty movements followed by days of waiting, as the military situation in faraway France goes from phony war to retreat to disaster. Finally the regiment ships out to see some action, of sorts. Guy distinguishes himself, in a way, and always tells the truth. Appalling, enthralling, and funny. Before there was Heller or Vonnegut, there was Waugh, just as amusing but without the bitterness.
May 10, 2019
Una trilogía interesante sobre la segunda guerra mundial. El protagonista me atacaba un poco los nervios, pero, al mismo tiempo, me ha caído muy bien. De todas formas, mi novela favorita de este escritor sigue siendo Retorno a Brideshead.
July 9, 2025
Перша половина йшла без емоцій, якось все було зрозуміло і не дуже цікаво: наївні мужчинчики, які напередодні Другої світової хотіли «влаштуватись» у війську, бо питання честі, і щоб оце популярне: «отримати на початку якусь легку контузію, відлежатись в госпіталі поруч з медсестричками і повернутись на «цивілку» з усіма почестями»
Усі ті потуги та «героїчні» пригоди, звичайно, виглядають комічно і не надто вражаюче. Але тільки до останньої третини книги, коли війна вже по-справжньому і не на жарт відкриває з ноги тендітні двері високоморального та інтелігентного британського та європейського життя
Перші (десь в районі 1940 року) поразки сил Альянсу, які прикриті дотепами та пригодами головних героїв, роблять історію вже не просто комічною, а й трагічною.
Російське вторгнення в Україну та наш трагічний досвід - це міст до розуміння справжнього настрою та ідеї «Чоловіків у війську»
Спочатку, щоправда, він налаштовує скептично до тексту, а потім вже перед безглуздістю рішень, абсурдністю військових законів і неповороткістю державного апарату встояти неможливо, бо це дуже перегукується з нашими умовами.
Оці роздуми британського командування, які наведу не дослівно, чудово передають настрій книги:
«За що ми воюємо? Ми оголошували війну, захищаючи Польщу, а зараз її і на мапі немає»
Усі ті потуги та «героїчні» пригоди, звичайно, виглядають комічно і не надто вражаюче. Але тільки до останньої третини книги, коли війна вже по-справжньому і не на жарт відкриває з ноги тендітні двері високоморального та інтелігентного британського та європейського життя
Перші (десь в районі 1940 року) поразки сил Альянсу, які прикриті дотепами та пригодами головних героїв, роблять історію вже не просто комічною, а й трагічною.
Російське вторгнення в Україну та наш трагічний досвід - це міст до розуміння справжнього настрою та ідеї «Чоловіків у війську»
Спочатку, щоправда, він налаштовує скептично до тексту, а потім вже перед безглуздістю рішень, абсурдністю військових законів і неповороткістю державного апарату встояти неможливо, бо це дуже перегукується з нашими умовами.
Оці роздуми британського командування, які наведу не дослівно, чудово передають настрій книги:
«За що ми воюємо? Ми оголошували війну, захищаючи Польщу, а зараз її і на мапі немає»
March 8, 2019
Quite unlike any other book about WWII that I have read. A bit dry at times but also extremely funny.
While I didn't care terribly much for the character of Guy Crouchback, I found him a bit of a depressing bore, the book was saved by the antics of Apthorpe. The thunder box incident is probably the most entertaining and memorable thing I have read in a long time.
While I didn't care terribly much for the character of Guy Crouchback, I found him a bit of a depressing bore, the book was saved by the antics of Apthorpe. The thunder box incident is probably the most entertaining and memorable thing I have read in a long time.
August 31, 2018
The best thing about finishing this book is knowing that, as the first in a trilogy, I can take the next two off my TBR and make room for other books.
July 24, 2020
ENGLISH: First part of Waugh's trilogy about the Second World War, in the same line as the Prologue and Epilogue of "Brideshead Revisited," a scathing but constructive critic of the British army, with due respect for the institution and a lot of humor in the best Waugh style.
The novel is centered on the protagonist, Guy Crouchback, but two characters leave him in the twilight, receiving most of the spotlight: Apthorpe, a military genius who is always inventing absurd situations, and Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, the highest ranked officer, an unpredictable chief of the regiment.
ESPAÑOL: Primera parte de la trilogía de Waugh sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en la misma línea que el Prólogo y el Epílogo de "Retorno a Brideshead", una crítica mordaz pero constructiva del ejército británico, manteniendo el debido respeto por la institución y con mucho humor, al mejor estilo de Waugh.
La novela se centra en el protagonista, Guy Crouchback, pero dos personajes lo dejan en segundo plano y reciben la mayor parte de la atención: Apthorpe, un genio militar que siempre está inventando situaciones absurdas, y el brigadier Ritchie-Hook, el oficial de mayor rango, impredecible jefe del regimiento.
The novel is centered on the protagonist, Guy Crouchback, but two characters leave him in the twilight, receiving most of the spotlight: Apthorpe, a military genius who is always inventing absurd situations, and Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, the highest ranked officer, an unpredictable chief of the regiment.
ESPAÑOL: Primera parte de la trilogía de Waugh sobre la Segunda Guerra Mundial, en la misma línea que el Prólogo y el Epílogo de "Retorno a Brideshead", una crítica mordaz pero constructiva del ejército británico, manteniendo el debido respeto por la institución y con mucho humor, al mejor estilo de Waugh.
La novela se centra en el protagonista, Guy Crouchback, pero dos personajes lo dejan en segundo plano y reciben la mayor parte de la atención: Apthorpe, un genio militar que siempre está inventando situaciones absurdas, y el brigadier Ritchie-Hook, el oficial de mayor rango, impredecible jefe del regimiento.
December 7, 2012
Winner of the 1952 James Tait Black Memorial Prize, Britain’s oldest literary award, Men At Arms is the first part of Waugh’s The Sword of Honour Trilogy , his look at the Second World War.
It follows Guy Crouchback, the nearly-forty-year-old son of an English aristocratic family who manages to get accepted to officers training in the early part of 1940, and is eventually posted to Dakar in Senegal West Africa. While there, he inadvertently poisons one of his fellow officers and is sent home in disgrace.
That’s about all the plot there is. But the book was interesting for its look at British officers’ instruction in WWII, in contrast with other reading I’ve done which focuses on the training of rank and file soldiers, and for the insight into the chaos that was the British Army in the early part of the war: “The brigade resumed its old duty of standing by for orders.”
Waugh’s wickedly dry sense of humour is brilliant.
Read this if: you’re a fan of Downton Abbey – different war, but same country and class; or you love the subtle humour of traditional British writers. 3½ stars
It follows Guy Crouchback, the nearly-forty-year-old son of an English aristocratic family who manages to get accepted to officers training in the early part of 1940, and is eventually posted to Dakar in Senegal West Africa. While there, he inadvertently poisons one of his fellow officers and is sent home in disgrace.
That’s about all the plot there is. But the book was interesting for its look at British officers’ instruction in WWII, in contrast with other reading I’ve done which focuses on the training of rank and file soldiers, and for the insight into the chaos that was the British Army in the early part of the war: “The brigade resumed its old duty of standing by for orders.”
Waugh’s wickedly dry sense of humour is brilliant.
Read this if: you’re a fan of Downton Abbey – different war, but same country and class; or you love the subtle humour of traditional British writers. 3½ stars
September 5, 2021
A bleak, believable antidote to the more tub thumping type of Second World War literature. In some respects very much of its time but with characters and behaviours that will be immediately familiar to anybody who works in a large organisation or who follows contemporary British politics. The arrogance, entitlement and ineptitude that Guy Crouchback observes and is in various ways both a victim and a beneficiary of all reads as depressingly familiar eighty years on.
July 17, 2022
The humour is very dry but this is a very funny book. Guy Crouchback is a loveable loser. A bit like Nabokov's Pnin had he gone to war. I would have done better with an annotated version as many of the references went over my head but it was still an engaging read.
May 8, 2018
"But whether orders made sense or not de Souza could be trusted to carry them out. Indeed he seemed to find a curious private pleasure in doing something he knew to be absurd, with minute efficiency. The other officer, Jervis, needed constant supervision." Waugh's light, comic touch is always welcome. But here, I can't help but compare this to Anthony Powell's magnificent 12-volume saga (A Dance to the Music of Time) of both wars in which the English are caught up in recuperating from the first war and at the same time ramping up for the next one. Still, I'm definitely going to read the next two in this "Sword of Honor" trilogy.
June 12, 2012
This novel is the first in the Sword of Honour trilogy, followed by Officers and Gentlemen and Unconditional Surrender. When we meet Guy Crouchback he is living in Italy and is returning to England for the first time in eight years with plans to "serve his King", as war has just been declared. Guy comes from an old, Catholic family, now sadly in decline. His father has given up Broome, the family home, and is living (quite cheerfully) in a hotel. As Guy is divorced, and unable to re-marry as a Catholic, and his two brothers are both dead, the only member of his family that has children is his sister. We gradually learn these facts as Guy returns to England and meets up with the various members of his family.
It is fair to say that Guy has great plans when he first arrives back in England, but with typical English cynicism, is quickly disabused of his necessity. He is informed he is too old and men who have managed to obtain a uniform are quick to put him down. By pure luck, he manages to be invited to join the old corps of a Major Tickeridge, who is friendly with his father and who has billeted his wife and daughter in the same hotel for the duration of the war. The book then follows Guy's career in the Halberdiers, a corps with pride, history and prestige and populated with characters that only Evelyn Waugh could invent. Two in particular that will long stay with you is Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, who enjoys 'biffing' the enemy and the glorious Apthorpe, whose 'thunder box' will perplex an Italian spy.
During this book Guy Crouchback learns that glory is hard to find, as his corps is moved to locations as diverse as Scotland and Southsand-on-Sea. They board ships, only to disembark again and sleep on trains all night only to find they have not left the station in the morning. There is a real sense of the early months of war, when England is unsettled but stoic and only one officer realises that Churchill is the man that can stop them losing a war none of them had contemplated could not be won. The book ends with a rather abortive attempt to land in Africa before Guy is sent back to England to continue his adventures. He is an elusive man, "respected but not loved", who has an inglorious meeting with his ex-wife Virginia which leaves him slinking back to camp, but who always tries his best and that you will certainly warm to as you get to know him. His Catholicism is central to his character and this is often an important theme in Waugh's books, which I am delighted to see are now on kindle. If you have not discovered Waugh before, I envy you - he is a master of his art.
It is fair to say that Guy has great plans when he first arrives back in England, but with typical English cynicism, is quickly disabused of his necessity. He is informed he is too old and men who have managed to obtain a uniform are quick to put him down. By pure luck, he manages to be invited to join the old corps of a Major Tickeridge, who is friendly with his father and who has billeted his wife and daughter in the same hotel for the duration of the war. The book then follows Guy's career in the Halberdiers, a corps with pride, history and prestige and populated with characters that only Evelyn Waugh could invent. Two in particular that will long stay with you is Brigadier Ritchie-Hook, who enjoys 'biffing' the enemy and the glorious Apthorpe, whose 'thunder box' will perplex an Italian spy.
During this book Guy Crouchback learns that glory is hard to find, as his corps is moved to locations as diverse as Scotland and Southsand-on-Sea. They board ships, only to disembark again and sleep on trains all night only to find they have not left the station in the morning. There is a real sense of the early months of war, when England is unsettled but stoic and only one officer realises that Churchill is the man that can stop them losing a war none of them had contemplated could not be won. The book ends with a rather abortive attempt to land in Africa before Guy is sent back to England to continue his adventures. He is an elusive man, "respected but not loved", who has an inglorious meeting with his ex-wife Virginia which leaves him slinking back to camp, but who always tries his best and that you will certainly warm to as you get to know him. His Catholicism is central to his character and this is often an important theme in Waugh's books, which I am delighted to see are now on kindle. If you have not discovered Waugh before, I envy you - he is a master of his art.
June 17, 2013
I am very found of Evelyn Waugh's writing and this year I have decided to tackle the Sword of Honor trilogy, and I have just finished the first volume, Men At Arms (1952). It is the story of 35 year old Guy Crouchback's enlistment into the military at the start of World War II. It is said to have been based on Waugh's own experiences as an older man enlisting. It is something of a British "Catch-22" in the satire and absurdities of the military. That being said it is almost more the story of Crouchback's fellow officer Apthorpe, an eccentric fellow. His main story is an episode of high farce, the two have a battle of wits and military discipline over an Edwardian thunder-box (portable toilet) from which Crouchback observes, amused and detached. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment.
June 23, 2012
Първата ми среща с Ивлин Уо, която в никакъв случай няма да остане последна. Единственото, за което съжалявам, е че не е преведена цялата трилогия (поне аз не открих издания у нас), а само първата й част.
"Във всеоръжие" е увлекателно поднесен поглед към ІІСВ и наситена с действие история, в която всеки от многото живи образи непрекъснато се развива между възхода и падението си. Битките са само загатнати и войната е по-скоро фон, върху който авторът изгражда различните характери, наблягайки на влиянието й върху човешката психика и сарказма си към бюрокрацията в армията.
Паралелът с MASH и "Параграф 22" е неизбежен.
"Във всеоръжие" е увлекателно поднесен поглед към ІІСВ и наситена с действие история, в която всеки от многото живи образи непрекъснато се развива между възхода и падението си. Битките са само загатнати и войната е по-скоро фон, върху който авторът изгражда различните характери, наблягайки на влиянието й върху човешката психика и сарказма си към бюрокрацията в армията.
Паралелът с MASH и "Параграф 22" е неизбежен.
January 11, 2020
Maybe even 4.5*!
The dark humor of this novel, the first in Waugh's Sword of Honor trilogy, struck me as quite similar to that in M*A*S*H. The eccentricities of Guy's fellow officers, the stupidities of some aspects of military life, etc. In some ways, this is the first of Waugh's books that successfully combined his satire with his more serious thoughts about life as a Catholic Englishman.
Christian Rodska does an excellent job narrating the book. I especially liked his voice for Apthorpe.
The dark humor of this novel, the first in Waugh's Sword of Honor trilogy, struck me as quite similar to that in M*A*S*H. The eccentricities of Guy's fellow officers, the stupidities of some aspects of military life, etc. In some ways, this is the first of Waugh's books that successfully combined his satire with his more serious thoughts about life as a Catholic Englishman.
Christian Rodska does an excellent job narrating the book. I especially liked his voice for Apthorpe.
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