The First Casualty
5 journalers for this copy...
Ben Elton is one of my favorites, so I picked this one up at a local sale, even though it doesn't appear as overtly satirical as Elton's other work. From the back cover:
Douglas Kingsley is sent to Flanders in 1917 to investigate the murder of a British officer. Forced to conduct his investigations amidst the hell of the Third Battle of Ypres, Kingsley soon discovers that both the evidence and the witnesses he needs are quite literally disappearing into the mud that surrounds him.
Ben Elton's tenth novel is a gut-wrenching historical drama which explores some fundamental questions. What is murder? What is justice in the face of unimaginable daily slaughter? And where is the honour in saving a man from the gallows if he is only to be returned to die in a suicidal battle?
As the gap between legally-sanctioned and illegal murder becomes even more blurred, Kingsley quickly learns that the first casualty when war comes is truth.
This turned out to be a bit different book from what I expected, and mostly in a good way, though there is some not-so-subtle hammering in of the novel's points. Mostly the difference comes from Kingsley's character, a man of principle whose principles are not even comprehensible to his society. I also liked how Kingsley's principles, which in the beginning are firm and argued, turn out to be pretty hypocritical, as he is forced to break out of his high-status policeman cocoon into the “real” world.
It is also worth noting how Kingsley's principles crumble one by one. He starts off as a properly behaving gentleman, but by the time the novel has ended, he has committed infractions against pretty much everything he used to stand for.
Like with the other Elton murder mystery, Dead Famous, the identity of the murderer and the solving of the mystery are not really that important, and there aren't really much in the way of clues along the way. The story is more about Kingsley's journey into a new man. As a satire, this isn't that strong, like I suspected, but then, war is difficult to satirize, it being so absurd already.
The questions listed in the back cover (see above) are interesting ones. They actually generalize into questioning what is the point of correcting small injustices when really large ones still exist. And I have two answers to that. First, every little bit helps, so correcting a small thing is worthwhile if it something that can be done. Second, permitting, say, murder or convicting innocents, just because there is a war on and that is much worse, has the tendency to lead into more general lawlessness as “minor” rules are not being enforced. So, even in a war, even when the man will be sent to the front the following day, it is still worth it to prevent his unjust execution.
Reserved for kasenka who picked it up in the book relay.
It is also worth noting how Kingsley's principles crumble one by one. He starts off as a properly behaving gentleman, but by the time the novel has ended, he has committed infractions against pretty much everything he used to stand for.
Like with the other Elton murder mystery, Dead Famous, the identity of the murderer and the solving of the mystery are not really that important, and there aren't really much in the way of clues along the way. The story is more about Kingsley's journey into a new man. As a satire, this isn't that strong, like I suspected, but then, war is difficult to satirize, it being so absurd already.
The questions listed in the back cover (see above) are interesting ones. They actually generalize into questioning what is the point of correcting small injustices when really large ones still exist. And I have two answers to that. First, every little bit helps, so correcting a small thing is worthwhile if it something that can be done. Second, permitting, say, murder or convicting innocents, just because there is a war on and that is much worse, has the tendency to lead into more general lawlessness as “minor” rules are not being enforced. So, even in a war, even when the man will be sent to the front the following day, it is still worth it to prevent his unjust execution.
Reserved for kasenka who picked it up in the book relay.
Journal Entry 3 by kasenka from Rautjärvi, Etelä-Karjala / Södra Karelen Finland on Sunday, July 5, 2009
Thanks for the book, VariC!
Journal Entry 4 by kasenka from Rautjärvi, Etelä-Karjala / Södra Karelen Finland on Sunday, December 20, 2009
! Major Spoiler Warning !
"A dead man takes a job that don't exist from a man who's never met him, in a room of which we deny all knowledge!"
Very thought-provoking book about what war does to people. You are part of the war whether you want it or not. You can not escape. I enjoyed a lot reading it, but the ending got me puzzled. I totally couldn't see this one coming. I thought it was obvious Kingsley couldn't survive. Either he was to be executed by SIS or he'd have ended in mud killed or even a random grand piano falling onto him on his way to Australia for heaven's sake. Why on earth would Mr. Elton give his novel t*h*i*s ending? There must be some bizarre reason I don't get. Don't get me wrong, I like happy endings. I actually love to read cookie-cutter books with cheesy endings for once in a while. But this? Won't there be any suspicions about his identity? Are there happy endings in wartime? Can Kingsley be happy with his wife and son after everything he had done? And vice versa? Or does this imply that every man did horrible things in war and deserves a second chance?
And now when I wrote about mud I remembered the very first chapter of the book where a man drowns in mud. Who was this man? Why did the book begin with this?
Corruption of Kingsleys principles was interesting to read as VariC already mentioned. Why did he choose doing things the way he did? Did he have a choice in the first place? Is this what prison and war does to a man? Ah, questions!
I could say many noble things about ethics and war and humanity but actually I'm in no position to say them. I feel they would be only holier-than-thou kind of thoughts. I have far more questions than answers after reading this book and I like it that way. Magnificent book and I don't know what to say at all.
I'll send the book now to Chirel, happy trails!
"A dead man takes a job that don't exist from a man who's never met him, in a room of which we deny all knowledge!"
Very thought-provoking book about what war does to people. You are part of the war whether you want it or not. You can not escape. I enjoyed a lot reading it, but the ending got me puzzled. I totally couldn't see this one coming. I thought it was obvious Kingsley couldn't survive. Either he was to be executed by SIS or he'd have ended in mud killed or even a random grand piano falling onto him on his way to Australia for heaven's sake. Why on earth would Mr. Elton give his novel t*h*i*s ending? There must be some bizarre reason I don't get. Don't get me wrong, I like happy endings. I actually love to read cookie-cutter books with cheesy endings for once in a while. But this? Won't there be any suspicions about his identity? Are there happy endings in wartime? Can Kingsley be happy with his wife and son after everything he had done? And vice versa? Or does this imply that every man did horrible things in war and deserves a second chance?
And now when I wrote about mud I remembered the very first chapter of the book where a man drowns in mud. Who was this man? Why did the book begin with this?
Corruption of Kingsleys principles was interesting to read as VariC already mentioned. Why did he choose doing things the way he did? Did he have a choice in the first place? Is this what prison and war does to a man? Ah, questions!
I could say many noble things about ethics and war and humanity but actually I'm in no position to say them. I feel they would be only holier-than-thou kind of thoughts. I have far more questions than answers after reading this book and I like it that way. Magnificent book and I don't know what to say at all.
I'll send the book now to Chirel, happy trails!
Kirja on minulla. Anteeksi, että aiheutin huolta. Kirja hautautui työpöydälleni, ja luulin tehneeni siitä merkinnän.
Got this one from Chirel, thanks. I think that I will pass this on without reading it. Sorry. My TBR-pile is so high that I just need to let some of these books move on.
Miitistä mukaan.
