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What Now, Lieutenant
BESOTTED by the women who inflame, entice but usually elude or ignore them, What Now, Lieutenant tracks three men from the Second World War into the present century.
Dr. Elder is a well-intentioned classicist/polytheist, who, having been flung into the Battle of the Bulge, emerges physically intact and embarks on a quest for a congenial wife and a stress-free life.
Freddy (he’d much prefer “Fred”), Dr. Elder’s unprepossessing son, aches to excel and live up to his mistaken image of his father.
Daniel Shaver, Dr. Elder’s disadvantaged protege and Freddy’s implacable rival, is a bubbling cauldron of insatiable ambition, inexhaustible ego, and irrepressible id. He’ll do whatever’s expedient to triumph everywhere, whether it’s the boardroom, the battlefield, or the boudoir.
Meanwhile, the women are having none of it. They propel the narrative and treat the men with disdain or, at best, provisional tolerance.
Dr. Elder is a well-intentioned classicist/polytheist, who, having been flung into the Battle of the Bulge, emerges physically intact and embarks on a quest for a congenial wife and a stress-free life.
Freddy (he’d much prefer “Fred”), Dr. Elder’s unprepossessing son, aches to excel and live up to his mistaken image of his father.
Daniel Shaver, Dr. Elder’s disadvantaged protege and Freddy’s implacable rival, is a bubbling cauldron of insatiable ambition, inexhaustible ego, and irrepressible id. He’ll do whatever’s expedient to triumph everywhere, whether it’s the boardroom, the battlefield, or the boudoir.
Meanwhile, the women are having none of it. They propel the narrative and treat the men with disdain or, at best, provisional tolerance.
Kindle Edition
Published May 31, 2022
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 18, 2022
I won this book in a goodreads drawing.
A story of the second half of the 20 century told through the eyes of an eccentric, cowardly college professor, his son, and a kid the professor sort of took to raise.
It's humorous, but maybe tries too hard. I do give the author credit for using the word "ribald" which doesn't get a lot of exposure these days.
A story of the second half of the 20 century told through the eyes of an eccentric, cowardly college professor, his son, and a kid the professor sort of took to raise.
It's humorous, but maybe tries too hard. I do give the author credit for using the word "ribald" which doesn't get a lot of exposure these days.
August 7, 2022
Cringe worthy, humorous, and enjoyable
There were quite a few cringe worthy moments in this book and early on I considered not finishing it. But, I stuck with it and I am glad I did. It’s an unusual story, but it’s also an interesting one. It’s the story of a father, son, and a neighbors son that were all Marines and Harvard Alumni. All of the men had been to war, all were from New England, and for the most part, all were unlucky in love. I’m not sure I liked the characters, but they made for a good story.
There were quite a few cringe worthy moments in this book and early on I considered not finishing it. But, I stuck with it and I am glad I did. It’s an unusual story, but it’s also an interesting one. It’s the story of a father, son, and a neighbors son that were all Marines and Harvard Alumni. All of the men had been to war, all were from New England, and for the most part, all were unlucky in love. I’m not sure I liked the characters, but they made for a good story.
August 12, 2022
DNF
I generally don't give up on books easily. I read about 8% of this book but I couldn't understand anything. Sentence formation wasn’t great because they used too many commas. I was listening to this book and it was quite annoying to hear a pause after every 2 words. Since English is my second language, my vocabulary is not amazing so maybe that was another reason why I couldn't understand what the author was talking about. It has a lot of fancy words and I just felt like I picked up someone's personal diary and I had no idea what they were blabbering about.
I generally don't give up on books easily. I read about 8% of this book but I couldn't understand anything. Sentence formation wasn’t great because they used too many commas. I was listening to this book and it was quite annoying to hear a pause after every 2 words. Since English is my second language, my vocabulary is not amazing so maybe that was another reason why I couldn't understand what the author was talking about. It has a lot of fancy words and I just felt like I picked up someone's personal diary and I had no idea what they were blabbering about.
July 30, 2022
Interesting
This storyline is told in several view points, which I personally find distracting. The view points are clean marked which should help make things more clear. I found the story distracting and hard to make a connection with the characters and storyline.
I thought the military connection would make an easy connection for me, but did not.
This was a Goodreads giveaway and I was not required to give a positive rating.
This storyline is told in several view points, which I personally find distracting. The view points are clean marked which should help make things more clear. I found the story distracting and hard to make a connection with the characters and storyline.
I thought the military connection would make an easy connection for me, but did not.
This was a Goodreads giveaway and I was not required to give a positive rating.
July 11, 2022
This book was really fun with the story being told from three different viewpoints. A couple of times it got a little confusing because it would switch between the present and past quickly, but overall, even that was easy to keep track of.
The characters were each engaging in their own way. The author did a great job of highlighting their good and bad interactions with each other.
The characters were each engaging in their own way. The author did a great job of highlighting their good and bad interactions with each other.
July 23, 2022
Cute story but a bit wordy in places and got a tad confusing. Easy to get back on track and the characters are quite comical at times. If bouncing from one time period to another and back isn't something you enjoy, this isn't for you. Happy page turning.
August 9, 2022
It’s a story about 3 men and their lives after war. It was hard to get into but I finally did. Author plays to the three types of men : lost, trying, and demonic. It is interesting how they all intertwine. Would have liked more of a story after the truth comes out concerning the bronze star.
August 11, 2022
I couldn't get into this book. The beginning is lacking on cohesiveness that it made no sense at all. After a couple chapters, I gave up.
August 28, 2022
Good read
January 5, 2023
Confusing
I did not like this style of writing. I found it confusing and intolerable. It took away from what could have been a good story.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
I did not like this style of writing. I found it confusing and intolerable. It took away from what could have been a good story.
#GoodreadsGiveaway
March 21, 2023
Interesting read.
dnf
August 31, 2023DNF @ 2% I received a copy of this ebook in a Goodreads giveaway. This kind of just felt like a rant from a very weird old man and I was not here for it.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews