Simply utterly engaging.
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I am generally a fan of highly readable books that provide enjoyment (e.g., grisham, banks) rather than 'high' literature. It was nearly impossible to put this book down and had to finish it off in a few days. It starts off in a rumbling style, but quickly develops an intricate, twisted web of emotional despair. Simply utterly engaging.
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Simple greatness
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This deceptively simple, heart-breaking story will change the way you think about novels, writing and the canon of English literature. It is a masterpiece of the first order: simply told by a narrator who frequently doubts his ability to tell his own story it is a study of sadness and loss that is as near to "The Great Gatsby" as anything written in this country. It should not be missed under any circumstances: the reward of reading it is enormous.
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I love you with my ford
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An astonishing study of repressed passions and for me the birthplace of that 20th Century favourite the unreliable narrator. I really wanted to add that, important as Henry James may be, it was Ford's collaboration with Conrad that is at the root of the truly innovative narrative structure of this book.
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The First Modern Narrator?
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Ford Madox Ford, although a literary figure often undervalued, must stand alongside the lofty literary statures of giants such as James Joyce and Henry James. Much maligned in life, Ford reflects this in the novel "The Good Soldier" and creates, perhaps, the first modern narrator. Inconsistently and often unreliably, Ford's narrative tells a tale that, although not particularly epic, brings in the reader a sense of sadness and fatalism. "The Good Soldier" often verges towards the Greek Tragedy in that it is a tale of a man destined to pollute all those around him through his infidelity. Written in a time of repressive sexual attitudes, Ford manages to convey a story that, although self-censored, reflects the hidden lives of the real social world; sex, betrayal and adultery. The novel is of great value to anyone currently studying an English Literature course as the narrative style is a groundbreaking one which has influenced the world of literature since. It isn't a great bedside table book yet for anyone interested in the development of the narrative style in English literature it is surely a must.
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Sad Story, Amusingly Told
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Terrific book, extremely advanced for its time, though it does show Jamesian influences. It starts out:Â "This is the saddest story I've ever heard." Quite loosely written, with an ingenuously lazy wit, and it's a very complex story about two couples, ironically narrated by an American man, who is a splendid combination of naive and penetrating psychological insights, who is trying to document and piece together the steps leading to the suicide of Edward, his English friend, who in spite of the fact that he was an excellent fellow he was unable to keep his hands off whatever women came his way, and fall madly in love with the least appropriate damsels. I suspect the English fellow is a self-portrait, for the narrator is very gauche, and innocent, and not at all like Ford.
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