324. Parade's End

Parade's End
Ford Madox Ford
1924-1928
Around 830 pages

Jean Rhys has blown the whistle on how creepy FMF was, but if I let that ruin my fun, I wouldn't be able to enjoy 75% of the novels on this List. And I would be deprived of seeing Benedict Cumberbatch's above haircut. 

Christopher Tietjens is a government statistician from a wealthy English family. He serves as an officer in World War I, and is married to Sylvia, who is the type of woman that male authors always seem to come up with. The shallow socialite who gives her husband hell and makes all his infidelities excusable. Speaking of which, he has a relationship with Valentine, a passionate woman's suffragist. 

At the very least, Ford always produces rich characters, and Christopher was a good representation of the generation wiped out during the First World War. Sylvia was also portrayed sympathetically, her actions could largely be explained by the sexual repression of the time. 

But he's wordy, and I find his way of drifting in and out of his characters' heads hard to follow.  Jean Rhys can do better than him.

RATING: ***--

Interesting Facts:

Admired by Dorothy Parker. 

Graham Greene spoke out about the last volume, calling it an afterthought that Ford did not mean to make. Ouch.

UP NEXT: The Well of Loneliness by Radclyffe Hall

263. The Good Soldier

The Good Soldier
Ford Madox Ford
1915
Around 200 pages

The novel starts with the line "This is the saddest story I have ever heard." I groaned when I read that line. Hey, 2020 has been rough, and I could do with some good old-fashioned escapism. Fortunately, this wasn't as emotionally devastating as the introduction seemed to promise. 

John Dowell tells us the story of his marriage to Florence, and their friendship with another couple, Captain Edward Ashburnham and his wife Leonora. Edward has a long series of affairs, but Leonora believes he will eventually "come back" to her, if she manages his finances and lets him get on with his infidelity. Oh, honey. Edward becomes involved with Florence, and John doesn't react the way you'd expect.

I think the narration style might bug some people. John tells the story in much the same way a real person would. The story isn't recounted chronologically, and John often goes on tangents. He'll provide background details here and there. He's a prime example of an unreliable narrator and putting together the "real" story is what makes this novel such a good read.

I am excited to read more books from this era, as I find this period of history fascinating.

RATING: ****-

Interesting Facts:

The title of the novel was sarcastically suggested by Ford, and stuck.

Ford originally used the name Ford Madox Hueffer, but changed it because Hueffer sounded too Germanic.

UP NEXT: Rashomon by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa. This is a nice and short one.