Book Review: The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion

Reviewed By: Jennifer Jordan

The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion     Amazon US PB Amazon Canada PB
Ford Madox Ford
Class/Genre:   Fiction
1915 (reprint 1999), Oxford University Press Fiction, 352 pages

I was hooked from the dedication. That has never happened before. Ford's declaration "This is the saddest story I have ever heard", sets a tone that begins a character study that withstands the brash neon lights of the twenty-first century. This story is told by John McDowell, a transplanted American, speaking to the reader as if the reader were sitting in the chair next to him. And believe me, you are. I read this book slowly and methodically, as if to savor every bite. McDowell became an entity I listened to, sympathized with and wanted to throttle.

The premise is the tale of two couples, in the midst of disintegration. Within a span of nine years, the interweaving of their lives reveals wounds previously unacknowledged and needs unfulfilled. It is a narrative wrought with passion, denial, empathy and self-righteousness. My love and hatred of each character changed with the turn of each page, as McDowell opens his souls. His tale is not linear. It is as if the friend, seated next to you, was relating a painful story, in fits and starts, as memory and emotion struck him.

This story has stayed with me well beyond the final page. It portrays human frailty and human love in the worst and most compelling forms. It truly is the saddest story.

Jennifer Jordan

Reprinted with permission. Do Not repost without permission from the author, Jennifer Jordan

Please Note: Books reviewed are usually provided by the publisher, author, or an agent. Reviewers usually get to keep the book.