The Good Soldier by Ford Maddox Ford
The Good Soldier is a good example of why my quest to read the 100 best books of the 20th century (according to The Modern Library) has value. I’d never have read it if it weren’t on the list. First of all, Ford Maddox Ford is a stupid name. Who does that to their child? And secondly, it sounds like it’s about war. Not to say there haven’t ever been any good war books – All’s Quiet on the Western Front comes to mind – but it’s not typically my genre.
Actually, The Good Soldier has no war in it. And it’s amazing. Bizarre, delightful, light yet deep. I’m so glad I read it. I don’t know whether to try something else by him or not. If it were just like The Good Soldier, then I’d be less impressed by The Good Soldier. It would just be his style. But what if I read another of his books and it was also uniquely amazing? Anyway, he’s apparently only really written one other thing and it’s also on the list, so I guess I have no choice.
I can’t belive the last thing I finished was also on the 100 Best list. Shows you how fast this went that I finished it before any “easier” book I had going. It’s the story of two adulterously-entwined couples, told from the point of view of a naive cuckold. Or he might be in denial. You know I don’t analyze these things much. My edition contained no introduction written by a scholar who would know so I have to go by the margin notes whoever owned it before me made. Which reminds me to flip through any book I pick up at the used book store before buying it. I hate margin notes.