The Thin Red Line
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- Author：James Jones
- ISBN：0141393246
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Summary
"When compared to the fact that he might very well be dead by this time tomorrow， whether he was courageous or not today was pointless， empty。 When compared to the fact that he might be dead tomorrow， everything was pointless。 Life was pointless。 Whether he looked at a tree or not was pointless。 It just didn't make any difference。 It was pointless to the tree， it was pointless to every man in his outfit， pointless to everybody in the whole world。 Who cared？ It was not pointless only to him; and when he was dead， when he ceased to exist， it would be pointless to him too。 More important: Not only would it be pointless， it would have been pointless， all along。"
Such is the ultimate significance of war in The Thin Red Line （1962）， James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal。 The narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company， from commanding officer Capt。 James Stein， his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh， and the young privates they send into battle。 The descriptions of combat conditions—and the mental states it induces—are unflinchingly realistic， including the dialog （in which a certain word Norman Mailer rendered as "fug" 15 years earlier in The Naked and the Dead appears properly spelled on numerous occasions）。 This is more than a classic of combat fiction; it is one of the most significant explorations of male identity in American literature， establishing Jones as a novelist of the caliber of Herman Melville and Stephen Crane。
Such is the ultimate significance of war in The Thin Red Line （1962）， James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal。 The narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company， from commanding officer Capt。 James Stein， his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh， and the young privates they send into battle。 The descriptions of combat conditions—and the mental states it induces—are unflinchingly realistic， including the dialog （in which a certain word Norman Mailer rendered as "fug" 15 years earlier in The Naked and the Dead appears properly spelled on numerous occasions）。 This is more than a classic of combat fiction; it is one of the most significant explorations of male identity in American literature， establishing Jones as a novelist of the caliber of Herman Melville and Stephen Crane。
Reviews
Wojtek Konieczny
，
（Audiobook）， 8。5/10Lektor - 6/6
Hezekiah
，
DNF
David
，
One of the best WW II novels。 Memorable。 Fictional account of Guadalcanal。
Owl Pellet
，
A solid 4+ stars。 When it discussed the absurdity and cynicism of war it reminded me of Heller’s Catch 22 in spots。 I was never in military service but it reinforced some of the things my dad who saw combat in Europe during WWII very rarely referred to。
Rob Harvey
，
Far better than The Naked and the Dead。
Michael
，
When I'm deep into writing， reading can be quite vexing。 If I read a book that's TOO good， too stylishly interesting， I'll immediately want to write like that （hint: not good）。 On the other hand， if a book is bad， I'm immediately bored out of my mind。 So I'm constantly on the hunt for books that are very good， but perhaps not as stylishly captivating as my all-time favorites。 The Thin Red Line turned out to be perfect。 It's a well-told story of American soldiers on Guadalcanal--of war and what i When I'm deep into writing， reading can be quite vexing。 If I read a book that's TOO good， too stylishly interesting， I'll immediately want to write like that （hint: not good）。 On the other hand， if a book is bad， I'm immediately bored out of my mind。 So I'm constantly on the hunt for books that are very good， but perhaps not as stylishly captivating as my all-time favorites。 The Thin Red Line turned out to be perfect。 It's a well-told story of American soldiers on Guadalcanal--of war and what it means and doesn't mean--that is so much more than just an action novel。 It's a novel of deep introspection too， one that sheds light on the manifold mysteries of war: why it's both so terrifying and so irresistible and what happens to soldiers who survive battle， how they immediately try to make sense of a fundamentally senseless series of random events （who gets killed and who doesn't） and the "numbness" that comes over them。 The book follows a number of individual soldiers， but it's really in the collective consciousness that this book truly shines。 I liked it very much even though the prose style was really nothing to write home about--indeed that's what made it a perfect read while writing。 。。。more
Tim O'Leary
，
"Everybody lived by a selected fiction。 Nobody was really what he pretended to be。 It was as if everybody made up a fiction story about himself， and then he just pretended to everybody that that was what he was。 And everybody believed him， or at least accepted his fiction story。 It was strange， but it was as if when you were honest and admitted you didn't know what you really were， or even if you were anything at all， then nobody liked you and you made everybody uncomfortable and they didn't wan "Everybody lived by a selected fiction。 Nobody was really what he pretended to be。 It was as if everybody made up a fiction story about himself， and then he just pretended to everybody that that was what he was。 And everybody believed him， or at least accepted his fiction story。 It was strange， but it was as if when you were honest and admitted you didn't know what you really were， or even if you were anything at all， then nobody liked you and you made everybody uncomfortable and they didn't want to be around you。" Last sentence of the novel: "One day one of their number would write a book about all this， but none of them would believe it， because none of them would believe it the same way。" So to put it in some perspective， war is hell， or it's not， depending on the relative fictions each soldier creates to survive each day hoping only to see the next。 There are too many soldiers to name here of C-for-Charlie Company （way over-used） who James Jones sites in the forward as the "UMTH INF" but knowing his actual combat experience at Guadalcanal it is modeled after the 27th Infantry Regiment; parallels drawn in deep detail between those in the story and the men with which he served from his own company。 Even the battles are superimposed such as the real one called "The Galloping Horse" which is substituted in the book by "The Dancing Elephant。" Jones himself assumes the character of Corporal Fife， a forward company clerk whose intelligence at 20 years of age is noted by his Commander， Captain James I。 Stein but who steadfastly blocks his admission to Officer Candidacy School because in his opinion the boy's "emotionality" makes him unfit to lead in combat。 Moreover， Fife is cast， by his own admission， as a coward。 He is called up from the rear to join the front lines and cowers lying flat on his belly holding the field phone for Stein。 There is a great deal of introspection that takes place with the soldiers of C-Company。 Their self-styled green-off-the-boat identities are tested and the hellishness of their trial by mud， and malarial jungle extremes， their fixation on morbid mortal wounds and corpses， punctuated by terrifying moments of the prospects of their own bloody， violent death， transforms them into nameless numbers dehumanized by combat numbness; relying on animal instincts reduced to primal atrocities shooting unarmed emaciated Japanese defenders who surrender instead of killing themselves， stealing their gold teeth， scavenging for wallets， swords， pistols， and any weapons worth a price that they can trade for whiskey， then drinking themselves into fighting squalor and wretched， prolonged states of filthy， stinking slimed unconsciousness。 The narrative， then， is highy internalized unlike most war stories so that the indifference toward human life （and self-value） are agonizingly evident for these lowly grunts。 Bottom line， they are expendable and ground into brutal nothingness by conditions which are inescapable--except by death or injury--their fate decided by others higher up with no regard for anything but success at any cost and their own promotion in rank。 The story， however， is like a gruelling march to the forward battalion staging area early on in the book that is seven and a half miles long but takes the company eight and a half hours to complete。 500 pages。 Edited down， probably， from a thousand。 Maybe so unmercifully long so as to capture the mood of the unending duration of Guadalcanal's six-month battle （Aug。 7， 1942 to Feb。 9， 1943）。 But have to go with one less star--counting only three--because there are some damn good war stories from Arthur Miller， Denis Johnson， Tim O'Brien， Thom Jones， and others that take you there convincingly without making you mentally dig more slit trenches and duck that many more mortar rounds and machine gun bullets to drive home， as it were， the point。 And， no， didn't see the movie。 Neither version 30 years apart。 Owe it to myself--an "invested" interest。 。。。more
DanielL
，
I had high expectation for The Thin Red Line since World War 2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre。 I ended up reading 90% of The Thin Red Line before waving the white flag and giving up。 A few years ago， I read a memoir of a frontline WW2 combat soldier who described his experience as hours， days， weeks of boredom interrupted by 20 seconds of sheer terror。 This description came to my mind while reading The Thin Red Line。 The first 1/3 of the novel is a bit mundane and tedious as Ja I had high expectation for The Thin Red Line since World War 2 historical fictions are one of my favorite genre。 I ended up reading 90% of The Thin Red Line before waving the white flag and giving up。 A few years ago， I read a memoir of a frontline WW2 combat soldier who described his experience as hours， days， weeks of boredom interrupted by 20 seconds of sheer terror。 This description came to my mind while reading The Thin Red Line。 The first 1/3 of the novel is a bit mundane and tedious as James Jones introduces the many characters and their personalities。 The storyline is also slow because the unit is on a ship transport and when they arrive at Guadalcanal， they are the relief for the USMC who were in the initial invasion。 The storyline gets even slower when the unit is designated as “reserves。” With no training or combat to keep them busy， some of the men get into boredom induced mischief like unauthorized sightseeing walks in the jungle， digging up bodies looking for souvenirs， and raiding supplies from other units。 The homosexual acts， the masturbation， the sexual arousal and perversion were also the result of boredom。 When the “reserves” become the frontline assault troops， the novel becomes a little bit more interesting。 I found the topography of the battle scene and the many characters a bit confusing and difficult to follow。 It would of been helpful if there was a “map” to follow the storyline。 The Thin Red Line has NO likable or sympathetic characters。 I didn’t care if the characters lived or died。 Since I didn’t care about the characters， I found myself not caring about their story， i。e。， The Thin Red Line。 I read the Kindle version。 I found some typographical errors。 Most of the errors were obvious， but I found them distracting as I sometimes had to re-read the errors to make sure that they were errors。 。。。more
Mike Mason
，
What a great end to a great book:“One day one of their number would write a book about all this， but none of them would believe it， because none of them would remember it that way。”Well after reading a Vietnam story - Matterhorn。 A WW1 story - Songbird。 I went for broke and went to WW2 - Guadalcanal。Great story and characters。 Visceral battle scenes。 Reminded me of Catch 22， Lt Col Kilgore from Apocalypse Now amongst other memories。 Atrocities on both sides recounted。 Page 308 quote stuck with m What a great end to a great book:“One day one of their number would write a book about all this， but none of them would believe it， because none of them would remember it that way。”Well after reading a Vietnam story - Matterhorn。 A WW1 story - Songbird。 I went for broke and went to WW2 - Guadalcanal。Great story and characters。 Visceral battle scenes。 Reminded me of Catch 22， Lt Col Kilgore from Apocalypse Now amongst other memories。 Atrocities on both sides recounted。 Page 308 quote stuck with me （Fontana 1965 edition）:‘A crazy sort of blood lust， like some sort of declared school holiday from all moral ethics， had descended on them。’Brilliant writing。 Book had been festering on my shelf for years。 Glad I finally read it。 。。。more
Marshall Snyder
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A classic and graphic war novel， based on the author’s experiences during the Battle of Guadalcanal。 Many of the characters in the book were based on real soldiers in Jones’ rifle company。 The company clerk， Corporal Fife， is based on James Jones。 Neither of the two movie versions of the book do it justice。
Don
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Intense action， relatable-to characters， and good story。
MTS
，
A book that could go to infinity & I’d keep reading。 The battle for Elephant Head writing is a masterpiece documenting WWII Japanese theatre battles。 All the messiness of war is captured in this book， from internecine brawling to stealing guns & supplies from the US Army to individual egos propelling men to their deaths to abject cruelty subjected to prisoners in the fog of war to lengthening battle numbness after every fight to abject drunkenness to blunt the horror of it all 。。。
Adam Lundy
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Good。 needed more elephants
Muhammad Rajab
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Amazing book。
Bill
，
Definitely better than "From here to eternity"。 Why James Jones has two books on this list beats me。 If the Hobbit and The Lord of the rings counts as one book， why not have both of these count as one？ As I was reading this book it made me think of a few of the books I read from the series "The Rat Bastards"。 Save yourself some time and read one from that series。 I must be missing something when I read James Jones。 Just not that impressed。 Read it if you want， but there are better WWII fictional Definitely better than "From here to eternity"。 Why James Jones has two books on this list beats me。 If the Hobbit and The Lord of the rings counts as one book， why not have both of these count as one？ As I was reading this book it made me think of a few of the books I read from the series "The Rat Bastards"。 Save yourself some time and read one from that series。 I must be missing something when I read James Jones。 Just not that impressed。 Read it if you want， but there are better WWII fictional novels out there。 。。。more
Konlin
，
W porównaniu do "Stąd do wieczności"， strasznie się wynudziłem。 Na szczęście przesłuchane na trenażerze， gdybym miał czytać to poddałbym się po max 20%。 W porównaniu do "Stąd do wieczności"， strasznie się wynudziłem。 Na szczęście przesłuchane na trenażerze， gdybym miał czytać to poddałbym się po max 20%。 。。。more
Domagoj Greguric
，
"Welsh watched them all with amusement。 The， were a sorry lot， any way you took them。 Almost certainly， nearly all of them would be dead before this was was over， including himself， and not a damn one of them was smart enough to know it。 Maybe a few did。 They were getting in on virtually the very start of it， and they would continue all the way right on through it。 Hardly any of them were able or willing to admit or see what an alarming drop in chances this gave them。 As far as Welsh was concern "Welsh watched them all with amusement。 The， were a sorry lot， any way you took them。 Almost certainly， nearly all of them would be dead before this was was over， including himself， and not a damn one of them was smart enough to know it。 Maybe a few did。 They were getting in on virtually the very start of it， and they would continue all the way right on through it。 Hardly any of them were able or willing to admit or see what an alarming drop in chances this gave them。 As far as Welsh was concerned， they had coming to them and deserved everything they would get。 And that included him himself。 And this amused him， too。 "I love this stuff。 And this book is full of it。This is war at its most realistic， principally because James Jones wrote about his own real life experiences in the Guadalcanal campaign， only changing the names of hills and his fellow soldiers and officers。。。。。 But this is it， right there。 Love it， or hate it， this is how warfare looks like。 So much self-doubt， fear， a mixture of overwhelming emotions， trying to get out of it on some medical reason not the least one of them。 None of that heroic Saving Private Ryan stuff。 The heroes are real here， sort of mystical in the eyes of their comrades， overtaken by combat numbness and going for reckless deeds which win them some ranks and medals。 Of course， that type of guys is only the minority。 The rest are pissed off at their government dragging them halfway across the world to fight the hated Nips in some remote Pacific Island。I must underline here one important fact: that Terrence Malick's Thin Red Line is a masterpiece and arguably the greatest war movie ever made。So reading this novel for me was very interesting for multiple different reasons。 It is quite amazing where you dont have to imagine characters in your mind， because sub-consciously you already know them。 Here comes captain John Gaff， oh that's John Cusack！ Colonel Tall having a fit of rage？ Hello， Nick Nolte！ And so on。 So the novel for me was more or less an extension of the perfection that the movie is， like an extended edition， seeing who the hell Fife really is， after Malick cut the supposed-to-be-lead-role by Adrien Brody， into a couple of frames of this bewildered， shitting-his-pants actor looking like he wants to be anywhere than at Guadalcanal right now。Speaking of Fife， he is as close you get to the main character in the novel。 Is it Jones himself？ I think so， because he describes his fear and fear of everyone knowing how truly， deeply he is a coward， and how there is nothing， absolutely nothing he can do to change that。Did I mention that the movie was absolute perfection？Malick took complete control of this novel and changed very little indeed， making a Jesus-like Witt the prime character which showcased the full talent of Jim Caveziel and likely saved the movie。 Let's be real， Brody carrying this movie as an essentially Upham-like character would not be the brightest of ideas （remember Upham from Saving Private Ryan？ Yeah。 Unfortunately I do as well。 No character in history made so many viewers mad。 Even though he was just a coward in the wrong place， at the wrong time）。 What Mallick added to the story were things that Jones himself didnt care about - the beauty of nature， incredible shots featuring an angelic voiceover by Caveziel， talking about the purpose of it all。 All complete with the spectacular Hans Zimmer soundtrack and some sublime performances by a myriad of actors， who to this day can probably claim this as the best role of their lives， even if it contains 5 minutes of screentime。 Well， except George Clooney。 So Mallick is using the audio-video possibilities of modern cinema and the talent of his lead actors to their fullest， turning a good war story into an absolute masterpiece。 I could rave on for about 3000 more sentence about what Thin Red Line the movie represents， so at least now it is obvious how great it was for me to read this novel and fill in some of the gaps which 2，5 hours of screen time unfortunately couldnt cover。 Speaking of， there is apparently a 5-hour version sitting in some dusty Warner Bros studio basement， probably never to be released。 Until that happens。。。。。 Grab the novel and enjoy the ride。 。。。more
Yon Heong
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Great， unfiltered and sobering look at life in the frontlines of the campaign at Guadalcanal。
Abe
，
A magnificent novel， one that expertly differentiates its enormous cast through indelible characterization。
Paul Ataua
，
A compelling read on war and what it is like to be right in the middle of it。 There were moments when it gave a feel of the terror ， boredom， and dehumanization of it all 。 Worth reading even if I really didn’t really like the writing style， and felt it dragged in parts。 Maybe it was because I was aware of similar incidents in the book and the Terrence Mallick movie version when the description in the novel required pages while the same emotion was put over in just one short scene。 That is not t A compelling read on war and what it is like to be right in the middle of it。 There were moments when it gave a feel of the terror ， boredom， and dehumanization of it all 。 Worth reading even if I really didn’t really like the writing style， and felt it dragged in parts。 Maybe it was because I was aware of similar incidents in the book and the Terrence Mallick movie version when the description in the novel required pages while the same emotion was put over in just one short scene。 That is not to use words like better and worse。 There were other times when the written word really captured the emotions in a way that the movie didn’t。 Worth the time！ 。。。more
Lauren
，
3。5 stars。 Although this book took me several months to complete， ultimately I did enjoy it。 The opening of this book really got me though-I couldn't stand the characters， wasn't grounded or attached to anything， and as a result I really lagged in getting through it。 These books， and this one especially， are very well written。 When I'm reading the descriptive passages， I'm simply lost in the language。 This book lost points for me in 2 main areas:1） There are absolutely no characters to root for， 3。5 stars。 Although this book took me several months to complete， ultimately I did enjoy it。 The opening of this book really got me though-I couldn't stand the characters， wasn't grounded or attached to anything， and as a result I really lagged in getting through it。 These books， and this one especially， are very well written。 When I'm reading the descriptive passages， I'm simply lost in the language。 This book lost points for me in 2 main areas:1） There are absolutely no characters to root for， care about， or in any way enjoy。 As a reader， primarily of fiction， this is especially important to me and served as the main reason that I couldn't get into this book initially。 It never got better， but the language helped me along。 2） The technical language around the military are war-making in WWII was completely beyond my vocabulary。 I opted to skim over these passages， rather than committing to full research （both via a dictionary and encyclopedia）-if I had done the latter this book would have taken me years to read。 While this book is technically second in a trilogy （the first being From Here to Eternity）， there really isn't much of a connection between the two books-except for the period in time/focus on WWII。 Reading the first book is definitely not a pre-requisite for taking on the second。 I will continue the series， because once I start something I always finish， but I have mixed feelings about the next book。 I recommend this to those interested in WWII historical fiction （with a strong emphasis on history）， as well those that appreciate beautiful prose。 This may be tough for readers like me that enjoy having a character to get behind and root for。 。。。more
Danny
，
Mostly good。 Lots of characters to get to know and some of the combat sections are too detailed and drawn out。
Jared Thompson
，
One of the very few instances where the movie is far better than the book。
Drew Reilly
，
I was pleasantly surprised by this one。 I've read a lot of stories about World War 2， and this past year I've read a lot about the Pacific Theater， so I went into this one almost bored to be reading it。 Jones does a fantastic job telling his semi-autobiographical story about C-fo-Charlie company without repeating or falling into the same old tropes that other WW2 books do。 I was pleasantly surprised by this one。 I've read a lot of stories about World War 2， and this past year I've read a lot about the Pacific Theater， so I went into this one almost bored to be reading it。 Jones does a fantastic job telling his semi-autobiographical story about C-fo-Charlie company without repeating or falling into the same old tropes that other WW2 books do。 。。。more
W
，
The war movie based on this book，makes for compelling viewing。In addition，another book by James Jones，From Here to Eternity，also became a very good film。But when I read that book，his writing style didn't impress me all that much。The book was also extremely lengthy。Sheer length seems to be an issue with The Thin Red Line，as well。The movie takes three hours，too。The film works beautifully，as it explores what soldiers go through in wartime。Should they obey direct orders，which mean certain death，or s The war movie based on this book，makes for compelling viewing。In addition，another book by James Jones，From Here to Eternity，also became a very good film。But when I read that book，his writing style didn't impress me all that much。The book was also extremely lengthy。Sheer length seems to be an issue with The Thin Red Line，as well。The movie takes three hours，too。The film works beautifully，as it explores what soldiers go through in wartime。Should they obey direct orders，which mean certain death，or should they refuse such orders and face the consequences ？Should they capture enemy soldiers，or should they kill prisoners as revenge for killing their mates ？ Would their women back home wait for their return or would they rather find someone else ？Is a soldier a hero because he dies，but what if there is no way out and he has to die anyway ？ After all，survival in battle，more than anything else is a matter of sheer luck。And how pointless life seems，when death is staring you in the face ？Great film，kept me riveted。Hopefully，the book is as good，too。 。。。more
Mimi
，
Maybe it should be four stars， hard to read， but probably a good description of combat。
Anna
，
HarrowingThe title of this book should be War Is Hell。 Although I couldn't put it down， it is a difficult read because it seems so real。 HarrowingThe title of this book should be War Is Hell。 Although I couldn't put it down， it is a difficult read because it seems so real。 。。。more
Bob Box
，
Read in 1980。 War novel based on Jones own experiences in the battle at Guadalcanal。
Chango Salamanca
，
Great book， but does ask for a commitment from the reader。 No verbage is filler， if you think it is， you are missing something。 Always thought is was too much to turn into a movie， but many great scenes。
Robert Maharry
，
I grew up believing that WWII was truly the only conflict in American history that was entirely righteous， fought by unflinchingly heroic men entirely on the same page and remembered in glowing terms。 Reading James Jones has repeatedly reminded me how naive I was。 The Thin Red Line is one of the greatest combat novels of all time， and Malick's film adaptation remains leaps and bounds above "Saving Private Ryan。" I grew up believing that WWII was truly the only conflict in American history that was entirely righteous， fought by unflinchingly heroic men entirely on the same page and remembered in glowing terms。 Reading James Jones has repeatedly reminded me how naive I was。 The Thin Red Line is one of the greatest combat novels of all time， and Malick's film adaptation remains leaps and bounds above "Saving Private Ryan。" 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Thin Red Line
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Thin Red Line&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Thin Red Line&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0