So, I'm not sure how I feel about war novels. I don't think that I've read a war novel, other than Gone with the Wind that I've ever actually LOVED. I think, though, that war books by men are not particularly my scene. I get bored, I get distracted, mostly with all the writing about maneuvers and planes and boats and weapons. Maybe I'm just a total girl, but that part is just so dry to me, my eyes and mind both tend to wander. The one thing I do like about war books are the people and their experiences. I remember when I was younger(maybe late high school early college) I read Red Storm Rising by Tom Clancy. In case you haven't read it (which you probably haven't, since who would read Tom Clancy who wasn't a male war vet?) it's about World War III between Russia and the United States. THE ENTIRE BOOK is about planes AND bombs AND ships AND MANEUVERS. BOOOOORRRRIINNNGGG. But, one of the side plots of the book is this story line about two American soldiers in Iceland who have rescued an Icelandic woman who was raped and spend the rest of the book trying to get back to safety with her. In between all of the war crap, I kept hoping that they would get back to the small group in Iceland. That's a bit how I felt about James Michener's Tales of the South Pacific, Pulitzer prize winner in 1948. First of all, I was a bit skeptical because all of Michener's books, though bestsellers, are gi-freakin-normous, and I've been told, are full of DESCRIPTION. I wasn't sure about this one, since it was less than 400 pages and his first book, I was hoping he hadn't gotten long winded...yet. Well, overall I think I enjoyed it. What is interesting to note here, too, is the musical South Pacific was supposedly based on the book. Funny, but when I think "Inspiration for a musical," this book does NOT come to mind. However, when I think "book most likely to be made into a television series/movie like MASH", this book DOES come to mind. The characters in this book are what make it great. Michener can write great characters, I'll give him that. I also liked the fact that the stories were interconnected, so some of your favorite characters come back again and again, viewed through a different narrator's eyes. Being on the front lines of a battlefield is something that I hope I never have to experience, but I think Michener, who himself was a veteran of the 2nd World War(the war which the book is about), gave an accurate picture not only of the men while in battle(though ironically for me that was the boring part), but of the longing, for home, women and for action on the warfront, and then all the activities that ensued. I had a lot of stories that I really loved, "Passion" was probably my favorite, though. It's about a doctor who is trying to write a letter to his wife about how he's feeling playing his part in the war, and also how he feels about her. He's having a really hard time doing it, when he's interrupted by someone who wants a second opinion on how to censor a Navy mechanic's letter. When he reads the letter, he is overcome by the passion that this man conveys to his wife, in such explicit detail. Then, he reads another letter, that of the person who wanted the second opinion. He's been cheating on his wife the whole time he's been in the South Pacific, but he uses a mundane outing in a boat in an extremely elaborate form(basically creates a nonexistent battle)to show his love for his wife. These men both make the doctor rethink the proprieties that bind him and he ends up writing a much more "from the heart" letter. It's great, and reminds me of one of my favorite songs, a song from The Civil War soundtrack, called Ashokan Farewell. In one of the versions of the song, a soldier, dead after the first battle of Bull Run, writes the most powerful, loving letter to his wife, not knowing if it would be the last one he would ever pen. It almost makes me cry every time. Another story that's amazing is "Fo' Dolla'" about a Lt. Joe Cable and his love for the daughter of a foul-mouthed female Tonkinese street hustler, who will sell anything to the GIs and often scream at them in the inappropriate language they themselves taught her, if they don't buy from her. Her daughter is sweet, beautiful and intelligent, but the relationship between her and the Lieutenant is doomed because he cannot bring himself to marry outside of his race...There definitely were a lot of boring stories, too, but I was definitely surprised that I wasn't groaning the whole time. The other thing that was cool about this book was that even though it's a Reader's Digest version, it is the original complete text AND has beautiful color illustrations. AND I picked up at Jean's church book sale for only two dollars Canadian(which is now like $6 US!)! Well, as Queen says "Another one bites the dust." It's a tie: 31-31. I still have a helluva ways to go.