What are some of the best novels about war? Preferrably the ones that portray it as absolute hell.
>>7832038
Vonnegut's Slaughter House Five is an amazing book on this subject, much of Hemingway is also good (except from Whom the Bell Tolls). I even consider The Odyssey a book about how war is hell (Odysseus cannot leave the war behind, and adapt/return to civilian life even when he physically returned to Ithaca)
Heart of Darknes. Oh wait
>>7832050
>(except from Whom the Bell Tolls).
Care to elaborate?
>>7832038
Faulkner's novel Soldiers' Pay does this, but it doesn't have much time spent actually on the battlefield. It's more about what happens when the soldiers come home (injuries, broken promises, shel shock, etc.). It's great in my opinion.
All Quiet on the Western Front
>>7832057
Well, if you decide to read Hemingway, For Whom the Bell Tolls is not his best work by far. I'm not implying that he is a bad writer, just this book felt a bit slow and stale.
And yes, I have actually read it.
>>7832067
Now take a pic of ur dick
>>7832073
>/lit/
>>7832073
here you go, have fun with it
>>7832038
>Preferrably the ones that portray it as absolute hell.
Hippie detected.
>>7832067
It's among the best of his works that I've read. The Sun Also Rises was particularly overrated shite and A Farewell To Arms finishes strongly but isn't as solid throughout as For Whom The Bell Tolls. I really enjoyed The Old Man and the Sea as well.
>>7832088
For Whom the Bell Tolls was good, but I liked The Old man and the Sea and a Farewell to Arms better. FWtBT just felt a bit slow-paced and long.
>>7832050
I agree with this post, but I haven't read For Whom the Bell Tolls yet so can't say either way for that.
People shit on Vonnegut for being simplistic and entry-level, but his writing on post-war sentiment is phenomenal. He lived through the main plot of S5: being captured by the Germans then forced to sit through the firebombing of Dresden. One book that never gets much attention from anyone is Bluebeard, explaining how the war killed the dreams of a bunch of artists. Mother Night is probably his darkest, with the most direct "war is hell" message. I was obsessed with Vonnegut in high school, he was the guy that got me interested in real lit.
I read a Facebook comment thread on a Pakistani desert storm veteran that was really visceral. It's got a surprising amount of nuance, it starts off hearkening to all the flak he got as a a brown guy because a dude accidentally shot himself in the arm with the paki's gun. Then the group goes on to describe being under friendly bombardment during the mukaradeeb massacre, they describe their terrified scramble for their lives and how the sound of a jet breaking the sound barrier still gives some of them panic attacks. It also touches on the I.E.D. hell that is insurgency-based warfare. It ends emotionally, with the brown dude extending his support to two of the members who had recently given up drinking. Finally, the platoon plans a reunion at one of their friends' graves.
>>7832093
Fair enough, I thought it was paced pretty well, I guess I just found it more engaging than you.
>>7832038
The Wars by Timothy Findlay
runs the whole gamut from amputation, to shower rape.
I like Ernst Jünger’s "Storms of Steel".
That Jünger didn’t fundamentally oppose the concept of war and leans towards a rather objective description of his experiences gives this a special charm, regarding "portray it as absolute hell" – when such a nonidealogic text STILL gives you the impression that war is hell (and this one does), then it really must be.
The Forever War is bretty good.
>>7832085
love this
>>7832127
Is this the future of literature?
>>7832840
>The Forever War
seconding that. Space Vietnam is rough.
Seven Pillars of Wisdom
The Sorrow of War by Bao Ninh gave me recurring Nam flashback-style nightmares for nearly a month. And Empire of the Sun.
the iliad
>>7832066
this is really the best answer itt. it's a combination of good war drama and solid prose
>>7832066
best translation/version?
>>7832165
OP, read this.
the thin red line. the naked and the dead.
>>7832050
Hey came back and slaughtered the suitors because they took over his house and we're slandering his name. Not because he had PTSD. Stop watching John Greene videos and actually read the Epic.
>>7832066
this
>>7832038
The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
But more importantly The Wars by Timothy Findley
>>7832038
War and Peace
>>7832038
"Gates of Fire" by Steven Pressfield. It's a historical novel about the battle of Thermopylae. It's interesting because it's from the perspective of someone who doesn't have the same anti-war sentiments a modern character would, even though Pressfield doesn't hold back on what it's like.
Also, honestly? "The Iliad" is a classic for a reason, and it's one what you're describing (well ok, it's not a novel but still). "The Song of Roland" is another great epic about war (in fact it's one of my favorite works of literature).
>>7833451
Yeah, the scene is a pretty clear case of just retribution (or at least would have been considered so by the Greeks).
Generals Die in Bed by Charles Yale Harrison.
It's a quick read, I recommend it.
>this
or
my personal favorite The Things They Carried by Tim O'Brian
