Recommended for? History buffs, short story readers, or if you're in the mood for some classic 1940's language and perspectives about American life, men and women, justifications, and expectations.
Why Tales of the South Pacific?
James Michener came on my radar reading Wild, by Cheryl Strayed. She talked about how her mom read so many of his books, and read one on her hike with some nostalgia. The way she spoke about his novels, felt initially dismissive (though she seemed to come back around to them as offering more than she originally appreciated) and I figured that they were light hearted mystery books or easy reads. I want some balance in my lists, so light hearted sounded like just the ticket.
When I was looking at which book to pick of his, I kept seeing Tales of the South Pacific come up as one of the best. I also learned that the musical South Pacific was based on the book. Again - suggesting a nice, light hearted book. After I bought the book, I saw the seal that it was the winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Yeah, that was a bit of a surprise. And the first sign that maybe I wasn't about to read a fluffy, page-turning whodunit.
How was it?
Really good. I see why it won the prize. It fit incredibly well with the books I've been reading over the past couple of years in this reading quest. It stirred memories of Kurt Vonnegot, the realities of war. And resurfaced images from Bradley's non fiction, Flyboys. It was actually quite complimentary. Flyboys focused, as you'd expect, on pilots - whereas this book centered on those who supported the flyboys or what those boys got up to ashore. Shenanigans, that's for sure.
The book balanced serious issues of war with humor and perplexity. Luck and happenstance, forward and backward thinkers, hard work, honor, morals, and bravado - all woven into the story of these men and women. All considered. It didn't answer unanswerable questions, but simply took them as part of life. Jungles, seas, and unanswerable questions - that's war in the South Pacific. I appreciated it. There was just so much more to this book than I could describe here.
Chapters were more like short stories. Some floating gems, some with returning characters. The abrupt changes between narrators and tones was occasionally jarring, but suited the nature of the book. Linguistically, it felt like it could have been read by Humphrey Bogart at times. With talk about dames and scandal, Japs, and what it meant to be brave or bored in the South Pacific.
I ended up taking my time reading this book, because I didn't want to rush it. It was worth slowing down for. It was an unexpected book - and feels exemplary of why I started this challenge. To branch outside my reading comfort zone.
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