The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
I recently read an article about Herman Wouk. He's 100 years old and still going strong. He's led a great writing life which all of us wanna be authors long to have. I knew his name but had never read any of his work so I was ecstatic when my trusty book club decided to read it. It was the Pulitzer Prize winner in 1951 so I'm always happy when I can cross one of those off my list.
Willie Keith is a Princeton boy, fresh out of college and off to Naval Officer Training school to serve his country during World War II. While there he earns the distinction of having more demerits than anyone else, and barely shy of requiring expulsion. Willie has a talent for making up silly songs which he sings in a nightclub just for fun. While there he meets a beautiful lounge singer, May Wynn. The pair fall in love but struggle to reconcile the very different cultures in which they've been raised.
Willie is shipped off to an ancient rust bucket, a minesweeper, The Caine. His life on board under the direction of an eccentric and overwhelmed, Captain Queeg, turn the pampered mama's boy into a man. As a writer, I pay attention to how characters change and grow in the midst of the story.
Herman Wouk doesn't write fancy prose or use complicated literary devices. He's simply an excellent storyteller. The Caine Mutiny is a compelling story, well told. I felt it dragged on especially during the court martial and I didn't quite understand the the storyline of the naval lawyer, but neither detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel.
I have to add that the history lesson that lives within these pages is a good one. The Caine Mutiny is one that will stick with me for a long time. Sometimes there is nothing like a good, old fashioned classic to stimulated my gray matter and enrich my reading list.
I recently read an article about Herman Wouk. He's 100 years old and still going strong. He's led a great writing life which all of us wanna be authors long to have. I knew his name but had never read any of his work so I was ecstatic when my trusty book club decided to read it. It was the Pulitzer Prize winner in 1951 so I'm always happy when I can cross one of those off my list.
Willie Keith is a Princeton boy, fresh out of college and off to Naval Officer Training school to serve his country during World War II. While there he earns the distinction of having more demerits than anyone else, and barely shy of requiring expulsion. Willie has a talent for making up silly songs which he sings in a nightclub just for fun. While there he meets a beautiful lounge singer, May Wynn. The pair fall in love but struggle to reconcile the very different cultures in which they've been raised.
Willie is shipped off to an ancient rust bucket, a minesweeper, The Caine. His life on board under the direction of an eccentric and overwhelmed, Captain Queeg, turn the pampered mama's boy into a man. As a writer, I pay attention to how characters change and grow in the midst of the story.
Herman Wouk doesn't write fancy prose or use complicated literary devices. He's simply an excellent storyteller. The Caine Mutiny is a compelling story, well told. I felt it dragged on especially during the court martial and I didn't quite understand the the storyline of the naval lawyer, but neither detracted from my overall enjoyment of the novel.
I have to add that the history lesson that lives within these pages is a good one. The Caine Mutiny is one that will stick with me for a long time. Sometimes there is nothing like a good, old fashioned classic to stimulated my gray matter and enrich my reading list.
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