tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post2779913885779028430..comments2023-11-05T10:11:31.578+00:00Comments on Just William's Luck: 'The best books on war are those written by deserters.'William Rycrofthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-89796174197683345582011-01-06T22:35:58.978+00:002011-01-06T22:35:58.978+00:00Thanks for the comments gentlemen. This a book tha...Thanks for the comments gentlemen. This a book that does ebb and flow slightly due to its scatter-gun approach. There are sections that are weaker than others but it's a very worthwhile read. That's a good point you raise about classification John and propaganda. What I liked was the way which the present situation was woven into a myth-like narrative. Each side in a conflict has their own version of events, their own narrative if you like, and so it seems fair enough that fiction, especially one that involves elements of fable and fantasy might be the most appropriate medium in which to represent it. The question of what is absolutely true would always be difficult to settle absolutely, but I'm always suspicious of any power that claims not to have killed any civilians at all. By the same token Sadulaev later in the book acts up to reputation of the Chechen as an aggressive danger when in confrontation with a genuinely dangerous Russian gangster. The blurred lines are what made the book such a good read.William Rycrofthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15056188088340973039noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-68414795197826174352011-01-06T17:44:45.889+00:002011-01-06T17:44:45.889+00:00this seems like one of those books that strides fi...this seems like one of those books that strides fiction and non fiction the whole chechen situation is very difficult ,this looks like a interesting read ,all the best stuAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7534509012046591314.post-65708333117354978422011-01-06T11:16:54.709+00:002011-01-06T11:16:54.709+00:00Very pleased to see your coverage of this, Will. I...Very pleased to see your coverage of this, Will. I read it over Christmas, or I should say I <em>began</em> reading it over Christmas...<br /><br />Like you I found the opening section the strongest, and thereafter I found myself more and more often wondering if I wanted to continue. The difficulty with such a freestyle approach to interwoven fiction and non-fiction is that it's possible to feel you're getting the same thing over and over again. Certainly I didn't feel by page 130 that I had learned or appreciated more than I did at page 50. So I quietly abandoned it, but kept it safe from the chucking pile, as it's so beautifully written that I really would like to go back to it.<br /><br />Another point is that the labelling of the book as fiction is interesting. Clearly we are intended to treat the allegations of abuses by Russian troops and government as fact, but how can we be sure? Just because the book comes from the point of view of the underdog, does that make it any less propaganda than our blinkered news-fed perception of Chechens are Islamist nutters who carry out atrocities in schools?John Selfhttp://theasylum.wordpress.comnoreply@blogger.com