FromKate withLove withLove itibaren Markova, Sverdlovskaya oblast', Rusya, 622924
Obviously I am not the only one who loves this book. So good!
I haven't read Oscar Wilde since I was... 19? I adored him at the time. I'd like to think I probably still would. There's no doubt that he's a genius; absolutely every line is brilliant, quotable, and heavy-hitting. Perhaps that is the problem, though. Every single line is witty, almost to the point where it becomes a flaw. This is definitely one of his best, however.
There are occasionally those books which you finish and then really wonder why you bothered. This would be one of those. It left me feeling sort of sick and blech afterwards, and sort of wishing I had never touched it. Being a little bummed out after reading something like Hiroshima is understandable. But there's no reason to depress yourself over a book about one sort of lame guy's fairly average experiences in college. Unfortunately, Hersey manages to make them not only depressing but also pretty creepy. Ack. I wish I had steered clear of it all.
Significant differences from the movie specifically in the story of the group sent to blow up the bridge. It would make an interesting discussion to compare the two versions. The actions of Colonel Nicholson offer a lot of possibilities for discussion: what can we make of his decision to keep his men (prisioners) active when that results in cooperating with the enemy? What role does "saving face" play on both sides in the prisioner camp? The book does have the unfortunate (but when written acceptable) use of the word "Jap" and a general disregard of Asians, emphasizing the superiority of Westerners. Does that make this book unacceptable for recommendation? Another "Huckleberry Finn" problem, but on perhaps a smaller level.