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A Soldier of the Great War (Chunky Read) READING SCHEDULE INCLUDED
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Petra
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Feb 09, 2014 06:06PM
He's just a curmudgeonly old man. And like most curmudgeons, he has a big, warm heart. You have to take him with a grain of salt and see the good side. Nicollo does. :D
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Maybe my own curmudgeonliness is getting in the way lol. :D
I'm behind also, but I hope that I can follow the conversation, having already read the book twice. I have always enjoyed Alessandro and how he relates to the world around him. Switching between the two different ages reminds me of going to high school reunions and seeing pictures of yourself with crazy hair and clothes and then thinking about how much you have changed from that kid. The idea of splitting people into two different kinds of feet made me laugh and then it made sense after thinking about it.
I love Alessandro the young, I am not sure about Alessandro the old. there are a lot of great snippets of his experiences.Laura, I am liking the book. It keeps getting better and better.
I don't think Alessandro means "stupid" as in literally stupid. He's obviously very fond of Niccolo, and - I gather from his own intelligence and vast experience - that if Niccolo were truly unintelligent, Alessandro would not waste his time educating him.I agree with Petra, that the insults are to make Niccolo think; to gain awareness of his world. And it is to mark the general stupidity of youth. How time flies by and you find you've wasted it. How you'll always regret not seeing, doing, living. Niccolo's world is tiny. Alessandro wants to enlarge it for him.
And young Alessandro cracked me up! That scene in "Patrizia's" bed!
Meg wrote: "I love Alessandro the young, I am not sure about Alessandro the old. there are a lot of great snippets of his experiences.Laura, I am liking the book. It keeps getting better and better."
Great news, Meg. Thank you. I will try & get back to this one soon.
It seems I need to meet young Alessandro.... :)
Mod
I like Alessandro the young too, though he seems a completely different person. Maybe this story is going to show us the experiences he goes through to shape him into Alessandro the old?
Seems likely, Sheila. I just made it to part two, and I am more interested than before. I really love the lines at the end of part one about the war:
The real story of a war is no story at all--blackness, sadness, silence.
'If I describe what I saw of the war, you'll know it from the point of view of the living, and that is the smallest part of the truth. The truth itself is what was finally apprehended by those who didn't come back.'
That right there sounds like truth.
Mod
Woo. Yeah. Powerful stuff. There's a subtle power in his writing. It's good I've had some distance from Hannah Kent's writing, which is more muscular, words you can't turn yourself loose from.
Helprin whispers, and you really have to tune in and focus to grasp the power there. And you have to be in the mood for the softness, the shades and shadows.
You said it beautifully Laura. The lines about war are powerful and if you read quickly you probably will miss it.Sheila, you are feeling the same way I do that there is a great difference with Alessandro the old and Alessandro the young.
I am wondering if he sees a lot of himself in Niccolo and that is why he is spending so much energy on him. Maybe he has made a lot of mistakes along the way and thinks that he can help Niccolo avoid them?
Thank you, Meg. I think you've made a great observation there. Maybe that's why he feels it's so important to help N. He probably sees himself in him.
Hi Carol, my definition of a chunky is a book over 500 pages. I think for our chunky reads here, though, it may be a little higher.
Our chunky reads are 750+But, we do it in bite sized pieces and we have lots of fun!
I'm 1/3 of the way into Part II and enjoying it a lot more now. I think I will stay with this one. I'm very curious about Lia. I wonder if she will be the girl he falls in love with. I'm really hoping for a good love story. And enjoying the historical aspects too.
I hope I'm not the only one behind schedule.
I am a bit behind too, but am enjoying hearing the conversation thus far. My favorite part of getting to know Alessandro the old was when he made Nicolo repeat after him: "The spark of life is not gain. Nor is it luxury. The spark of life is movement. Color. Love. And furthermore, if you really want to enjoy life, you must work quietly and humbly to realize your delusions of grandeur." I actually took a picture of it and set it as the background on my phone. What a lovely passage. Like Laura, I'm also very curious about Lia. I love how rebellious she seems thus far - carrying a gun on her horse, demanding to do things on her own, refusing to placate her listeners. I couldn't help but smile when Alessandro implied, while speaking to his father, that he probably wouldn't be disciplined when it came to Lia: "Papa, she swims nude in the sea. She carries a pistol. And she wears perfume that makes me dizzy. Sometimes I go to the garden gate and smell the handle, because, when she touches it, the perfume stays." What powerful lines, and it's so perfect that Alessandro's father can relate to this sentiment himself, and that he concedes that as a youth, he wasn't always disciplined with women either. I found that very touching, perhaps even a little foreboding. I'm wondering if Nicolo's lack of discipline is going to have heavy consequences later on in the novel...
That being said, I feel more of a kinship right now with Nicolo than with either Alessandro - I appreciate how clueless he is because it more or less makes Alessandro explain everything. Nicolo tends to ask all of the questions that I myself am wondering, which makes me very appreciative of his character!
I'm loving this read so far, and very excited to have the support of a group to make it all the way through!
Katharine those are great passages.I find the more I read of Alessandro the young the more I like him.
I particularly loved the whole train episode.
Do you mean the race, Meg, or the scene in part one, on the train?That is a terrific passage, Katharine. I was thinking the same thing about his lack of discipline and his father's comment re: having a similar issue.
No I am talking about when he goes to Munich.I am not sure if you have read that far yet Laura.
"You can call me Nurse Janet." Is that the part on the train? That part made me literally laugh out loud. I think that I finally caught up and must say that now that the war has started, the book has picked up its pace. The Bell Tower scenes are very powerful. The description of the cat, Sophia, in the bunker that stays even though it could run away is quite an image.
Behind as usual. Just started this yesterday and am still on part 1. I am so glad to read that it picks up because I am beginning to fear a long uneventful read of endless pop philosophy conversations between an old wise man and an unformed innocent young man (too much like an overly long Little Prince) I am having a hard time believing that Nicolo could be so ignorant. This is 1964 in Italy. He lives only a few kilometers from Rome. He works in a modern factory. But, he does not even know the alphabet, has never seen his name in print. He does not know the difference between Peru and Africa. Was the Italian educational system that horrible that he would not know the difference between the name of a country and the name of a type of wood?Alessandro seems more like a mythical wise sage than a real person. And, I am feeling as if the author is creating the thinnest of platforms from which to preach his ever so creative insights on life to his ignorant reader.
I had similar impressions at the beginning re the philosophical musings, Irene. It is getting better for me now. Part two was where it picked up for me.
I am reading a downloaded copy from Book Share. Unfortunately, it does not have page numbers. So, I am not exactly sure how far I am. I am into Part 2, Rafi and Lucinda are playing Chess in the garden and she tells him of her dream to live on a little farm in the mountains some day. I do like Part 2 better than the first part, but the episodic nature of the novel is not my favorite. It feels as if we are jumping from remembered scene to remembered scene.
I understand. It's not my favorite thing either, but I do find it grows on me. You are actually farther along than I am. I don't even know who Rafi & Lucinda are.
Alessandro's sister and his friend. Early in part 2 she was in the house wearing an apron. I think she was called Lucy early on.
I have finished part III. Yes, the train scene was terrific. Also enjoying the odd character of Orfeus. Rafi isbecoming a favorite character. The image of him facing an anti-semetic gang of thugs with just his prayer shawl and his fidelity to who he is was wonderful. Where should I be? If I am reading the schedule correctly, we are discussing through part V this week?
Well Irene, I am really glad you read through and now have changed your opinion of the book.The more I think about it I am wondering why the author chose the first part of the book with Niccoli, anyone have a clue?
I thought the train scene, where he had to "force" the conductor to sell him a ticket in a sleeping car with a woman hilarious. He fantasized about the woman, fantasized about how he would sleep with her and then he did. All with Janet saying, "Why me?" is it the war? It was so understated and yet said so much.
You're all making me want to reread the book. It was terrific and I'm really enjoying your experiences with the book. Meg....I have a clue but won't say. :D
Is that wounded cat who won't leave the trenches a metaphore for Italy who should not be in WW1 but stays in it unaware that it could be out of it? of the average volunteer soldier who stays when he could be a million miles away? of all of humanity which continues to exist in one war after another which is pointless and unproductive except for the carnage that comes out of them all?What are the flowers that the soldiers are gathering?
Pretty funny scene with the cornel in the hotel.
Mod
Meg, at least you know that your question will most likely be answered by the end of the book. LOL
Sheila wrote: "I was really curious to know what the flowers are that the soldiers are gathering too? Anyone have any ideas?Meg, at least you know that your question will most likely be answered by the end of t..."
It does explain the flowers later on in the book.
Well, I did not see the end of Part V coming. I am caught up for this week's discussion. Now I just need to read the sections for the discussion that begins next week.
I am so far behind, but hopefully I will catch up soon! You guys are whetting my appetite....sounds like the book keeps getting better!Irene, I totally agree with you about war, but at the same time, fully support our troops (as I'm sure you do also, no matter what country you're from). My nephew is a Marine and the bravery is beyond belief, what those guys are willing to risk for the rest of us.
I'm hoping there won't be any graphic war scenes, as I don't like that kind of thing.
Irene wrote: "Well, I did not see the end of Part V coming. I am caught up for this week's discussion. Now I just need to read the sections for the discussion that begins next week."
They were in such a dilemma. Armies can only function with men that are, if not committed to the cause, honor bound to fight for it. Alessandro put it well when he said that it was harder for Guariglia to stay alive and see his family when someone deserts the line and if everyone deserts then it will be the Austrians looking for them and not the Italians. However, after all the horror and idiocy that these men have seen, I can understand the idea that leaving and seeing my family would overwhelm their thoughts. Thought provoking chapter.
And, this is particularly strong when written against WW1 which never had a clear purpose and was so badly managed. So much carnage for no gain, infact, Europe was left far more destabilized after WW1.
Absolutely Irene! The character of Orfeo rather signifies that insanity and awful management which permeated the war. He is someone who changes orders and writes his own, but rages about the Blessed Sap, just a perfect caricature for the overlords of that war.
The scene with Alessandro going to fetch the Colonel reminded me of Catch 22. It was so ridiculous.
I did not like the way part VI ended. Goriglia's leg story was so powerful. I don't want to say more because I am not sure if everyone is caught up. This book is posing a problem for me. I picked up a "first read" book because I did not want to read to far ahead in this one. Well, after the excellent writing in this book, I am irritated with this other one. I am afraid that it may be some time before I will be able to enjoy an average book again.
I finished partVII and am tired of killing and of mountain climbing. The descriptions are still so vivid. But, at times, it feels as if Alessandro has a near superhuman ability to act humanely when all around him is dehumanizing.
Mod
There is so much time dedicated to the mountains and mountain climbing, from descriptions of the rock and cliff formations to the technique for climbing, from the breath-taking views to the emotional component of the climb, that I am wondering if the mountains are symbolic of something more.
That is a really good question Irene. The book started with the mountains with Alessandro(old) climbing after he got off the bus. Maybe, somehow the author will tie this all in.I am enjoying the author's writing style. I am a little behind so I haven't hit the emotional end of part VI yet, probably tonight.
Irene wrote: "There is so much time dedicated to the mountains and mountain climbing, from descriptions of the rock and cliff formations to the technique for climbing, from the breath-taking views to the emotion..."I have never thought about that aspect. It opens up so many potential ideas. Wonderful question!
SPOILERs At END of VIWhy was Alessandro's life spared? What set him apart from the others?
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