john w. Posted 3 September , 2004 Share Posted 3 September , 2004 If anyone told me that I would in a matter of weeks read, Grave and two Sassoon books and enjoy them wholeheartedly I would have laughed. They are all cracking reads and wish I had read them a long time ago. I have a copy of Sherston's progress coming soon, but in the meantime I have begun PAt Barkers Trilogy as it follows on from the Memoirs of the Infantry officer. Sassoon has a humour and descriptive talent which is even after all this time easy to read and relate to and understand... Recommended John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyHollinger Posted 3 September , 2004 Share Posted 3 September , 2004 I agree whole-heartedly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 4 September , 2004 Share Posted 4 September , 2004 Sassoon has a humour and descriptive talent which is even after all this time easy to read and relate to and understand... Recommended John Agreed John I first read some of Sassoon’s poetry in various anthologies and was wary of picking up this book [Memoirs of a FH Man] as I am not a horsey person, however one quickly warms to his characters and style of prose. As a nipper in the late forties and early fifties I watched my father playing village cricket and some of the scenes in ‘The Flower Show Match’ seem very familiar. On the basis of having thoroughly enjoyed ‘FH Man’ I too hope to get hold of ‘Memoirs of an Infantry Officer’ – is it also available from Faber & Faber in paperback? Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul guthrie Posted 4 September , 2004 Share Posted 4 September , 2004 Could not agree more about Sassoon, I think he's even better at prose. I got stuck on a long flight with nothing but 1 of the Barker books & thought it was just awful! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 4 September , 2004 Share Posted 4 September , 2004 I imagine you will need his "The Weald of Youth" and "The Olde Century" too. His early and formative years. Pat Barker OK but not to be mentioned in same breath, I believe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muerrisch Posted 4 September , 2004 Share Posted 4 September , 2004 Sorry, some idiot wrote "Olde" for "Old". Something wrong with tripewriter or spielchucker today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john w. Posted 10 September , 2004 Author Share Posted 10 September , 2004 Michael I went to Amazon and got the copy of Memoirs of an Infantry Officer... Sherstons Progress seems not to be in print, but I have been able to get a copy... John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michaeldr Posted 11 September , 2004 Share Posted 11 September , 2004 John, Many thanks for getting back on that one Regards Michael D.R. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Birch Posted 11 September , 2004 Share Posted 11 September , 2004 I agree they are cracking reads. "Memoires of a fox hunting man" is a great insight into the comfortable life of that sector of middle class society which just managed to get by without having to work full time for a living. Notwithstanding this there is no doubt that Sassoon and his like pulled their weight once they went off to war. Tim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosemary Clarke Posted 1 October , 2004 Share Posted 1 October , 2004 I imagine you will need his "The Weald of Youth" and "The Olde Century" too. His early and formative years. To be followed by Siegfried's Journey, dealing with 1916 - 1920; to be followed by the three volumes of diary covering 1920 - 1925, so plenty of material! I think I am correct in saying that these are the 'true biographical' works, whereas Memoirs... and Sherston's Progress are fictionalised biography. All make a straightforward, honest and dry-humoured read and I would not be without them. Rosemary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
salientguide Posted 18 November , 2004 Share Posted 18 November , 2004 The other literary figure of the time often quite overlooked these days is Edmund Blunden he became a friend of Sassoons and Graves after the war though they both rather fell out with Graves over his publication of Goodbye to all that which contained a description of spiritualist goings on at Sassoons mothers which offended him. Particulary as Graves had not hesitated to borrow non repayable money off the better off Sassoon on many occasions. I find Blundens Undertones of War by far the best literary sytle of the three. He is unique in that he served in both the Somme and Ypres (Graves and sassoon are really earlier 1915 and Somme men)and the second half is devoted to the Salient. Ideal for picking up on the day to day flavour of battalion life and the poetry is excellent. Salientguide Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimCatherall Posted 22 November , 2004 Share Posted 22 November , 2004 You can get the complete memoirs of George Sherston at Amazon which is the three volumes - Memoirs of a Fox Huntng Man, Memoirs of an Infantry Officer and Sherstons Progress. These are his fictional books but they are virtually autobiographical - http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/ASIN/0...6885440-0085259 The other three books Weald of Youth, Old Century and Siegfrieds Progress are straight autobiographies. I haven't read these but I do have a copy of his wartime diaries which I found at a 2nd hand book shop. Baker is really little more than a rehash of Sassoon, Graves and Blunden with Owens story and some research on war neuroses thrown in. That said I still enjoyed reading them and the film I though interesing too. Sasson, Graves and Blunden were some of the first WW1 memoirs I read and still to my mind are the best. I have heard a lot of the critisism of Graves in particularly (wouldn't let the facts get in the way of a good story) but its still a great read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LauraEJT Posted 23 November , 2004 Share Posted 23 November , 2004 I remember a dear friend of mine describing "Foxhunting Man" as "fooling (euphemism) around on horses" and he couldn't understand it-I see it a bit differently.as the contrast before the War,and during,and after. We all know who the great poets/novelists were-I would be interested in what the readers of this thread think of their contribution (sorry-this is a big topic,but I think we've lost sight of them in the mythic qualities) Thanks,Laura Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TimCatherall Posted 23 November , 2004 Share Posted 23 November , 2004 Do you mean contribution to the war effort? Or to the anti war cause? I personally believe that they have been slightly hi jacked by the anti war cause. Graves is more anti snobbery, whilst Sasson is anti the way the war was being run and its aims. Again my opinion but I think its too easy to sterotype them as anti war. All they did was write their stories (although with embellishments particularly by Graves). Sasson famous statement was anti the war aims and the wars running and he did return to the front afterwards. If you mean literary contribution then I'm abit out of my depth although Owen for one did introduced some new techniques to poetry I believe. If I remember correctly his half rhymes were an innovation. One thing Sassoon, Graves and Blunden did was set the standard for WW1 memoirs - superb sketches of charaters, the feeling of a (mythical) lost age and the loss of so many promising young people. In danger of slipping into the cliches What do other think? Are they over rated? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragon Posted 23 November , 2004 Share Posted 23 November , 2004 I assume that 'Memoirs of a Fox-hunting Man' will be changing its name early next year... Gwyn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LauraEJT Posted 23 November , 2004 Share Posted 23 November , 2004 "Memoirs of a Drag Hunter" isn't quite the same!!! Conjures up images of heavy makeup and dresses! I think the query "contribution to the war"(or anti war) effort or "contribution to literature" is a really good one.It's a personal view,but I think that a lot of simplistic assumptions are back reflected on to Edwardian men.From what I've read (not an expert) Sassoon was hated the way the war was being fought,but felt guilty about enjoying some aspects of it;Owen was moving towards what we might see as a pacifist point of view(he actually wrote "be killed but do not kill",but I think that it was more complicated than that for him,as he went back,presumably knowing he might kill).Graves? I've never been able to work out what might be driving him. I personally love Charles Sorley-wrote most of his poems at about 19,as he was 20 when he was KIA. I don't personally think we have any way of knowing if these guys are overrated in literary terms,as they are so important and in some ways still unique..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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