Very good review. Good to the point I might break my imposed "no new fiction" guideline.
But to your point about 9/11 and the wars following it, I think a huge part of it is the vastly different ways of looking at the events, which are, indeed, broken down in the way that Waldman's books break down, on cultural lines.
Apropos your point about the best WW1 novels and the fundamental tension: it will be interesting to see what kind of art gets made about the coronavirus pandemic; we've had a few years to think about it and I wouldn't be surprised if some masterpieces are just around the corner.
Very good review. Good to the point I might break my imposed "no new fiction" guideline.
But to your point about 9/11 and the wars following it, I think a huge part of it is the vastly different ways of looking at the events, which are, indeed, broken down in the way that Waldman's books break down, on cultural lines.
What are those vastly different ways you speak of?
The people who go to college vs those who fight our wars, have very different perspectives on cause and effect.
I just read "The Wild Party" and one thing I liked about it was that there was no obvious hero to root for or villain to boo.
Interesting. I may check it out!
Apropos your point about the best WW1 novels and the fundamental tension: it will be interesting to see what kind of art gets made about the coronavirus pandemic; we've had a few years to think about it and I wouldn't be surprised if some masterpieces are just around the corner.