The Wars

Rating:
Summary: Did we read the same book?
Review: I feel as though, reading through all of the reviews of this novel, that I must not have read the same book as those who gave this book poor ratings. I believe it is honestly one of the best books I have ever read.
Yes, the characters are not normal--but they start off that way. It is the war that tears apart their family, turns them into killers, forces them to commit acts of depravity. Yes, Ross is a very complex character--but not to begin with. He begins as a simple, if not naive young adult in Canada and ends a mad, misunderstood soldier in Europe. Yes, Findley changes the narrative every 20 pages or so and yes, it can be confusing. But the book is about finding the humanity in the inhumanity of war by taking a look at a fictional but personal case. Findley's aim is not neatly tying up loose ends and making everything "fit" but unravelling tied ends and showing that nothing "fits."
If you enjoy happy endings that give easy answers and generic lessons, read another book. Findley's work is complicated, disturbing, and heavy and I for one enjoyed it. It's a book I still think about years after reading it and would recommend not "burning it to the ground" as some other critics have suggested, but leaving it until one is mature enough to comprehend its brevity.

Rating:
Summary: This should be a must-read for everyone
Review: I have read few books that effectively communicate the horrors of war as this one did. Even though this is a work of fiction, I felt as though I was in the trenches with Robert Ross & experiencing firsthand the horrible experience these people must have gone through. Another great book about WW1 is "Generals Die in Bed" - written by another Cdn. author (I forget the name) - another incredibly powerful firsthand experience of a terrible time in our history.

Rating:
Summary: what a piece of $h!t
Review: Pretend that the above rating reads -10000000000000 stars. This is one of the worst books I have ever read. It is unfortunate that I have to read it in order to graduate from highschool, because, otherwise, I would have put it down, burned it and mourned for the seconds of my life I have lost (and will never get back) while reading that dreadful thing. The beginning of the book is a little bit exciting. It leads you right into an action-packed scence involving railway tracks, a broken nose and a whole lot of horses. The action of this scene brings nothing but false hope to the reader. As you read on, you will eventually discover that the rest of the novel is about as action-packed as a church on a weekday. I have heard people rave about this novel and how well it is written. I can honestly say, that maybe I am taking crazy pills, but I have absolutely no idea what those people are talking about. If a "good writer" means someone who can lull you into a deep stupor, which involves you banging your head against your desk repeatedly, then Findley must be the best. He takes something that can be made interesting (World War I) and, excuse me, s#!ts all over it. Instead of "showing" the reader, by portraying a character's feelings and thoughts with words, Findley simply tells us. This makes for a story in which the reader remains detached from the characters and plot. We experience none of the interesting aspects of the story, such as Robert's affair with Barbara D'Orsey. This could have made the story quite interesting. However, we only find out about their affair by reading some random diary of Barbara's sister. And what's with all the talk about horses? I swear, Findley must have some sort of horse fetish because, while he could be telling us something interesting, he insists on droning on and on about one horse or another. I don't know about you, but I could care less about horses, and reading on and on about them is nothing short of painful. The sexual content of this novel, is boring and I suspect, more of a "wake-up call" than a significant portion of the plot. In the scene where Robert finally shoots the injured horse there is a quote that goes, "A chair fell over in his mind". My english teacher, when explaining this scene, seemed to think that that sentence bares reference to Rowena's chair falling over, resulting in her death. What a bunch of crock. Would any sane writer, who wants people to read his book, like his book, and buy his book ever pull something like that? I think not. I doubt Findely meant anything that far detached by that quote. He probably was just referring the noise. All in all, the book is bad. I thank you for reading it and commiserate with you if you happened upon this review looking for information about the book you need to read for school. Hopefully this review will let you know that other people are feeling you pain right now. If you are planning to read this book, contemplating renting it from the library, or even buying it: dont. It will be the worst $7 you have ever spent. Thank you for your time.
TM

Rating:
Summary: The Wars
Review: simply an excellent book, all those out there who find it dumb and confusing are probably just that - dumb and confused. this story digs into human emotion. excellent characters and discription. READ IT!

Rating:
Summary: Genius.
Review: The Wars as described by a pervious reviewer does jump frequently between the main character in the 1st world war and the researcher in finding out information about his life and then to his family back in Canada.

Findley really should have stuck to the experience in the trenches as he showed flashes of brilliance in his description of the conditions, but alas he didn't and tried to cram three stories in to one short book.

I sympathise with the teacher that gave the one star review, I scraped through this over complex, over written and heavily overrated book. I really does bring a new level to not judging a book by its cover (i.e the Governor General's award sticker)

Rating:
Summary: Necessary
Review: The Wars is a memory of Robert Ross, a nineteen year old Canadian Soldier who fought in the First World War, as reconstructed by the narrator through articles, photographs and interviews of those who knew him during his short life. It is before this life ended that controversy surrounds, when he is purported to have committed such unthinkable atrocities that remain unnamed until the conclusion of the tale.

Beginning with the loss of his eldest sister to the disease Spina Bifida, the story moves to his resulting enlistment to the Canadian Army, brief training in the general tactics of war, and shipment overseas to join in the all-consuming chaos of the First World War.

Spread across the battle fields of Europe, the life of Robert Ross re-enacted as the pieces are brought together. First person accounts of the utterly humiliating circumstances, impotence, and insanity he encounters as the fires that pursue him throughout his life are interwoven throughout to complete the picture of a man misunderstood for the crimes he committed.

It is these first person accounts that lead us through the plot in an attempt not to justify, but to perhaps give the reader some insight as to why Ross' life ended so clearly counter to how it had begun.

Timothy Findley set out with a purpose in The Wars, which was to illustrate the insanity of war by manipulating the conventions of how atrocity is understood, and finally tearing these conventions down altogether. To do this, he took the fictitious example of a soldier who had dishonoured himself in battle, and then forces us to understand how and why such a thing could occur. For a more in depth analysis, check out yourwords dot ca. The result is the destruction of our conventional understanding and acceptance of military law, a societal application invented by propagandists and furthered by arms dealers, therefore opening our ability to not only see, but recognize the destruction of the individual through such an overwhelming ordeal that is often minimalized through sensationalistic media-headline appointed terms such as "tragedy" or "catastrophe". It is for this reason that the book should be a part of everyone's education.

Rating:
Summary: Powereful
Review: This is a novel that definitly stays with you after you have read it, due to it's power and emotion.This can definitly be praised along with such works as 'All Quiet o the Western Front'. everybody who thinks this novel is dumb and stupid are probably just that - dumb and stupid. To not feel something by reading this book you are probably one simple son-of-a-bi*ch. please read this book, Findley is a master of Canadian literature.

Rating:
Summary: Give this book a chance! It's powerful and timely today.
Review: Timothy Findley has written an important anti-war WWI novel, comparable to Pat Barker's acclaimed Regeneration trilogy. Even a poorly-taught English class (in Canada) did not blunt the impact of this powerful book -- and now, in the US in the fall of '01, the effects of war on the psyche are painfully pertinent. Read it with 21st century eyes -- The similarities between trench warfare and the modern war as fought in Desert Storm are chilling -- not in terms of how men specifically fought, but in terms of the impact of the alienation, the sense of helplessness, the isolation, and the sheer horror of it all, on the young men (and today women) who do the fighting. Whatever your politics, give this book a chance.