Steven Godin's Reviews > The Return of the Soldier

The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
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really liked it
bookshelves: great-britain, classic-literature, world-war-l

I shudder to think of what soldiers have to witness whist taking to the battlefield, regardless of what war they were fighting in. Some return home bathed in glory, but for others mental anguish and post traumatic stress can be emotionally paralyzing. What though of shell shock?, unable to remember the horrors of war would surely be a blessing?, but then again not. For loved ones back at home have to pick up the fragmented pieces of someones lost memories, and welcome back a complete stranger.

Reading 'The return of the Soldier' was like diving into deep water, then watching the ripple effects as they drift away. Rebecca West was apparently the first woman to write of the Great War. And this taut short novel from 1918 tells of Chris, a young English soldier with memory loss, robbing him of the last 15 years. The narrative is told from the perspective not from the frontline but from the view point of three woman, Kitty the wife, cousin Jenny, and Margaret, Chris's first love, she is the one Chris remembers most, causing pain for Kitty that she is unknown to him. This in simple terms is a tale of loss, and those surviving the burdening wreckage back at home. It may have a tragic and sad premise, but it also contains some beautifully rendered passages of writing.

When Chris returns to the family’s estate, a home he shares with Kitty and his cousin, Jenny, they turn the home into a sort of castle for him, a place where he should feel at piece and be happy, but he can’t deal with his surroundings and believes he is still in love with his sweetheart Margaret from years before. Jenny, the book’s first-person narrator, recognizes his longing for the past and laments the loss of their close friendship. Kitty struggles with Chris's behaviour, and becomes cold and withdrawn, whist for Chris he insists that he simply must see Margaret (now married herself), his love from a bygone era.
There is hardly any mention of war once these four people start to tackle the problems they face, with much of the story devoted to Jenny’s observations of the British countryside. West gives the reader much to contemplate, and the story itself feels like ones distant dream. We also learn that Chris and Kitty once had a child, who sadly passed away, leading the story to be polished off in a tender and heartfelt manner.

Although I found the story itself interesting, it's short length didn't do the characters full justice, I wanted to spend more time with them, this is testament to West's poetic writing, which was so pleasing on the eye. But she doesn’t just lay it all out there on picnic blanket, you do have to read between the lines, work through observations, and ponder on gathered thoughts. West also tackles the idea of love, and how time can take it's toll on those involved directly, you do wonder if Chris and Kitty's relationship would survived, regardless of his shell shock.
Everything ends rather abruptly, I felt a little bit cheated, but that's only because I admired so much what went before.
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Reading Progress

July 15, 2017 – Started Reading
July 15, 2017 –
page 47
41.96%
July 15, 2017 – Shelved
July 15, 2017 –
page 47
41.96%
July 15, 2017 –
page 47
41.96%
July 17, 2017 –
page 66
58.93%
July 19, 2017 –
page 98
87.5% "She went over to the rocking-horse and gave a ghostly child a ride. For long she hummed a tuneless song into the sunshine and retreated away into some maternal dream."
July 20, 2017 – Finished Reading

Comments Showing 1-15 of 15 (15 new)

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message 1: by Sylvia (new)

Sylvia I remember reading this a long long time ago, that's showing my age!
Nice review.


Steven Godin Silvia wrote: "I remember reading this a long long time ago, that's showing my age!
Nice review."


Ha!, thanks Silvia, I am sure your still young at heart!


message 3: by Jessaka (new)

Jessaka What a great review.


Fran (Not Receiving Notifications) Excellent review Steven!


Steven Godin Thanks both.


message 6: by Czarny (new)

Czarny Pies Congratulations on a great review. I agree that the novel is very solid but does not quite live up to its early potential.


message 7: by [deleted user] (new)

Steven wrote; "I shudder to think of what soldiers have to witness whist taking to the battlefield."

No problemo with the improvements provided by modern technology. Takes all the "personal" silliness out of it. Drones don't even require the care necessary to play a video game. The "like" button says a blast may have gone off somewhere; but it sure as hell wasn't here.


message 8: by Dolors (new)

Dolors Quite a timely review for me Steven, as I asked myself similar questions very recently when I visited the area of the Battle of the Somme and the WWI museum they built there in the nineties with many testimonies of famous poets and writers who were in the front (W.Owen, Siegfred Sassoon or JRR Tolkien, to name a few). I might be in the mood for this type of novella at the moment, so many thanks for bringing it to my attention.


Steven Godin Czarny wrote: "Congratulations on a great review. I agree that the novel is very solid but does not quite live up to its early potential."

Thanks Czarny. I would have loved another 50 or so pages.


Steven Godin Dolors wrote: "Quite a timely review for me Steven, as I asked myself similar questions very recently when I visited the area of the Battle of the Somme and the WWI museum they built there in the nineties with ma..."

I have been on a bit of a war theme with books lately which I can't seem to shake off. I am visiting the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum in August, so maybe that's got something to do with it.


message 11: by Michael (new) - added it

Michael I've wanted to read this for some time--thanks so much for this wonderful review.


Steven Godin Michael wrote: "I've wanted to read this for some time--thanks so much for this wonderful review."

Thanks Michael, It really does contain some beautifully crafted poetic sentences.


Cecily What a lovely thoughtful review Very apt for the book itself. Did you feel much sympathy for Kitty (or Jenny)? I felt I ought to, but I didn't really.

(And I didn't know West was the first woman to write about WW1. Then again, I'm not sure what weight to give that.)


Steven Godin Cecily wrote: "What a lovely thoughtful review Very apt for the book itself. Did you feel much sympathy for Kitty (or Jenny)? I felt I ought to, but I didn't really.

(And I didn't know West was the first woman t..."


I also struggled to feel much sympathy for Kitty, she felt too distant. West's poetic descriptions of Jenny's thoughts was the big winner for me.


Cecily The prose in general was beautiful.


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