A Moment of War in Around the World in 80 Books

Jan 29, 2020 Jim rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: military-non-fiction, biography, memoir

I had never heard of this writer before, at least not consciously. I had heard of the book Cider With Rosie, which, as it turns out, was just the first book in an autobiographical trilogy. This is the final instalment in that trilogy, and it would have gone right by me had I not seen a friend's review here on goodreads.

As a young man Lee, despite carrying the burden of two girl's names, decided he had to go and fight fascists in Spain. He crossed the frontier on foot from France:

"I was at that f I had never heard of this writer before, at least not consciously. I had heard of the book Cider With Rosie, which, as it turns out, was just the first book in an autobiographical trilogy. This is the final instalment in that trilogy, and it would have gone right by me had I not seen a friend's review here on goodreads.

As a young man Lee, despite carrying the burden of two girl's names, decided he had to go and fight fascists in Spain. He crossed the frontier on foot from France:

"I was at that flush of youth which never doubts self-survival, without which illusion few wars would be possible." (P.12)

On entering Spain unexpected and unannounced, he is suspected of espionage and held prisoner, narrowly avoiding execution. Far from being hailed as a liberator, he is regarded with suspicion for much of his service. Lee soon finds out that there isn't a lot of glamour in this war; fatigue, hardship and hunger are the order of the day. Equipment and weapons are in short supply. Encounters with the enemy are rare and one-sided as the fascists are reinforced and supplied by the Germans of the Condor Legion. Personally, I couldn't drum up a lot of sympathy...communists fighting fascists....who to cheer for?

Lee is a great observer and a master of descriptive prose. This from Page 49:

It was then that I began to sense for the first time something of the gaseous squalor of a country at war, an infection so deep it seemed to rot the earth, drain it of colour, life, and sound. This was not the battlefield; but acts of war had been committed here, little murders, small excesses of vengeance. The landscape was plagued, stained and mottled, and all humanity seemed to have been banished from it,

War isn't all about fighting; there is plenty of drudgery and idleness to go around, and seldom a glance at the enemy except when he flies over and bombs hell out of you. Lee dutifully reports on this aspect of his service, while giving descriptions of his fellow men-at-arms and the hardships of his daily routine. All is not lost: Lee does manage to get laid a couple of times, and occasionally they are able to scrape up enough cash for a meal in a bar. Finally, in the waning hours of the battle for Teruel, Lee comes to grips with the enemy, but there is no gruesome detail. Lee sees all this through a fog of war. Apparently he kills an enemy, but does not elaborate on how that went down. He didn't feel particularly proud of his kill, and in fact is showing disillusionment with his decision to fight when he writes:

"Was this then what I'd come for, and all my journey had meant - to smudge out the life of an unknown young man in a blur of panic which in no way could affect victory or defeat?"

Overall, I think this is a decent book by a great writer. It could have used some photos, and I think that Lee holds off on saying things that might make himself look bad, but the writing and story are superb. I'm sure I'll find myself reading more of his work in the future.

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