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Sword of Honour #3

袘械蟹蟹邪褋褌械褉械卸薪邪 泻邪锌褨褌褍谢褟褑褨褟

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袟邪胁械褉褕邪谢褜薪邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 褌褉懈谢芯谐褨褩 芦袣谢懈薪芯泻 褔械褋褌褨禄. 袨褋褨薪褜 1943 褉芯泻褍. 袛谢褟 袘褉懈褌邪薪褨褩 薪邪褋褌邪谢懈 褌褟卸泻褨 芦褉芯泻懈 褋邪褉邪薪懈禄, 袥芯薪写芯薪 锌芯褌械褉锌邪褦 胁褨写 斜芯屑斜邪褉写褍胁邪薪褜, 覑邪泄 袣褉邪褍褔斜械泻 薪械 锌芯谢懈褕邪褦 薪邪写褨褩 蟹褉芯斜懈褌懈 薪邪 褋胁芯褩泄 褋谢褍卸斜褨 褖芯褋褜 锌芯-褋锌褉邪胁卸薪褜芯屑褍 胁邪褉褌褨褋薪械. 袧邪 薪褜芯谐芯 褔械泻邪褌懈屑械 写械褋邪薪褌薪邪 褕泻芯谢邪 褨 蟹褍褋褌褉褨褔 蟹 褞谐芯褋谢邪胁褋褜泻懈屑懈 锌邪褉褌懈蟹邪薪邪屑懈,褌邪 泄 胁 芯褋芯斜懈褋褌芯屑褍 卸懈褌褌褨 褌械卸 薪械屑邪谢芯 锌械褉懈锌械褌褨泄. 校褋褨, 胁褨写 胁懈褖芯谐芯 泻芯屑邪薪写褍胁邪薪薪褟 写芯 屑褨谢褜泄芯薪褨胁 锌褉芯褋褌懈褏 褑懈胁褨谢褜薪懈褏, 芯褔褨泻褍褞褌褜 泻褨薪褑褟 胁褨泄薪懈 褨 斜褍写褍褞褌褜 锌谢邪薪懈 薪邪 屑懈褉薪械 屑邪泄斜褍褌薪褦, 胁芯写薪芯褔邪褋 褉芯蟹褍屑褨褞褔懈, 褖芯 薪褨泻芯谢懈 蟹薪芯胁褍 褋胁褨褌 薪械 斜褍写械 褌邪泻懈屑, 褟泻 褉邪薪褨褕械.

416 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1961

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About the author

Evelyn Waugh

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Evelyn Waugh's father Arthur was a noted editor and publisher. His only sibling Alec also became a writer of note. In fact, his book 鈥淭he Loom of Youth鈥� (1917) a novel about his old boarding school Sherborne caused Evelyn to be expelled from there and placed at Lancing College. He said of his time there, 鈥溾€he whole of English education when I was brought up was to produce prose writers; it was all we were taught, really.鈥� He went on to Hertford College, Oxford, where he read History. When asked if he took up any sports there he quipped, 鈥淚 drank for Hertford.鈥�

In 1924 Waugh left Oxford without taking his degree. After inglorious stints as a school teacher (he was dismissed for trying to seduce a school matron and/or inebriation), an apprentice cabinet maker and journalist, he wrote and had published his first novel, 鈥淒ecline and Fall鈥� in 1928.

In 1928 he married Evelyn Gardiner. She proved unfaithful, and the marriage ended in divorce in 1930. Waugh would derive parts of 鈥淎 Handful of Dust鈥� from this unhappy time. His second marriage to Audrey Herbert lasted the rest of his life and begat seven children. It was during this time that he converted to Catholicism.

During the thirties Waugh produced one gem after another. From this decade come: 鈥淰ile Bodies鈥� (1930), 鈥淏lack Mischief鈥� (1932), the incomparable 鈥淎 Handful of Dust鈥� (1934) and 鈥淪coop鈥� (1938). After the Second World War he published what is for many his masterpiece, 鈥淏rideshead Revisited,鈥� in which his Catholicism took centre stage. 鈥淭he Loved One鈥� a scathing satire of the American death industry followed in 1947. After publishing his 鈥淪word of Honour Trilogy鈥� about his experiences in World War II - 鈥淢en at Arms鈥� (1952), 鈥淥fficers and Gentlemen鈥� (1955), 鈥淯nconditional Surrender" (1961) - his career was seen to be on the wane. In fact, 鈥淏asil Seal Rides Again鈥� (1963) - his last published novel - received little critical or commercial attention.

Evelyn Waugh, considered by many to be the greatest satirical novelist of his day, died on 10 April 1966 at the age of 62.

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Profile Image for Orsodimondo.
2,387 reviews2,343 followers
July 3, 2023
N脡 VINCITORI N脡 VINTI



Adesso il nemico era uno, enorme, odioso, senza maschera. Era l鈥橢t脿 Moderna in armi. Qualunque fosse il risultato, c鈥檈ra posto per lui in quella guerra.

Comincia cos矛 questo romanzo che ho letto tre volte.
Il lui che ha un posto nella guerra 猫 Guy Crouchback, il protagonista di questa trilogia di romanzi intitolata Sword of Honour, pi霉 di mille pagine complessive, di cui queste sono le pi霉 belle, ma sono tutte una buona lettura.
La guerra 猫 quella del 1939鈥�1945, la Seconda Guerra Mondiale. Quella che gli inglesi vinsero portando a casa quella che si potrebbe definire una vittoria di Pirro: perch茅, per quanto vincitori sul campo, si ritrovarono senza l鈥檌mpero, rimpiccioliti, con ben altro status e ruolo mondiale. Il testimone passava ai cugini americani, quelli a stelle-e-strisce.



La guerra 猫 ormai in corso da qualche anno, Guy 猫 a Londra mentre vorrebbe essere al fronte, o se non altro, pi霉 vicino all鈥檃zione, dove poter essere pi霉 utile al suo paese. La sua ex moglie Virginia rimane incinta del suo parrucchiere, ma pensa di abortire. Intanto Guy viene spedito a un corso di addestramento per paracadutisti dove si fa male e finisce in ospedale. Per uscire da l矛, dove si sente recluso oltre che inutile, chiede l鈥檌ntervento di un amico.
Suo padre 猫 morto e Guy eredita tanto quanto basta per consentirsi un esistenza agiata ora che ha compiuto quaranta anni. Virginia, adesso che l鈥檈x marito 猫 diventato pi霉 che benestante, fa marcia indietro, va spesso a trovarlo, e finiscono con lo sposarsi una seconda volta. A questo punto, non occorre pi霉 abortire, un padre disposto a riconoscere il nascituro c鈥櫭�.


La cupola della Cattedrale di St. Paul fotografata il 7 giugno 1941 durante i bombardamenti nazisti.

La ragione per la quale i comandi sembrano refrattari a utilizzare Guy 猫 che lo sospettano di simpatie pro Asse dato che prima della guerra abitava in Italia. Ci貌 nonostante, alla fine la sua caparbiet脿 vince, e Guy viene mandato in missione in Jugoslavia.
A Londra una bomba distrugge la casa e uccide sua moglie Virginia e il vecchio caro zio Peregrine: ma risparmia il neonato, Gervase, che provvidenzialmente 猫 in campagna con la sorella di Guy.
Nei Balcani Guy fa amicizia con una comunit脿 di ebrei alla quale riesce a far arrivare approvvigionamenti dagli USA. A fine missione, quando torna a casa, apprende che molti di quegli ebrei sono stati ammazzati dai partigiani comunisti proprio perch茅 amici di un inglese.
La storia si conclude con Guy che si sposa di nuovo, un鈥檃ltra figlia di famiglia cattolica, proprio come Virginia.

Si incontrano di nuovo personaggi gi脿 noti: il cognato di Guy, Box-Bender; Tommy Blackhouse, vecchio rivale in amore; il generale Ritchie-Hook, alle prese con un'altra delle sue folli e inutili imprese eroiche; Ludovic che comanda l鈥檃ddestramento di paracadutisti ed 猫 paranoico quando Guy arriva perch茅 erano entrambi a Creta da dove Ludovic scapp貌 disertando dopo aver ucciso due uomini.


Questa celebre foto 猫 attribuita ad Alfred Eisenstaedt, ma pare sia basata su foto precedente di Victor Jorgensen.

Tirando le somme l鈥檈sperienza militare di Guy 猫 ben poca cosa nonostante sia durata anni e lo abbia portato pi霉 volte all鈥檈stero (Africa del nord, Creta, Balcani): nessun combattimento, n茅 contro i nazisti, n茅 contro i comunisti, n茅 pro la sua nazione. Essenzialmente anni di incarichi inutili e burocratici, in linea con la demente follia della guerra. E all鈥檌nsegna di un motto mai pronunciato: ogni cosa seria 猫 affrontata con leggerezza e ogni cosa leggera con gravit脿.
Anche se certo non si pu貌 dire che Waugh fosse pacifista o antimilitarista, aveva compreso sia la portata millenaria di quella guerra (la fine dell鈥橧nghilterra felix, di un mondo e un鈥檈poca) sia la sua assurda follia: la guerra non porta n茅 onore n茅 gloria, muove e coinvolge masse a tutto scapito del singolo individuo (l鈥檈terno individualismo inglese di cui Waugh fu ottimo rappresentante). Di conseguenza, resa incondizionata.

Rispetto ai primi due capitoli/romanzi della trilogia, questo 猫 intriso di maggior malinconia, di amarezza, di una maggiore consapevolezza antieroica, e io l鈥檋o trovato maggiormente struggente. Pur ritrovando l鈥檌ronia lieve e sottile tipica di Waugh, che a volte sa farsi caustica.


Una statua della serie scolpita da Seward Johnson e battezzata 鈥淯nconditional Surrender 鈥� Resa Incondizionata鈥�: una 猫 a New York, un鈥檃ltra a Pearl Harbor, una a Hamilton, New Jersey, e una quarta in Normandia.
Profile Image for Nashelito.
248 reviews217 followers
May 21, 2023
袙褨写胁械褉褌芯 泻邪卸褍褔懈, 屑械薪褨 褌褉芯褏懈 写懈胁薪芯, 褖芯 锌褉芯 褌褉懈谢芯谐褨褞 "袣谢懈薪芯泻 褔械褋褌褨" 袉胁谢褨薪邪 袙芯 薪械 锌懈褕褍褌褜, 薪械 芯斜谐芯胁芯褉褞褞褌褜, 薪械 蟹谐邪写褍褞褌褜 蟹邪褉邪蟹 薪邪 泻芯卸薪芯屑褍 泻褉芯褑褨.

袣芯谢懈 褟 褔懈褌邪胁 泻芯卸薪褍 蟹 褌褉褜芯褏 褔邪褋褌懈薪, 褌芯 褖芯褉邪蟹褍 谢芯胁懈胁 褋械斜械 薪邪 写褍屑泻邪褏 锌褉芯 褌械, 褟泻 褋懈谢褜薪芯 写芯褋胁褨写 覑邪褟 袣褉邪褍褔斜械泻邪 鈥� 褋芯褉芯泻邪褉褨褔薪芯谐芯 芯褎褨褑械褉邪 斜褉懈褌邪薪褋褜泻芯褩 邪褉屑褨褩 锌褨写 褔邪褋 袛褉褍谐芯褩 褋胁褨褌芯胁芯褩 胁褨泄薪懈 鈥� 薪邪谐邪写褍褦 屑械薪褨 屑芯褩 胁谢邪褋薪褨 胁卸械 屑邪泄卸械 锌'褟褌薪邪写褑褟褌褜 屑褨褋褟褑褨胁 褌褨褦褩 褔懈 褨薪褕芯褩 褍褔邪褋褌褨 胁 蟹邪褏懈褋褌褨 校泻褉邪褩薪懈 胁褨写 褉芯褋褨泄褋褜泻芯褩 邪谐褉械褋褨褩.

袦芯卸谢懈胁芯 锌褉懈谐芯写懈 袣褉邪褍褔斜械泻邪 薪械 薪邪写褌芯 锌芯锌褍谢褟褉薪褨, 斜芯 胁芯薪懈 胁褨写胁械褉褌芯 薪械 谐械褉芯褩褔薪褨. 覑邪泄 斜懈褌胁 薪械 褍薪懈泻邪褦, 邪谢械 泄 芯褋芯斜谢懈胁芯褩 屑芯卸谢懈胁芯褋褌褨 锌芯褌褉邪锌懈褌懈 胁 谐褍褖邪胁懈薪褍 锌芯写褨泄 褌械卸 薪械 屑邪褦. 袥械谐泻芯 褋褌邪褌懈 谐械褉芯褟屑懈 褌懈屑, 褏褌芯 蟹邪谐懈薪褍胁. 袘褨谢褜褕械 薪褨褏褌芯 薪械 蟹谐邪写邪褦, 褟泻懈屑懈 胁芯薪懈 屑芯谐谢懈 斜褍褌懈 薪械褋褌械褉锌薪懈屑懈 蟹邪 卸懈褌褌褟, 薪邪褌芯屑褨褋褌褜 卸懈胁懈屑 蟹邪谢懈褕邪褦褌褜褋褟 薪邪 蟹谐邪写泻褍 锌芯褔褍褌褌褟 锌褉芯胁懈薪懈 写芯 泻褨薪褑褟 褩褏薪褨褏 写薪褨胁.

袟邪泻谢褞褔薪邪 泻薪懈谐邪 褌褉懈谢芯谐褨褩 鈥� "袘械蟹蟹邪褋褌械褉械卸薪邪 泻邪锌褨褌褍谢褟褑褨褟" 鈥� 胁懈泄褕谢邪 锌芯薪邪写 锌'褟褌薪邪写褑褟褌褜 褉芯泻褨胁 锌褨褋谢褟 蟹邪泻褨薪褔械薪薪褟 胁褨泄薪懈 褨 蟹邪谢懈褕邪褦 锌芯 褋芯斜褨 写械褖芯 屑械谢邪薪褏芯谢褨泄薪懈泄 锌褨褋谢褟褋屑邪泻. 携泻褖芯 芯蟹懈褉薪褍褌懈褋褟 薪邪 薪械褩 锌芯谐谢褟写芯屑 褑械薪褌褉邪谢褜薪芯谐芯 锌械褉褋芯薪邪卸邪, 褌芯 胁芯薪邪 写褍卸械 褌褉邪谐褨褔薪邪, 邪写卸械 袚邪泄 袣褉邪褍褔斜械泻 胁褌褉邪褔邪褦 褌褍褌 写械泻褨谢褜泻芯褏 写褍卸械 斜谢懈蟹褜泻懈褏 泄芯屑褍 谢褞写械泄. 袗谢械 锌褉芯卸懈胁邪褦 胁褨薪 褑褨 褋胁芯褩 胁褌褉邪褌懈 薪邪锌褉芯褔褍写 褋褌褨泄泻芯.

袨褋芯斜懈褋褌芯 写谢褟 屑械薪械 芯写薪懈屑 褨蟹 薪邪泄褟褋泻褉邪胁褨褕懈褏 屑芯屑械薪褌褨胁 "袘械蟹蟹邪褋褌械褉械卸薪芯褩 泻邪锌褨褌褍谢褟褑褨褩" 褋褌邪谢懈 褉芯蟹锌芯胁褨写褨 锌褉芯 褌械, 褟泻 薪褨屑褑褨 邪褌邪泻褍褞褌褜 袥芯薪写芯薪 泻褉懈谢邪褌懈屑懈 褉邪泻械褌邪屑懈 "肖邪褍". 袣芯谢懈 胁芯薪懈 锌褉芯薪芯褋褟褌褜褋褟 薪邪写 屑褨褋褌芯屑, 卸懈褌械谢褨 袥芯薪写芯薪邪 锌褉懈褋谢褍褏邪褞褌褜褋褟 写芯 蟹胁褍泻褍 屑芯褌芯褉褨胁 褨 屑芯谢褟褌褜褋褟, 褖芯斜懈 褉邪泻械褌懈 薪械 胁懈斜褍褏邪谢懈 胁蟹邪谐邪谢褨 邪斜芯 卸 锌邪写邪谢懈 胁 斜械蟹谢褞写薪懈褏 屑褨褋褑褟褏. 效懈褌邪褌懈 锌褉芯 褑械 芯褋芯斜谢懈胁芯 锌褨泻邪薪褌薪芯 蟹褉邪薪泻褍 锌褨褋谢褟 褌芯谐芯, 褟泻 锌褨胁 薪芯褔褨 锌褉芯胁褨胁 褍 泻邪谢褨写芯褉褨, 锌褉懈褋谢褍褏邪褞褔懈褋褜 写芯 斜谢懈蟹褜泻懈褏 胁懈褏芯写褨胁 蟹械薪褨褌薪懈褏 褉邪泻械褌 褨 写邪谢械泻芯谐芯 褋褌褉械泻芯褌邪薪薪褟 袟校-褕芯泻, 蟹写褉懈谐邪褞褔懈褋褜 胁褨写 胁懈斜褍褏褨胁 褉邪蟹芯屑 褨蟹 胁褨泻薪邪屑懈.

袉胁谢褨薪 袙芯 锌懈褋邪胁 褑褨 褉芯屑邪薪懈 褍 褋胁褨褌褨, 写械 褋邪屑械 锌谢邪薪褍胁邪胁褋褟 泻褨薪械褑褜 褨褋褌芯褉褨褩, 薪邪褑懈褋褌褨胁 褋褍写懈谢懈 褨 褋褌褉邪褔褍胁邪谢懈, 邪 谐芯谢芯胁薪懈屑 谐邪褋谢芯屑 斜邪谐邪褌褜芯褏 锌褉懈泄写械褕薪褨褏 锌芯泻芯谢褨薪褜 胁 泻芯薪褌械泻褋褌褨 袛褉褍谐芯褩 褋胁褨褌芯胁芯褩 褋褌邪谢芯 "薪褨泻芯谢懈 蟹薪芯胁褍".

小褜芯谐芯写薪褨 褟 写芯褔懈褌褍胁邪胁 泻薪懈谐褍 胁 芯斜褋褌邪胁懈薪邪褏, 褟泻褨 锌械褉械泻褉械褋谢懈谢懈 胁褋褨 胁褨褋褨屑 写械褋褟褌懈谢褨褌褜 褉芯蟹斜褍写芯胁懈 褋胁褨褌芯胁芯褩 斜械蟹锌械泻懈, 写械 褨褋褌芯褉褨褟 薪械 锌褉芯褋褌芯 褨褋薪褍褦 鈥� 屑懈 斜邪褔懈屑芯 褩褩 锌芯褋褌褍锌 薪邪 胁谢邪褋薪褨 芯褔褨, 胁褨写褔褍胁邪褦屑芯 褩褩 褏褨写 胁 泻褉芯胁褨 褌邪 泻褨褋褌泻邪褏. 校泻褉邪褩薪褑褨 锌芯屑懈褉邪褞褌褜, 斜芯 褋锌芯写褨胁邪谢懈褋褟, 褖芯 褟泻芯褋褜 胁芯薪芯 斜褍写械, 斜芯 褑懈胁褨谢褨蟹芯胁邪薪懈泄 褋胁褨褌 锌褉邪谐薪褍胁 蟹邪泻芯薪褋械褉胁褍胁邪褌懈褋褟 胁 泻芯屑褎芯褉褌褨, 斜芯 褉褍褋薪褟 鈥� 薪械 谢褞写懈.

笑褨泻邪胁芯, 褟泻 薪邪蟹胁邪 "袘械蟹蟹邪褋褌械褉械卸薪邪 泻邪锌褨褌褍谢褟褑褨褟" 写懈褋芯薪褍褦 蟹 芯褎褨褑褨泄薪懈屑懈 褉械蟹褍谢褜褌邪褌邪屑懈 袛褉褍谐芯褩 褋胁褨褌芯胁芯褩, 邪写卸械 褋芯褞蟹薪懈泻懈 锌械褉械屑芯谐谢懈. 袗谢械 写谢褟 覑邪褟 袣褉邪褍褔斜械泻邪 "泻邪锌褨褌褍谢褟褑褨褟" 胁褨写斜褍谢邪褋褟 薪邪 褉褨胁薪褨 屑芯褉邪谢褨 褌邪 械褌懈泻懈, 褔械褋褌褨 褌邪 谐褨写薪芯褋褌褨. 笑褜芯屑褍 褋锌褉懈褟谢芯 褌芯褌邪谢褜薪械 褉芯蟹褔邪褉褍胁邪薪薪褟 褍 胁褨泄薪褨 褌邪 蟹薪邪褔薪芯褞 屑褨褉芯褞 鈥� 胁 锌芯谢褨褌懈褑褨, 褟泻褍 锌褉芯胁邪写懈谢邪 褑懈胁褨谢褨蟹芯胁邪薪邪 褔邪褋褌懈薪邪 袗薪褌懈谐褨褌谢械褉褨胁褋褜泻芯褩 泻芯邪谢褨褑褨褩.
Profile Image for Cecily.
1,283 reviews5,080 followers
February 16, 2021
Part 3 of Sword of Honour.

Back to form (like part 1): a better balance (for my taste) between army and civilian storylines, but still plenty of eccentric characters, some shady secrets and lots of amusing bureaucratic inefficiency (the "intelligence" officers who consistently misinterpret Guy's connections and flag him as dubious are rather like a comic riff of Kafka), sprinkled with thoughts of faith, loyalty and doubt in terms of religion, relationships, nationality and class.

I feared the ending was going to be too obvious and tidy, but I need not have worried: it was more interesting that I'd feared.

My (brief) reviews of the other two in the trilogy:
1 Men at Arms
and
2 Officers and Gentlemen
Profile Image for Noel Ward.
165 reviews20 followers
August 18, 2022
The book was a great end to the trilogy. The portrayal of decline in the aristocracy especially with a world war in the picture makes it feel like a continuation of some of Proust鈥檚 ideas. And one character writes a long, meandering, barely coherent novel and then buys a castello and I can鈥檛 help feeling that Waugh (who was not a fan) was taking a potshot at James Joyce. Maybe not but I had fun thinking about it!
Profile Image for Father Nick.
201 reviews86 followers
May 10, 2021
This trilogy is the first work of Waugh after Brideshead Revisited that I finished--I've tried a few others but lost the thread. I'm not sure why I stuck with this one, to be honest, beyond the trustworthiness of a friend who recommended it. The rhythm of this novel (all three, really) is of long stretches of dogged narration of wartime life for the British punctuated by incisive conversations, or even single lines of prose that give one pause. They are often hilarious. Some examples:
"Guy briefly fell asleep. Then Ivor said, 'Guy, what would you do if you were challenged to a duel?'
'Laugh.'
'Yes, of course.'
'What made you think of that now?'
'I was thinking about honour. It's a thing that changes, doesn't it? I mean, a hundred and fifty years ago we would have had to fight if challenged. Now we'd laugh. There must have been a time a hundred years or so ago when it was rather an awkward question.'
'Yes. Moral theologians were never able to stop duelling--it took democracy to do that.'

Or his description of the bewildering memos composed by German intelligence on the death wish of an aging soldier:
"The single-handed attack on a fortified position by a British major-general, attended in one account by a small boy, in another by a midget, had no precedent in Clausewitz."

Or a passing reference to the ancient city of Alexandria as that "ancient asparagus bed of theological absurdity."
And, when Guy's ex-wife Virginia wants to know why the Crouchbacks seem to lack libido:
"I don't know about the others. With me I think, perhaps, it's because I associate it with love. And I don't love any more."

Or after confessing his suicidal tendencies to an Italian priest before deployment on secret assignment:
After the absolution he said: 'Are you a foreigner?'
'Yes.'
'Can you spare a few cigarettes?'

Or even a reference to one of his other stories Scott-King's Modern Europe in the introduction, referring to parents who want their schools to fit their boys to get by in the modern world:
It would be very wicked indeed to do anything to fit a boy for the modern world.

Everyone else I know has bailed out on this trilogy out of boredom, but those bon mots seemed to me to be worth the continued digging. And along the way, I discovered some characters I became genuinely interested in: Guy's ex-wife Virginia, the inexplicable Apthorpe, the elder Mr. Crouchback, Trimmer the chameleon, Uncle Peregrine the eccentric bachelor, and not least Guy himself. Guy is most interesting when his sincere desire to do some good creates real hardships for others, and makes the final pages appear to be something of a tragedy, in the classic sense of the word--belied, of course, by the final words of the epilogue. Maybe it's my years of service in a grand institution whose execution is often at odds with its stated ideals that creates some sympathy for Guy.
Waugh is a tough author to decipher sometimes, and were it not for the third novel's summary of the first two, I would have missed out on some pretty significant plot points. All things considered, though, I have created a new shelf for this book: The Ache. Waugh's writing is shot through with adumbrations of earthly happiness poisoned by disappointment, which are both the occasions of and the results of transcendence--not so much of hope, but simply awareness.

Quantitative judgments do not apply.
Profile Image for Susan.
2,936 reviews577 followers
July 8, 2012
This final volume in the Swords of Honour trilogy, sees Guy Crouchback back in England. After two years training the new brigade of Halberdiers, he suffers the blow of being too old to be taken into battle. Again, Guy's war turns into a waiting game, involving chance and mis-chance as he is chosen by the new Electronic Personnel Selector for special employment, only to have old security issues and a chance encounter with Ludovic, now a Major in the intelligence corps with literary aspirations, divert his steps from the intended journey.

The three books in this trilogy are not meant to be read alone. The characters and stories within the various novels interweave and interlink, so this book will make little sense without reading the previous two. A lot of the characters here we have met before - including Guy's ex-wife Virginia, who thinks she has escaped Trimmer and then discovers life is no longer as easy as it once was. By this novel, many of the characters are tired, dispirited and expected glory has been replaced by realistic expectations and political disquiet about the end of the war. Through all these novels, Guy maintains his central core of belief and goodness. He had hoped to change the war, but he does manage to change a life. This really is a stunning trilogy and I cannot recommend it highly enough. If you do decide to give it a try, and I hope you do, then please read the books in order. The first is Men at Arms (Penguin Modern Classics) and the second Officers and Gentlemen (Penguin Modern Classics). Alternatively, all three volumes are available in Sword of Honour (Penguin Modern Classics).
Profile Image for Mark Joyce.
336 reviews62 followers
October 25, 2021
The generally bleak tone of the first two volumes ramps up a notch in the third. There are some bright moments among the tragedy and farce, but in general the register moves between melancholy, despair and detached exasperation. I don鈥檛 know how closely Waugh stuck to his own wartime experiences in writing this trilogy. It feels like an authentic insight into a particular stratum of the British class system in the mid-twentieth century about which many have written, but few as well as Evelyn Waugh.
Profile Image for George.
2,991 reviews
March 19, 2023
An interesting, engaging third novel in Waugh鈥檚 excellent 鈥楽word of Honor鈥� trilogy, recording the wartime adventures of Guy Crouchback, following on from 鈥楳en at Arms鈥� and 鈥極fficers and Gentlemen鈥�. A desk job in London allows Guy to reconcile with his former wife, Virginia. Guy is posted to Yugoslavia as a liaison officer with the partisans. He comes to see the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honour.

I enjoyed this trilogy and I am glad I read the books in order of publication. A very worthwhile reading experience and highly recommended.

A must read for Evelyn Waugh fans.

The trilogy follows Waugh鈥檚 own wartime experiences.

This book was first published in 1961.
Profile Image for Mark.
201 reviews52 followers
October 29, 2019
鈥楿nconditional Surrender鈥� is a biting satire on the English class system and how the ruling class and their sense of entitlement, even when the country is plunged into a global conflict, can chart a course through the bureaucracy to smooth their way into the far less dangerous and more comfortable theatres of war.

Despite his apathy and general lethargy, born out of financial failure in business and marital failure, Guy Crouchback is still an all round 'good egg' and his fellow undergraduates from university and his old school chums will always rally round when things go wrong for him. Basically he is a good chap, much misunderstood, and unaccountably suffers from pangs of deep seated guilt over his failed marriage. Although it was the flighty Virginia, who had been shamefully unfaithful, and caused him huge social embarrassment, he can forgive her as he believes he is responsible. He had lacked the passion and the wherewithal. He is not enamoured in the ways of the flesh, and eschews sexual pleasure, and so realises he was in large part responsible for his wife鈥檚 sexual frustration and desperation. So the novel explore the workings of an individual conscience and how loss of faith imperils a devout Roman Catholic to oblivion.

In his mid thirties, and older than many volunteering, Guy Crouchback joins the army, hoping to see military action. The 鈥榦ld school tie鈥� ensures he will be posted to a unit with fellow sons of landed gentry, and they are transferred about Britain, without any real purpose, and without gaining much expertise in fighting, before being posted overseas. Numerous hilarious passages then chart both the absurdity of war and the slow but sure death of a ruling caste and its obsolete ethos.

Throughout the novel the writer is a detached and critical observer, illustrating the bizarre incompetence of some antagonistic characters, all without exception ill-suited for command. At times bordering one the farcical, with shades of PG Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh creates his own world, with a cheerful irreverence with World War Two.

The 'Sword of Honour' Trilogy is a scathing indictment of the armed forces and its officer class and their self obsession and other worldliness. Humour and horror are set, side by side, and tragedy follows, but all within a kind of literary insouciance.

Mesmerising.
Profile Image for Rick.
404 reviews8 followers
January 20, 2015
鈥淭he End of the Battle鈥� by Evelyn Waugh (originally published 1961, and book three of what became his Sword of Honour trilogy) continues the tale of Englishman Guy Crouchback, temporary officer, showcasing his part in representing Great Britain during World War II. Once again, threads to Heller鈥檚 鈥淐atch 22鈥� and Hooker鈥檚 鈥淢ASH鈥� are easy connections because of the witty, absurd, and tragic events Crouchback faces.

In this third book of the trilogy, Crouchback is again in training鈥ere learning how to jump out of airplanes and become a paratrooper鈥nd once again there is little real fighting for the temporary officer corps. Our hero moves from London proper to training in the countryside, and after a lull waiting for deployment is sent to the Balkans as a liaison officer. Throughout Waugh amuses with examples of the absurdities of military life. The storyline remains strong until the end.

Throughout what totals roughly 1,000 pages over three books, we sometimes feel that we are reading about a life stuck in a Seinfeld show鈥hich had once been described as a 鈥渁 show about nothing鈥�. The war years flow by, Crouchback is in England often enough for us to follow his life back home, his deployments are varied but seemingly never under fire, and we see only hints of the atrocities we know are at work in the background. And during all this Waugh writes with a droll humor鈥f the reader is open to that sensation in a war setting.

Once again the tale is written in classic British stiff-upper-lip prose. It is at once both funny and tragic, and an excellent read.
Profile Image for Manuel Alfonseca.
Author听77 books197 followers
September 9, 2020
ENGLISH: In the end of the trilogy, Evelyn Waugh continues with his scathing treatment of the British management of the Second World War. Most of it takes place in England, a little in Italy, and the last four chapters in Croatia, where we can see the fiasco of the British diplomatic service in Tito's Yugoslavia.

For me, the most interesting part of this book is in Part Two (especially chapter 7), which tells about the reconciliation of the protagonist, Guy Crouchback, and his wife Virginia. Uncle Peregrine has his most important participation in this section, and leaves us with the feeling that he'd been a lovable character, if he had received more attention.

ESPA脩OL: Al final de la trilog铆a, Evelyn Waugh contin煤a describiendo mordazmente la gesti贸n brit谩nica de la Segunda Guerra Mundial. La mayor parte tiene lugar en Inglaterra, un poco en Italia, y los 煤ltimos cuatro cap铆tulos en Croacia, donde asistimos al fiasco del servicio diplom谩tico brit谩nico en la Yugoslavia de Tito.

Para m铆, la parte m谩s interesante de este libro es la segunda parte (especialmente el cap铆tulo 7), donde se habla de la reconciliaci贸n del protagonista, Guy Crouchback, con su esposa Virginia. El t铆o Peregrine participa de forma importante en esta secci贸n, dej谩ndonos con la sensaci贸n de que, si hubiera recibido m谩s atenci贸n, habr铆a sido un personaje encantador.
Profile Image for Issicratea.
229 reviews455 followers
September 1, 2013
So herewith ends Waugh鈥檚 strange and rather wonderful trilogy. This third volume is something of a remix, with a lot of echoes of the first. Guy spends a period again invalided out with an inglorious knee injury; Ludovic鈥檚 mental disintegration parallels Apthorpe鈥檚 in Men at Arms; Ritchie-Hook makes a brief valedictory reappearance, reprising his 鈥渉uman target鈥� party trick from Men at Arms to tragic effect. We even get some kind of resolution to the situation between Guy and his tragically mismatched, superannuated-flapper ex-wife Virginia, left suspended after Guy鈥檚 ill-conceived attempt at rapprochement in Men at Arms.

There are also continuities with Officers and Gentlemen. As there, we get some kind of marginal brush with the 鈥渞eal鈥� war, to vary the endless shuffling from non-combatant outfit to non-combatant outfit that is Guy鈥檚 fate for so much of the last two volumes. This time, he is posted to Yugoslavia to liaise with Tito鈥檚 partisans, a military alliance Guy, and his creator, find cynical and distasteful. As in the previous volumes, Guy鈥檚 war experiences closely shadows Waugh鈥檚, though he can鈥檛 be considered a self-portrait in any straightforward sense (I was amused to read in the introduction to my鈥擯enguin Classics鈥攅dition that Waugh鈥檚 superior during his officer training judged it unwise to let him lead men into battle because he was so disliked that those he was leading would probably have taken the opportunity to shoot him).

There are two novelties in Unconditional Surrender with respect to the earlier volumes. One is that we begin to get the first stirrings of a moral lesson amid all the abrasive ironies. It goes something like this (though with a Catholic inflection): accept that life is meaningless and absurd, and just attempt to do what very limited good you can, even though you may well be laughed at for it. Which seems perfectly fine as an ethos.

The other novelty is a certain amount of literary self-consciousness; using the pretext of Ludovic鈥檚 literary ambitions, Waugh embarks on some sardonic reflections on British literary culture in his day. This isn鈥檛 especially interesting per se鈥攈e is fighting long-forgotten battles here, against long-forgotten literary figures (Cyril Connolly, anyone?)鈥攂ut it did set me thinking about the rather curious, parodic way Waugh uses grand literary subtexts in this trilogy. I kept seeing allusions to Dante in the first volume (I鈥檓 sure it鈥檚 not a coincidence that, at thirty-five, Guy is the same age as Dante when he plunges into his dark wood at the start of the Inferno). There鈥檚 also an allusion to Ludovic as Macbeth at the beginning of Unconditional Surrender, and an offhand comparison of Virginia (now surnamed Troy, for her third, American husband) to Helen of Troy. I felt that Waugh was invoking these models as a stick with which to beat the modern, anti-heroic world, in a manner reminiscent of Eliot鈥檚 The Wasteland, to which he alludes ironically at one point in this third volume鈥攖hough obviously one can hardly imagine two works more different in poetics and tone.

It鈥檚 precisely because it prompts this kind of thought that I think Waugh鈥檚 trilogy is something of a masterpiece, though a very odd one. There鈥檚 a great deal going on in it, both on the surface and beneath it (what鈥檚 with the erotic tension between Guy and Ludovic, by the way, picked up on by the intriguing figure of Frank de Souza?) These unresolved hints of depth, combined with its unquestionable value as testimony, its sporadic hilariousness, and its odd and distinctive shifts in tone between comic and tragic, make for an extremely memorable read.
Profile Image for Brok3n.
1,338 reviews93 followers
August 6, 2022
Meh...

I read this eleven years ago (06-Aug-2011). I barely remember it now. What I do remember is a sense of disappointment. Having heard Evelyn Waugh's name forever, and having heard him praised as one of the most humorous English authors, I was expecting more. It was fun, not a waste of time to read, But it was only a little fun. I see other reviewers compare him to . Not even close, in my opinion!

.
Profile Image for Jordan.
Author听5 books111 followers
October 13, 2017
Excellent. Heartbreaking. A great conclusion to the Sword of Honour trilogy, that completes Guy Crouchback鈥檚 six-year crusade with irony and tremendous pathos. The pitiful state of Eastern Europe as the Soviets manipulate and murder their way into postwar power is particularly well depicted through Guy, as an English observer powerless to change anything. Hope to read through in print sometime soon.
Profile Image for John.
1,535 reviews118 followers
March 21, 2019
An excellent conclusion to the trilogy. Guy Crouchback has returned to England and twiddling his thumbs. Unexpectedly he finds himself training to parachute and act as a partisan liaison. His wife Virginia returns, Uncle Peregrine takes him in while he recovers from a knee injury. Then Guy finds himself in Yugoslavia. The satire is brilliant and believable! A bit sad in parts but I liked the ending.
Profile Image for Bill.
1,903 reviews108 followers
June 16, 2020
by is the third and final book in the Sword of Honour trilogy. The book follows Guy Crouchback and his friends and family as he continues his efforts to make a contribution to the British war effort during WWII.

Guy is basically an unemployed soldier, deemed too old to be given an active military mission. He finds himself buried at HOO OO headquarters (don't ask, I'm still not sure), sort of a catch all group that looks at odd ball plans for fighting the Nazis, even a voodoo master. He finds himself wandering, spending time with his lovely, gentle father, who will finally pass away. We also meet characters from the other books, Ludovic, a strange individual, who now is in charge of a parachute training facility for 'guests' who will drop behind enemy lines; Victoria, Guy's ex-wife who has gone through a couple of others and finds herself in an awkward position, etc.

Guy finally gets a mission, through some sort of automated placement system and will go to the parachute training company, then to Italy and finally to the campaign against the Nazis in Yugoslavia. The story is gently told. Guy, known as Uncle because of his age, has questioned his Catholic faith, has wanted to contribute. He's not what I'd call an aggressive man but he's not afraid of action. There are some nice scenes with his father, there are nice scenes with Virginia. Do I feel the story to be profound, no, not necessarily, but it's an easy, excellent, thoughtful read. I enjoyed this trilogy and Waugh's writing style. (4 stars)
Profile Image for Atay Kozlovski.
83 reviews4 followers
October 30, 2020
4

a bit better than book 2 but all in all i think that reading only book 1 is sufficient for this series... Its not that it is bad it just drags on a bit with more of the same...
496 reviews2 followers
November 17, 2024
It has been so many years since I read this, so a chance to reacquaint myself with Guy was welcome.
After some of the dross that I have been reading lately, this shines like a diamond, but that does Waugh a disservice.
In any company Sword of Honour is a masterpiece.
Profile Image for Ryan Young.
832 reviews10 followers
April 15, 2018
i took this book on a trip not knowing it was third in a trilogy. all i can say is start from the beginning.
Profile Image for Michael.
117 reviews2 followers
November 5, 2018
As much as I like to read, I find that I am not really one of these people that savors a good sentence or a well-turned phrase. I should take more time to slowly enjoy the things that I read, but I don鈥檛. It鈥檚 different with Waugh though. Waugh鈥檚 books are one of those rare times when I will read a paragraph or a section over and over again, because they鈥檙e just so well put together. He鈥檚 one of those writers who truly has mastered the sense of 鈥渓ess is more鈥� and often he is able to weave in so many different things happening and ideas with just a few lines of dialogue.

The Sword of Honour trilogy is excellent. Easily my favorite novel, if I can count all three as one. I read it every year for personal reasons, but its just simply an excellent novel If one of the key conceits of the novel is seeing a character change through the course of action, then there are few better examples like this. It doesn鈥檛 quite have the dramatic change in character that we see in something like Crime and Punishment, but in the character of Guy Crouchback, we have a man trying to believe in something in the face of deep disappointment. In the end, he does find purpose and contentment鈥ut it isn鈥檛 exactly a happy go lucky, alls well that ends well type of ending.

I definitely noticed a few things that hadn鈥檛 quite stood out as much before. Guy鈥檚 penchant for being confused with other people, and the obvious thematic elements that this hints at. The fact that Virginia, while she doesn鈥檛 have the faith, has joy in her life, the one thing that Guy is missing, even if he does have the faith and tries to live a life of virtue. He has no joy, and that is what brings him down.

I sometimes give the third novel in this trilogy short shrift, somewhat because it is the volume that I鈥檝e read less frequently (while I try to read the whole trilogy every fall, I haven鈥檛 finished every year), and it definitely doesn鈥檛 start as smoothly as the first two novels, especially the first, but End of the Battle, or Unconditional Surrender, really does hold up along with the other two books. Great book, even if the 鈥減lot鈥� of it is a little less discernible compared to the other two. Regardless, no one quite does funny and sad at the same time like Waugh. I hadn鈥檛 planned on it, but I鈥檓 contemplating doing a read through of all of Waugh鈥檚 novels again, something that I haven鈥檛 done in over ten years.
Profile Image for Patrick McCoy.
1,083 reviews89 followers
December 12, 2013
Unconditional Surrender (aka The End of the Battle 1961) is the last volume of the Sword of Honor trilogy by Evelyn Waugh. It is also something of a return to form, since I found the second volume, Officers and Gentlemen, less compelling than the first, Men At War. In this volume, guy Crouchback has been declared too old to see action and is sent for special employment, only to have old security issues and a chance encounter with former Halberdier Ludovic, now a Major in the intelligence corps who is slowly losing it much like Agathorpe in the first volume: "In my experience the more responsible posts in the army are largely filled by certifiable lunatics. They don't cause any more trouble than the sane ones." Guy ends up on assignment in Yugoslavia where he encounters the usual eccentric characters, some shady secrets and lots of amusing bureaucratic inefficiency, The "intelligence" officers consistently misinterpret Guy's connections and flag him as dubious are rather comic, sprinkled with thoughts of faith, loyalty and doubt in terms of religion, relationships, nationality and class. Some of the more serious aspects come into play here as Guy tries to deal with the situation of displaced persons, Jews who have been brought to Yugoslavia to work by the Nazis. This aspect reflects the postwar realities than ian Buruma discussed in his recent, excellent book on 1945, Year Zero. Several other story lines from previous novels are given closure such as the relationship between Guy and his ex-wife Virgina. The epilogue ends with a picture of Guy's life as satisfying and contented. This trilogy can be seen as the British comedic counterpart to Joseph Heller's excellent WWII comic novel Catch 22.
326 reviews6 followers
January 4, 2025
After the energy of Officers and Gentlemen , I am afraid Unconditional Surrender was something of a disappointment. It rather feels as though its primary focus was on closing the story鈥檚 various strands. It does this quite well, although I found myself still rather mystified by Ludovic鈥檚 odd behaviour.
There is a continuation of the British bumbling incompetence and of the injustices of Guy鈥檚 fate. When Ludovic starts behaving very oddly, and it is, indeed, oddly, one of his underlings wonders about the protocol for reporting the suspected derangement of a senior officer. Ludovic talks of wanting a dog to love, and then sings: 鈥淔ather won鈥檛 buy me a bow-wow鈥�. The underling receives the reply, 鈥淚n my experience the more responsible posts in the army are largely filled by certifiable lunatics. They don鈥檛 cause any more trouble than the sane ones.鈥欌€�
I mentioned in my review of Officers and Gentlemen that there were similarities between it and Joseph Heller鈥檚 later Catch 22 . There are several instances in Unconditional Surrender that could be considered classic catch 22 situations. Guy is taken to the Emergency Ward of the aerodrome when he injures his knee on a training parachute jump. He asks for his clothes but the orderly is a conscientious objector and can鈥檛 help or can鈥檛 be bothered; only a mysterious 鈥淎dmin鈥� can authorize that; Guy wants to phone the parachute school but only Admin can use the phone. So he asks to see Admin but Admin only comes in once a week.
The characters in Unconditional Surrender exemplify a variety of attitudes to war, few of them likely to expedite victory.
鈥� 鈥溾€楽hocking news from the eastern front. The Bolshevists are advancing again. Germans don鈥檛 seem able to stop them. I鈥檇 sooner see the Japanese in Europe 鈥� at least they have a king and some sort of religion. If one can believe the papers we are actually helping the Bolshevists.鈥欌€�
鈥� 鈥淪ir Ralph Brompton had been schooled in the old diplomatic service to evade irksome duties and to achieve power by insinuating himself into places where, strictly, he had no business. In the looser organisation of total war he was able to trip from office to office and committee to committee.鈥�
鈥� 鈥淭he Brigadier was in ruminative mood. He had eaten largely; other pleasures lay ahead. 鈥榃ar,鈥� he said. 鈥榃hen I was at Sandhurst no one talked about war. We learned about it, of course 鈥� a school subject like Latin or geography; something to write exam papers about. No bearing on life. I went into the army because I liked horses, and I鈥檝e got a couple of gongs and a game leg and all I want is quiet. Not peace , mind. There鈥檚 nothing wrong with war except the fighting. I don鈥檛 mind betting that after five years of peace we shall all look back on Bari as the best days of our life.鈥欌€�
One of Evelyn Waugh鈥檚 great talents is creating outrageous satirical characters. He insisted that no character he created had a real-life parallel. This is likely true but, allowing for a little mixing and a little folding and a little interfusing, I suspect that a lot of the characterisation comes out of direct observation.
鈥淲hen the Lieutenant spoke of Peregrine Crouchback as 鈥榠nteresting鈥� he was making a unique judgement. A man of many interests certainly, well read, widely travelled, minutely informed in many recondite subjects, a discerning collector of bibelots; a man handsomely apparelled and adorned when he did duty at the papal court; a man nevertheless assiduously avoided even by those who shared his interests. He exemplified the indefinable numbness which Guy recognised intermittently in himself; the saturnine strain which in Ivo had swollen to madness, terror of which haunted Box-Bender when he studied his son鈥檚 letters from prison-camp.鈥�
Once again, Guy Crouchback is the protagonist, and he is a lot subtler creation than virtually anyone else in the book, with no striking flaws or eccentricities or weirdness.
Mind you, some of his actions are鈥nusual. He eventually re-establishes his partnership with Virginia 鈥� having never believed, as a Catholic, in the possibility of divorce. But his reasons for resumption of the marriage are unusual: 鈥溾€楰nights errant,鈥� he said, 鈥榰sed to go out looking for noble deeds. I don鈥檛 think I鈥檝e ever in my life done a single, positively unselfish action. I certainly haven鈥檛 gone out of my way to find opportunities. Here was something most unwelcome, put into my hands; something which I believe the Americans describe as 鈥渂eyond the call of duty鈥�; not the normal behaviour of an officer and a gentleman; something they鈥檒l laugh about in Bellamy鈥檚.鈥欌€� He is doing it for the soul of the baby. Then, when Virginia dies, he re-marries, as he is now free to do according to Catholicism: 鈥溾€楩irst sensible thing he鈥檚 ever done. Domenica Plessington, Eloise鈥檚 girl. Eloise looked after the baby when Guy was abroad. Domenica got very fond of it. A marriage was the obvious thing. I think Eloise deserves some credit in arranging it. Now they鈥檝e two boys of their own. When Domenica isn鈥檛 having babies she manages the home farm at Broome. They鈥檝e settled in the agent鈥檚 house. They aren鈥檛 at all badly off. Angela鈥檚 uncle Peregrine left his little bit to the child.鈥欌€�
Not only 鈥渢he first sensible thing鈥�, but presumably just about the first conventional action of his romantic life.
Especially towards the end of the book, the satire changes from the lampooning humour of Officers and Gentlemen to a more bleak, derisory tone. A lot of this relates to the 鈥渃rowd of mixed race Jews鈥� he encounters in Croatia. The episodes with these people highlight the inability of some entities to assist refugees, and the hostility of other entities towards them. The net result is that there is ultimately no change to their pitiful circumstances regardless of how much they are bundled from place to place. There is no levity to the satire here; it is just a highlighting of error, folly, official uninterest, and prejudice, and the impact of these on the real world occupied by certain unfortunate people. 鈥溾€� I can鈥檛 see the point of their being here,鈥� said the Commandant. 鈥榃e feed them and doctor them and house them. That鈥檚 all we can do. No one wants them. The Zionists are only interested in the young. I suppose they鈥檒l just sit here till they die.鈥欌€�

Unconditional Surrender is certainly very readable, as all Evelyn Waugh鈥檚 books are, and there are moments of effectively savage satire, some of the species that evokes laughter, some of the species that does not, but both types serve satire鈥檚 purpose of making us see how ridiculous mankind鈥檚 behaviour often is.
72 reviews1 follower
June 21, 2020
I found this trilogy very subpar commpared to my other readings of Waugh's work. Characters appear out of nowhere with no introduction, there is virtually no narrative arc, and the cast of characters is generally vast and chaotic. This last book in the trilogy goes some way toward redeeming the whole, since it finally pulls together some of the themes and threads, but really, I think Waugh's message is primarily distasteful to me. His racism is difficult to overlook, and despite the satire, Waugh's sympathies seem to lie more with the outmoded, classist system of making officers of the nobility despite their supreme lack of military or other qualification than with more modern military practice of valuing skill, expertise, and professionalism. His obsession with Catholicism is also distasteful to me. His depiction of the Yugoslav partisans is the most interesting part of the book, but it's hard to take at face value, since Waugh is clearly so hostile to them for reasons of his own.
Profile Image for Brendan Hodge.
Author听2 books30 followers
August 14, 2012
The last of Waugh's Sword of Honor trilogy, dealing with World War II, this novel concludes plot threads relating to Guy Crouchback's marriage, as well as taking him to the partisan wars of soon-to-be communist Eastern Bloc Europe. Waugh's reaction to the war from a conservative British perspective is an important corrective to the "The Good War fought by The Greatest Generation" line of thinking that is so common in the US -- Waugh sees the moral necessities of the war clearly, but at the same time recognizes that deals with the devil that were constantly being made in order to try to win it, and also the sheer inanity of military life. Particularly gratifying in this last volume is the resolution of the issues we've seen with Crouchback's ex-wife Virginia -- a not-very-sympathetic character in previous books who rounds out a bit in this last one.
Profile Image for Annabelle Franklin.
Author听5 books13 followers
January 27, 2020
I enjoyed Waugh鈥檚 earlier novels, but I found this trilogy hard going. Among a cast of entertaining and colourful characters, the protagonist, Guy Crouchback, comes across as a uniformly grey figure. To use the vernacular of the time, he seems rather 鈥榳et鈥� 鈥� he spends most of his time hanging around in various parts of Europe, not achieving much, getting himself and other people into trouble and occasionally hurting his knee. Maybe that鈥檚 the point of the story 鈥� the futility of war 鈥� but at times it made frustrating reading, and I found Crouchback鈥檚 lacklustre exploits unremittingly tedious. It might have been funny if HE had been funny, but he isn鈥檛. Saying that, there were some funny scenes 鈥� mainly the ones that didn鈥檛 feature him.
Profile Image for Margaret Joyce.
Author听2 books26 followers
January 7, 2012
This masterpiece of writing tells the story of the perceived glory and later acknowledged futility of war as experienced by the narrator.It details the inanities and insanities of war as played out in Yugoslavia and elsewhere during WW2. As always, Waugh is gripped with the moral choices faced by an individual of faith as he participates in the events of the larger society. Very meaty reading indeed.
Profile Image for Raven.
283 reviews1 follower
March 17, 2013
A fantastic and highly quotable conclusion to a compelling series.
Favorite Quotes: "Those who take too keen an interest in the outside world, may one day find themselves locked outside their own gates."
And
"In my experience the more responsible posts in the army are largely filled by certifiable lunatics. They don't cause any more trouble than the sane ones."
And
"I wish those bastards would shoot better. I don't want to go home
139 reviews1 follower
November 25, 2012
In this final book of the Guy Crouchback trilogy Waugh eloquently portrays the dreariness of latter part of World War II as he ties things up very neatly. In addition to the sure, acid touch there arises an unexpected degree of kindliness, which is rather endearing.
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