Best Novel of the Great War?

[Jim Clay]

Which is real and which is fiction?

What is your choice and why.

Difficult one, Kim - both could have been taken from real letters, for me they both 'read' naturally. I would only be guessing at the 'real' one, and won't - I wouldn't be able to give a good reason for selecting one or t'other.

Hope other Pals may be more sure which is which

Jim

[withcall]

Aren't we getting close to missing the point in some cases here..? A work of fiction is just that. If we put in a prerequisite that an author must have been there and done what his characters do in the novel, then we rule out most of the great books ever written. Thomas Hardy, for example, didn't have to drown in Shadwater Weir to write convincingly about the death of Eustacia in 'Return of the Native' any more than Dickens needed to have been enslaved by a criminal gang to make Oliver Twist a memorable read. I don't see how a fictional book is in the slightest devalued by the author's war record, or lack of it. I would even say that there is a danger that the true creative process might be impaired by a writer simply recording what happened. That is journalism, not fiction writing. We can quibble, rightly, if a work is poorly researched or so historically inaccurate that it ceases to be a good read, but let's not lose sight of the separate and equally valuable writing crafts of historian, journalist and novelist.

[Paul Hederer]

As many ww1 and ww2 vets have often commented,"If you were not there,you could not possibly undestand what it was like".I rest my case.

I referenced 3 novels, written by authors with either no, or limited combat experience, who wrote very effectively about the experience of combat, even lauded by veterans for their abilities, I rest my case.

Paul

[Paul Hederer]

Aren't we getting close to missing the point in some cases here..? A work of fiction is just that. If we put in a prerequisite that an author must have been there and done what his characters do in the novel, then we rule out most of the great books ever written. Thomas Hardy, for example, didn't have to drown in Shadwater Weir to write convincingly about the death of Eustacia in 'Return of the Native' any more than Dickens needed to have been enslaved by a criminal gang to make Oliver Twist a memorable read. I don't see how a fictional book is in the slightest devalued by the author's war record, or lack of it. I would even say that there is a danger that the true creative process might be impaired by a writer simply recording what happened. That is journalism, not fiction writing. We can quibble, rightly, if a work is poorly researched or so historically inaccurate that it ceases to be a good read, but let's not lose sight of the separate and equally valuable writing crafts of historian, journalist and novelist.

Amen. The value of a fictional work is the power of the author to communicate emotions and bring us into the story. If you won the VC and write like a 12 year old, I'm sorry, but you'd have a hard time turning out an epic war novel.

You'd more likely turn out a somewhat poorly written and dry account of your wartime experiences. I've read a few of those, especially by WWII vets.

As far as novels vs. non-fiction we do seem to be getting a bit confused. "The Storm of Steel," is not a novel, but "All's Quiet...." is.

A novel, by definition, is a work of fiction.

Paul

[PBI]

As i may have mentioned,in my opinion one of THE TRULY Great Books written by a WW1 vet has to be, OF THOSE WE LOVED by I.L.Read...This Book is one of those cannot put put down Books,not only did the Authour write it He also personally drew the various pictures and Maps in the Book.This Book is a must read.The Chapter on His part in the Somme Battle is particularly well written and a fine Tribute to the Men of His Battalion who fought and died in the Fight for Gird Trench.Read it,you will not be dissappointed.Anyone who had not Soldiered or served in this Action could not have possibly included all the minute and sometimes simple details and emotions that READ makes note of.I am afraid therefore that i will still not read any Fictional accounts of The Great War,no matter how well put together..

[withcall]

That's fine, but are you saying that there can be no fictional accounts or representations, e.g. films, of any event or concept unless the author has been there/done that/ participated-in ? Where does that leave Schindler's List, for example, or Captain Corelli's Mandolin, or Gulliver's Travels, or ....the list is endless. The Great War was a terrible and almost unspeakable experience for those who were there, but why is it different from other great socio-political events of history e.g. The Black Death, World War 11, The slave trade, Pol Pot's purges in Cambodia - are they all off-limits to novelists too?

[PBI]

Too many stuffed shirts on this site for my liking.