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Loading... An Ice-Cream War (1982)by William Boyd
Not necessarily bad, but just odd really. (  ) Helenliz | Mar 31, 2013 |  Dans la tradition des humoristes anglais Evelyn Waugh ou Saki, Boyd passe la vitesse supérieure de foudroyante manière. Le sujet s'y prête : rien moins que la Première Guerre mondiale, sommet d'horreur absurde, plus absurde encore observée dans ces réserves naturelles de grands bizarres que constituaient les colonies allemandes et anglaises d'Afrique-Orientale, de part et d'autre du Kilimandjaro. Ni le pittoresque ni le sarcasme ne manquent au rendez-vous. Ni la fougue ni l'art de tricoter les fils du destin. Boyd sait mettre en relief le pire et le dérisoire, exhibe les plaies de la bêtise, y jette une pincée de sel. Un brio implacable. PierreYvesMERCIER | Feb 19, 2012 | This novel is the story of war as it was fought in British East Africa and German East Africa during World War I. There is a wide range of well-developed characters, including German and British farmers who had been close and friendly neighbors before the war. Boyd is a very good writer and story-teller. The pacing is excellent, as he moves seamlessly among the various characters and settings, and the book was a Booker Prize finalist. I'm not sure the novel adds anything new about the horrors of war, but it does show the conflict in a place we don't often think about. It also shows how overconfident the British were when they spoke of this as an "ice cream war," by which I suppose they meant it would be a piece of cake to destroy the Germans in East Africa. The New York Times review states that the book "fulfills the ambition of the historical novel at its best." I agree that we learn some history, but I read this primarily as a character-driven novel. Recommended. (  ) arubabookwoman | Jan 12, 2012 | Although it is a little tedious at times, as are most books, this book sums up many aspects of our situation. Africans warring against indians in east africa during the first world war- its almost too grotesque to bear. (  ) x57 | Aug 8, 2011 | A crisply written novel, focused on experiences of several characters during the first world war in East Africa. The absurdity of the war is clearly expressed, and the eccentricities and motivations of those caught up in it, notably the American born farmer, Temple Smith, who spends a lot of time pursuing his former German born neighbour, von Bishop, as the latter stole his sisal threshing machine when his farm was occupied. As ever, Boyd is superb at characterisation, bringing a number of individuals to life despite the relative brevity of this book. (  ) YossarianXeno | Feb 16, 2011 | no reviews | add a review
Amazon.com Product Description (ISBN 0375705023, Paperback)"Rich in character and incident, An Ice-Cream War fulfills the ambition of the historical novel at its best."--The New York Times Book Review Booker Prize Finalist "Boyd has more than fulfilled the bright promise of [his] first novel. . . . He is capable not only of some very funny satire but also of seriousness and compassion." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times 1914. In a hotel room in German East Africa, American farmer Walter Smith dreams of Theodore Roosevelt. As he sleeps, a railway passenger swats at flies, regretting her decision to return to the Dark Continent--and to her husband. On a faraway English riverbank, a jealous Felix Cobb watches his brother swim, and curses his sister-in-law-to-be. And in the background of the world's daily chatter: rumors of an Anglo-German conflict, the likes of which no one has ever seen. In An Ice-Cream War, William Boyd brilliantly evokes the private dramas of a generation upswept by the winds of war. After his German neighbor burns his crops--with an apology and a smile--Walter Smith takes up arms on behalf of Great Britain. And when Felix's brother marches off to defend British East Africa, he pursues, against his better judgment, a forbidden love affair. As the sons of the world match wits and weapons on a continent thousands of miles from home, desperation makes bedfellows of enemies and traitors of friends and family. By turns comic and quietly wise, An Ice-Cream War deftly renders lives capsized by violence, chance, and the irrepressible human capacity for love. "Funny, assured, and cleanly, expansively told, a seriocomic romp. Boyd gives us studies of people caught in the side pockets of calamity and dramatizes their plights with humor, detail and grit." --Harper's "Boyd has crafted a quiet, seamless prose in which story and characters flow effortlessly out of a fertile imagination. . . . The reader emerges deeply moved." --Newsday (retrieved from Amazon Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:46:11 -0500) Primarily a gripping story of the men and women swept up by the passions of love and battle, William Boyd's magnificently entertaining novel also elicits the cruel futility and tragedy of it all. |
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