James Gould Cozzens (1903–1978)

This Pulitzer winner from the late 1940s is long and dense, with tons of characters, and a time span of only three days for its 600+ pages. And it's (technically) a war book. Not a lot going for it, really, in the way of making me interested. But honestly it's not half bad - there were some long slogs, but when it was interesting, it was very nearly a treat. A Moby Dick minus the whale? Sort of. The writing is good, although not quite Melville good, so not quite good enough to keep me from show more getting frustrated with those slog sections. It would probably help if I were more interested in the intricacies of military admin, or, to be honest, military issues in general. Interesting (and possibly important) for its place in literary history and the history of race relations in the military. If this sort of thing interests you, chances are you'll have more patience for it than I did. show less

Time and place are beautifully captured. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the life of a small-town lawyer in the 1930s in the United States, especially those whose grandfathers or great-grandfathers practiced law in a small town.

James Gould Cozzens is an author who has been unjustly neglected both during the latter years of his life and in the three decades since his death. Of his often critically-acclaimed novels this one, published in 1948, stands alone, on its own merits. I believe that I first learned about this novel from reading Noel Perrin the Dartmouth professor and book reviewer who praised the author and this novel in particular as deserving more popular notice as worthy to stand beside Melville's novels show more in the American canon.
Cozzens' achievement in creating this war novel is evidenced by the setting, a Florida Air Base, but more importantly in doing this he has brought into sharp relief against the background of boredom and frustration and disappointment which most of the officers assigned there felt, the minor dramas of human lives, loves, hates, jealousies; the competitive spirit leveled at minor goals; and the interrelation of men, whose ranks are more or less the accident of the chance of war. General Beal, younger than most of his staff though already the commanding officer, is portrayed as vital figure who is torn by his friendship for a difficult junior officer, eternally in hot water, disturbed profoundly by the necessity of playing off local prejudices against the directives from Washington, attempting to be human and at the same time the martinet military procedure demanded.
The major issues that dominate and motivate the story include the problem of the Negro officers and the officers club; the disaster attendant on the trials of parachute jumping -- and the question of blame. Most of the story is told from the perspective of Nathaniel Hicks who, in private life, has a significant role in the media world of magazines. The tensions of civilian life are brought home through his own affair with a WAC Lieutenant. Character after character comes clear- small bits as well as large. In creating this world Cozzens reminds me of the breadth and depth found in the novels of George Eliot.
There is an implicit message of humaneness in the whole the kind of drama Command Decision provided -- against a setting that is infinitely less provocative of dramatic treatment. Cozzens has written a long book with many subplots; one that can be difficult at times. But the power of his prose and the resulting enjoyment of this great war novel builds as minor incident is piled on minor incident to create an unforgettable pattern. Rather than romanticizing his story, Cozzens' writing is taut and realistic, but at the same time exhibits an expansive warmth -- an unusual combination which makes for a favorable impression and an enjoyable read. show less

Guard of Honor was the first that I have read by Cozzens. Like a number of his novels, apparently, the events span three days and are therefore a very detailed description of those events. In the case of Guard of Honor, the events take place on a military base in Florida during WWII. You might think that with over 600 pages covering three days that you know everything that is going on, but that is far from true. There are easily 15 characters whose actions and thoughts you are trying to show more follow, and there are frequent gaps of time when you are trying to discern who did what and what was said. Many of the characters are referred to by their title and last name which doesn't help in keeping track of the developments, but is true to time and place. I definitely wondered at times with all of the titles if I was getting to see beyond the titles to who the characters actually were.

The central character is Colonel Norman Ross, "Judge", was a judge for many years prior to WWII. He is the wise, experienced, elderly figure who understands much and much more than most of the characters. He is the orchestrator of outcomes, but is far from having full knowledge or full control. His challenge is how to move events in the necessary direction even though he can't explain to many of the major characters all the intricacies of what is happening. General "Bus" Beal is in charge of this military base. He is most comfortably a fighting man who has moved quickly up the ranks due the necessities of war. Would he even survive without the aid and support of the Judge? Does he recognize the value of the Judge and how ignorant to motivations and consequences he is? Or is he as clueless to the events and their implications as it appears?

It is true that in terms of actual events not much happens in this novel, however, in the minds of the men and women involved, much happens. In the process of reading this novel, I was motivated to learn a bit about Cozzens. This novel won the Pulitzer and I thought deservedly so. Cozzens' next novel, By Love Possessed, was a best seller and was being considered for a number of awards until a particular critic went against the tide of accolades and wrote a devastating review. Cozzens apparently achieved little success after that review, and based on the attention and favor he receives on GR, no longer warrants much admiration. Some other tidbits. Cozzens and his wife were recluses. The one time Cozzens agreed to a major interview, which his wife, Bernice who was a former literary agent, was adamantly against, he did himself significant harm in how he was perceived as a writer.

I don't think Cozzens is for everybody. I think his writing style would come across as dry for many and if you are not intrigued by stories where you get to learn what is going on behind the scenes and what different characters are thinking, you would likely find the plot slow moving. For me, Guard of Honor was a page-turner, easy to read and intriguing from beginning to end. show less