390. In Parenthesis

In Parenthesis
David Jones
1937

Around 230 pages

Okay, if any ole epic poem can creep its way on the List, there's really no excuse for the omission of works like The Odyssey or The Iliad. But hey, I can be as fun as anybody else. I can appreciate throwing in some poetry into the mix. Watch me loosen up as we once again describe the joys of trench warfare.

Based on Jones' own experiences as an infantryman, the poem narrates the experiences of English Private John Ball. Which I suppose is how we are getting away with this poetry nonsense. It's a little hard to understand, based on the heavy use of military slang and Cockney. 

In his Preface, Jones explains that this isn't meant to be a war book, because war has always been a part of life, and war isn't some remote genre out of the realm of normal. Unlike some of our more gratuitous works of modernism, there was real value in telling the story this way. I would imagine that war reminisces are fragmented, confused, and nothing ties up neatly at the end.

So a refreshing change of pace, but not something I want to revisit again and again.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

T. S. Eliot called it "a work of genius."

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