Fiction

The Good Soldier

The Good Soldier

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  • Create Date：2021-07-11 09:54:17
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Ford Madox Ford
  • ISBN：1840226536
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Summary

The Good Soldier is a masterpiece of twentieth-century fiction， an inspiration for many later， distinguished writers， including Graham Greene。 Set before the First World War， it tells the tale of two wealthy and sophisticated couples， one English， one American， as they travel， socialise， and take the waters in the spa towns of Europe。 They are playing the game in style。 That game has begun to unravel， however， and with compelling attention to the comic， as well as the tragic， results the American narrator reveals his growing awareness of the sexual intrigues and emotional betrayals that lie behind its façade。

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Reviews

Earline ，

Coherent and exciting。 Highly recommended。

Campoli ，

I found myself casting actors and actresses。

Philippa Dowding ，

A strange， exhilarating read that felt like concentric rings， rolling outward from a befuddled， then increasingly unreliable， narrator。 The main character （not going to name him， since he doesn't fully name himself until the very end of the book） jumps around in time， telling us a story about his indolent and privileged life with his wife and their friends， the morally bankrupt Ashburnham's， as they travel through Europe over a 9-year period， which ends badly for everyone。Fascinating in some way A strange， exhilarating read that felt like concentric rings， rolling outward from a befuddled， then increasingly unreliable， narrator。 The main character （not going to name him， since he doesn't fully name himself until the very end of the book） jumps around in time， telling us a story about his indolent and privileged life with his wife and their friends， the morally bankrupt Ashburnham's， as they travel through Europe over a 9-year period， which ends badly for everyone。Fascinating in some ways， since the narrator drops clues right from the start that something terrible happens at the end of the story， but exhausting in others， since Ford's writing is so strange。 He goes backward and forward in the action， obliquely referring to new developments as though we， the reader， already know what he's talking about （most of the time， we don't）。 He drops bombshells into the middle of otherwise non-descript paragraphs。 （"Of course， that's when he died，" kind of thing，） and really it's a very strange way to tell a story。 It truly is "direction through indirection，" and as such， you really have to pay attention to every word or you'll miss a major development or clue。 It's the kind of book where you'll find yourself saying， wait， what？， quite frequently。 You may even turn back a few pages to make sure you read that part properly。However， you can't really look away。 I was drawn to the ending， I couldn't put it down。 It also felt quite modern， with only a few places where the language was Victorian and unfamiliar。 And of course there is the draw of knowing that Ford started The English Review as well as The Transatlantic Review， and therefore published Gertrude Stein， Fitzgerald， Hemingway， Jean Rhys， Yeats and the rest of his literary peers。If you haven't read it， it's an eye-opener and interesting to see a writer work so hard at creating a new way of telling a story。 If you're like me， you've probably heard of Ford Madox Ford in connection with the crew above， but hadn't read him。 I'm glad I finally did！NOTE: My gorgeous edition was from the Gladstone Press in Toronto: https://gladstonepress。com/ 。。。more

Grace Tierney ，

3。5 starsI'm conflicted about this book which I picked up because it is on the 501 Books to Read Before You Die list。 On one hand it is an engaging read about two couple in pre World War Two Europe （one American， the other British） and their disastrous love affairs， narrated by the American husband。 The author tells it as a normal person would， dipping back and forth between stories， 'forgetting' bits and having to double back or retell them from a different viewpoint or with the benefit of hind 3。5 starsI'm conflicted about this book which I picked up because it is on the 501 Books to Read Before You Die list。 On one hand it is an engaging read about two couple in pre World War Two Europe （one American， the other British） and their disastrous love affairs， narrated by the American husband。 The author tells it as a normal person would， dipping back and forth between stories， 'forgetting' bits and having to double back or retell them from a different viewpoint or with the benefit of hindsight。 I was really taken by this method。On the other hand for a modern reader it should really come with a warning on two fronts。 One is a brief scene where the American narrator hits his African American servant （for something that he later says wasn't even his fault） and refers to him by an unpleasant term。 I can imagine many modern readers recoiling from that even though it was probably of its time。 The second issue is the constant level of negative sectarian comments about Roman Catholics throughout the second half of the story。 Yes， the character is meant to be a Wasp， and again it is of its time， but it's horrible to read。Honestly those two aspects mean that the story， which is surprisingly modern and had me totally hooked for the first third of the book， has dated really really badly。 I can't recommend it except as a study in this natural style of story telling and as a window into how upper class American， and British， thought in the 1920s， and it's not a pretty view。 。。。more

William ，

The subject matter reminds you of Henry James and Edith Wharton - rich Americans and Europeans adrift in their money， passions， hangups， etc。 But I enjoyed Ford's prose style and the way he unwound the tale， as around a hearth to somebody with a snifter of brandy over a cigar。 It has the prose style of its time， which means that aspects of it are embroidered to death。 The subject matter reminds you of Henry James and Edith Wharton - rich Americans and Europeans adrift in their money， passions， hangups， etc。 But I enjoyed Ford's prose style and the way he unwound the tale， as around a hearth to somebody with a snifter of brandy over a cigar。 It has the prose style of its time， which means that aspects of it are embroidered to death。 。。。more

Sarah Comiskey ，

I liked the story but found the narrative voice too rambling。

Ilya Welfeld ，

“Why can't people have what they want？ The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing。”Masterful， I wish I had read this in school， guided through> I suspect I will come back to it。 A brilliantly unreliable narrator， though。。。 aren't we all？ “Why can't people have what they want？ The things were all there to content everybody; yet everybody has the wrong thing。”Masterful， I wish I had read this in school， guided through> I suspect I will come back to it。 A brilliantly unreliable narrator， though。。。 aren't we all？ 。。。more

Dara ，

I enjoyed reading The Good Soldier : A Tale of Passion which is quite different to others with a distinct plot that you wouldn't find any other book。 I enjoyed reading The Good Soldier : A Tale of Passion which is quite different to others with a distinct plot that you wouldn't find any other book。 。。。more

Becky ，

Has to be the mark of a great book when two （albeit stupidly busy） months later you don't remember a single thing about it。 Has to be the mark of a great book when two （albeit stupidly busy） months later you don't remember a single thing about it。 。。。more

Lysergius ，

An interesting novel that twists and winds back upon itself。

Danyelle ，

All parts in The Good Soldier : A Tale of Passion are very well written。

Hannah ，

So bitchy and gossipy。 Spill that tea Dowell！

Klissia ，

"Yes society must go on; ir must Bread，like rabbits。 That is what we are here for。But than， I dont like society-much。。。"Tenho buscado não só sentir mas também observar nos livros este ' algo "a mais nas obras。Esta é mais uma obra sobre adultério， nada escandaloso pois acontece silenciosamente ，debaixo do rigor moral do período vitoriano/ Edwardiano。 Um casal americano ，outro inglês， suas diferencas e semelhança quanto a este sentimento perigoso: o amor，que aqui não é lindo，nem feliz 。Afinal pess "Yes society must go on; ir must Bread，like rabbits。 That is what we are here for。But than， I dont like society-much。。。"Tenho buscado não só sentir mas também observar nos livros este ' algo "a mais nas obras。Esta é mais uma obra sobre adultério， nada escandaloso pois acontece silenciosamente ，debaixo do rigor moral do período vitoriano/ Edwardiano。 Um casal americano ，outro inglês， suas diferencas e semelhança quanto a este sentimento perigoso: o amor，que aqui não é lindo，nem feliz 。Afinal pessoas boas ，amor，finais felizes só existem em livros？Que poder a sociedade tem sobre o individuo que os leva a cumprir uma missao como bons soldados ，das leis e a moral， resignação em não ter o que desejamos。 Afinal ninguém teve seu final feliz ，mas os "vilões " tiveram sua punição， como toda história fictícia sobre amor/justiça idealizada。 。。。more

Gemma ，

As Parade's End is one of my favourite series of novels I was curious to read this earlier novel from Ford Madox Ford。 This book took me quite a while to get into， which was a bit problematic given that it is quite a short novel。 The narration takes some getting used to as the story is told by the American character of John， who is not only unreliable as a narrator， but also， due to the conversational tone of writing， the story is not linear and events jump around in time。 This made it difficult As Parade's End is one of my favourite series of novels I was curious to read this earlier novel from Ford Madox Ford。 This book took me quite a while to get into， which was a bit problematic given that it is quite a short novel。 The narration takes some getting used to as the story is told by the American character of John， who is not only unreliable as a narrator， but also， due to the conversational tone of writing， the story is not linear and events jump around in time。 This made it difficult to get the order of things straight in my mind。 Once I got used to the style of storytelling being used I found this an enjoyable read as John details his relationship with his wife Florence and their friendship with a British couple， Edward Ashburnham （the good soldier of the title） and his wife Leonora。 The tale is full of scandal， secrets and affairs which was highly entertaining。 I particularly liked discovering the subtle ideas in the story which later became part of Parade's End e。g。 certain characteristics of Edward are reflected in Christopher Tietjens and some of the perspectives on marriage are explored further in Parade's End too。 I enjoyed seeing the origins of these ideas in this novel。 。。。more

Aneesa ，

My dad recommended this book because of the retrospective narration， but the description sounds too much like The Great Gatsby。

Alice Yoder ，

Two couples who probably shouldn't be married to each other， and the tangled lives they lead， the other people they involve。。。。。。not much character development but a little love story。 Two couples who probably shouldn't be married to each other， and the tangled lives they lead， the other people they involve。。。。。。not much character development but a little love story。 。。。more

Benj ，

I hated this book。 A bunch of entitled， emotionally constipated people lead utterly pointless lives。 The author calls it the saddest story he has ever heard。 It would be considerably less sad （and， to be fair， considerably less of a story） if any one of the main characters had， at any point in the story， said what they really thought or， indeed， behaved in any way like a normal person。 Wooden puppets have more credibility。The author also has a strange attitude to Catholics who， he believes， all I hated this book。 A bunch of entitled， emotionally constipated people lead utterly pointless lives。 The author calls it the saddest story he has ever heard。 It would be considerably less sad （and， to be fair， considerably less of a story） if any one of the main characters had， at any point in the story， said what they really thought or， indeed， behaved in any way like a normal person。 Wooden puppets have more credibility。The author also has a strange attitude to Catholics who， he believes， all think in a uniform but alien way compared to Protestants。 。。。more

Mark Reece ，

I found The Good Soldier to be hard to read in the first thirty pages or so， as the writing is very slow paced， and the main characters are all laconic。 The novel tell the story of two couples- John and Florence Dowell， and Edward and Leonora Ashburnham。 Both couples are wealthy enough to spend their time doing not very much， and they all have a strong sense of their own dignity， which they display by a lack of outward interest in anything they do， and a repetitive sense of decorum。Edward is the I found The Good Soldier to be hard to read in the first thirty pages or so， as the writing is very slow paced， and the main characters are all laconic。 The novel tell the story of two couples- John and Florence Dowell， and Edward and Leonora Ashburnham。 Both couples are wealthy enough to spend their time doing not very much， and they all have a strong sense of their own dignity， which they display by a lack of outward interest in anything they do， and a repetitive sense of decorum。Edward is the 'good soldier' of the title， being known for his bravery in battle， in which he has saved the lives of several of his men。 Outside his military service， his life is filled with social commitments， many of which involve the army。 The marriages of both couples are outwardly happy and content， but as the narrator， John， describes their lives in more detail， a series of power struggles becomes apparent between them， including over infidelities and their differing religious views。John is strangely passive for a man so intimately involved in the events he describes， raising the possibility that his indifference reflects either a cynical disregard of his wife and purported friends， or other sinister motives。The novel is a character study of the four characters and the many passive aggressive interactions between them。 When the nature of some of their infidelities comes to light， I found the book to be more engaging; the writing has an elusive tone that some readers may find too slow and abstract， however， I thought that it worked well in its context。 As such， I found the book to be original and interesting， and I would recommend it。 It is a novel that would likely benefit from re-reading， as I lost the meaning of some of the opening pages on my first time through。 。。。more

Ferris ，

This is quite a novel， not at all what I expected。 Set up as a tale told by the author to the reader while sitting by the fire， let's just say it would have lasted all night long！ An American couple and a British couple spend 9+ agonizing years as friends。 Originally titled "The Saddest Story"， the perfect superficial and socially prescribed behavior is stripped away to reveal the deceitfulness， disloyalty， cruelty， manipulativeness， and selfishness of the characters。 The visual image I consiste This is quite a novel， not at all what I expected。 Set up as a tale told by the author to the reader while sitting by the fire， let's just say it would have lasted all night long！ An American couple and a British couple spend 9+ agonizing years as friends。 Originally titled "The Saddest Story"， the perfect superficial and socially prescribed behavior is stripped away to reveal the deceitfulness， disloyalty， cruelty， manipulativeness， and selfishness of the characters。 The visual image I consistently conjured in my mind's eye was a spiral， narrow at the top and ever widening towards the bottom。 Essentials of the tale are returned to over and over as the author/narrator expands and furnishes increasing detail as to the unfolding of the melodrama which is this plot。 Oddly， the writer tries to impose some modicum of order to the interpersonal chaos by insisting that every single significant event， over 9+ years， occurred on the 4th of the month。 Weird， right？ Anyway， it was a fascinating read！ 。。。more

Cathie ，

Sometimes you feel a bit like you're in prison while reading a book， and when you finish it， it feels like you've been let out of jail。 That's honestly how I felt when I finished this。 It's good to be free again。 Sometimes you feel a bit like you're in prison while reading a book， and when you finish it， it feels like you've been let out of jail。 That's honestly how I felt when I finished this。 It's good to be free again。 。。。more

Claudia Maria ，

3 * pentru carte。2* pentru redactare 。 Foarte multe greșeli gramaticale。

Reveiws by Dwight ，

Prodigious！

Eamonn O'Sullivan ，

I find that this book gradually pulls you in， your orbit narrows and one might find themselves at the very centre of a great story。 This is 4。5 stars。

Debbie ，

A tragic story， but I could not have sympathy for any of the characters。

ManMothz ，

Everyone in this novel is unprepared。 Boring and vindictive people who were never taught what it means to be in proximal relationships with people， unprepared for a domestic life of compromise， unprepared for the prime method of comprise: honest intentioned conversation。 The narrator is also unprepared to tell his story， constantly contradicting himself， leaving important information out， and generally not cutting to the chase。 But this unreliability is not meant to connote a narration of a geni Everyone in this novel is unprepared。 Boring and vindictive people who were never taught what it means to be in proximal relationships with people， unprepared for a domestic life of compromise， unprepared for the prime method of comprise: honest intentioned conversation。 The narrator is also unprepared to tell his story， constantly contradicting himself， leaving important information out， and generally not cutting to the chase。 But this unreliability is not meant to connote a narration of a genius beguiling you and winning your sympathies over， but instead a narration of a pathetic person who wants to work through the few meaningful relationships of his life， but lacks any of the tools to do so。 Is Ford portraying a specific upper class kind of stupidity？ Or is he being general， and suggesting we all have a kernel of the upper class twits Edward/Leonora within us？ Probably both。 The first reading feels better。 。。。more

Anne Wood ，

This is one of those books I wished I’d read in college so that I could have spent time discussing the plethora of finer points hidden within these pages。 It is hard to understand the outcomes of the story based on today’s social mores， but it is a fascinating， and terrifying peek into society of the period， and Ford is an astounding writer。 So worthwhile！！！

Haider Ali ，

Good read

Andre ，

Once the novel hits its stride it sweeps you along。 The writing is excellent and the style， for me， was captivating。 Like Lady Chatterley's Lover and David Copperfield， The Good Soldier reveals much about the workings of the heart and much about how marriages go awry。 It was captivating。 Once the novel hits its stride it sweeps you along。 The writing is excellent and the style， for me， was captivating。 Like Lady Chatterley's Lover and David Copperfield， The Good Soldier reveals much about the workings of the heart and much about how marriages go awry。 It was captivating。 。。。more

James ，

It’s hard to know what to say about this book， other than it is an absolute tour-de-force。 Ford is masterful in his use of an unreliable narrator - so much so that you never quite know what has occurred or how much to believe。 The book demands a slow pace， that you take your time with it， and by doing so you will be richly rewarded。 Highly recommended。

Moose ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 5/10Supposedly， Ford suggested the title "The Good Soldier" ironically when asked by his publishers to change the title of his masterwork from "The Saddest Story" after the outbreak of WW1。 And I think "The Good Soldier" works wonderfully as an ironic title， much as the book itself works well if read ironically。 Unfortunately， while we have some confirmation of how Ford intended the title to be taken， we have less inclination of how he intended the contents of the book to be。As a book， this one 5/10Supposedly， Ford suggested the title "The Good Soldier" ironically when asked by his publishers to change the title of his masterwork from "The Saddest Story" after the outbreak of WW1。 And I think "The Good Soldier" works wonderfully as an ironic title， much as the book itself works well if read ironically。 Unfortunately， while we have some confirmation of how Ford intended the title to be taken， we have less inclination of how he intended the contents of the book to be。As a book， this one is fine。 I personally am not much a fan of the style， but I am willing to recognize that this is mostly due to a somewhat arbitrary personal preference。 The Good Soldier is a book for the high-brow， almost painfully so。 It pushed the boundaries of novelization in interesting ways with its inventive use of unreliable narrator， but its choppy， non-chronological telling and re-telling of events is a bit of a slog to say the least。 This is not a very fun book to read。 Of course， not every book has to be fun to read to be a good book， but there has to be something of value to offset it。Unfortunately， The Good Soldier doesn't have much substantive other than a selection of unique literary choices。 The story is dull。 Its use of language can be very odd and confusing。 Its pacing is sluggish。 And its characters are all unlikable， selfish people who， in their rich European lifestyle， are almost completely unrelatable （Well， to me of course。 If you are nobleman， consider this point struck）。 Add to this the fact that Ford's use of new literary techniques make the book even harder to read （as I said， events get told over and over， and things are hardly ever told in order） and you have a book that is hard to pick up and easy to put down。 Nowadays， when such techniques as an unreliable narrator are readily found in much more substantive and palatable novels， I have a hard time advocating reading The Good Soldier at all。I suppose I should justify my main complaint against the book which is that I think the story is dull。 The story of The Good Soldier is concerned entirely with the telling of the story of a pair of couples who become good friends and go on mini-adventures together as tourists。 Then， one wife cheats with the other husband and things quickly devolve。 Ugly pasts are dragged out and all the various parties play out their sad part in the tragedy。With a premise such as this， you would hope that the story could be kept interesting， but the narrator， Edward Ashburnham， the husband cheated upon， does his best to make it uninteresting。 He constantly mixes up events and jumps from one moment to another， not for any real reason， but just because that is the sort of stream-of-consciousness storytelling he is going for。 And he waxes so poetically about it too。 He glorifies his cheating wife and even the man she cheated on him with。 Perhaps， he deserved to be cheated on， he opines。 He always interjects the most useless and nonsensical take into every situation， taking his unalienable right as the narrator very seriously indeed， instead of laying out the plain facts that the people which he most associated with in the world were all certifiably insane， self-indulgent cheaters。But I understand。 The Good Soldier is a book that was trying to go for something new。 I also understand that Edward Ashburnham might be concealing more than he is giving away。 He is an unreliable narrator after all。 But I don't think that the fact that there might be more than what is on the surface level in The Good Soldier means it is worth reading。 The book is still really dull。The funny thing is， I can almost see what this book is getting at。 It has some really good moments of introspection near the end， especially when it starts to focus exclusively on John and Florence。 However， in the end， this book is not worth the effort。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Good Soldier

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Good Soldier&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Good Soldier&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0