Customer Reviews

Coward on the Beach: Vol. 1 (Dick Coward 1)

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I just finished this after having bought it in the U.K. and recommend this heartily. The back says "A Welcome Corrective to Spielberg" and this is true. The incredible madness of D-Day is the backdrop for the story of Dickie Coward's experiences with the 47th Commandos. The characters are real, the narration is in the first person in the form of a recorded autobiography for his grandson, and the military details are excellent. Did I mention that it's very funny? Think of Harry Flashman (minus the enflamed libido; Coward is befuddled with women) or Sharpe (minus the tortured soul)in World War II. Coward, it seems, as served in Burma, been captured by the Japanese, in the Eastern Front with the Wehrmacht, in North Africa with Monty and the 8th Army. All of these mentioned in asides that suggest a series, along with Sergeant Price, a veteran of the trenches, as his batman and continued life-saving father figure. Price, of course, served with Coward's father in WWI.
Readers enthusiastic for details of real commando raids, for a picture of what it was like on Gold Beach, and into the Normandy hedgerows, will be very satisfied. Readers who know little of the subject, and find non-fiction accounts a bit boring, will learn far more than they ever expected while being hugely entertained.

Actually, I'd rate this 3 1/2 if it were possible. While I applaud Delingpole's entertaining prose style and echo the other reviewer's strong evaluation of the D-Day parts of the book, I found the last 30 or so pages increasingly unsatisfactory. They seemed almost slapdash, as the author piled one coincidence on another to tie up the plot, introduce recurring characters, and prepare for the sequel. Of course, the Flashman books, Delingpole's obvious model, do this sort of thing too, but Fraser usually managed to pull it off with more assurance and gravitas. The end of COWARD ON THE BEACH seemed very half-baked.

On the other hand, maybe it's just because this is the first book in the series, and Delingpole is still developing his approach. There clearly is a lot of potential in Dick Coward, and I'll definitely give him another chance when COWARD AT THE BRIDGE comes out in paperback.

Since his death earlier this year, I have mourned the passing of George MacDonald Fraser and the death of Harry Flashman, to both of whom I am indebted for many, many hours of enjoyment and much learning. I am glad now to become acquainted with Mr. James Delingpole and Dick Coward, who have begun exceptionally well and hold out the promise of a series as informative and entertaining as Sir Harry's adventures.

This is one of those books I can across by pure serendipity: I was in the library looking for something completely unrelated (a Don DeLillo book) and the retro design of the spine caught my eye. I pulled it out to take a closer look and the retro cover art intrigued me further. A quick skim of the back brought up references to the Flashman series and I knew I had to take it home. The Flashman series is one of my all time favorites, and the prospect of something similar set in World War II had me drooling.

However, as far as I can tell from this initial entry in what is projected to be a ten-book series, the comparison to Flashman is ill-placed. Yes, it uses a "reminisces" framework just like Flashman, and yes, tantalizing hints are given about the hero's involvement in an impossible array of famous WWII engagements -- fighting with the Germans at Stalingrad, fighting through Burma (as Flashman's creator so ably described in Quartered Safe Out Here), fighting Rommell in North Africa, and dropping into Operation Market Garden (which is the subject of the next book in the series Coward at the Bridge). However, Coward is not an outrageously lucky cad like Flashman, instead, he is largely the reverse: an outrageously unlucky brave gentleman. Flashman usually came out smelling like roses, while Coward's noble efforts seem to always lead to the brink of court-martial. But enough about Flashman, the book should be read on its own merits and the publisher does the author a disservice by invoking that hallowed name.

This book starts in 1944 and Coward rather confusingly seems to be discharged from the Army following a severe illness. Due to wacky circumstances involving the family fortune and his odious brother (and the batted eyes of a pretty woman), he finagles his way back into uniform, specifically the green beret of the 47 Royal Marine Commando, which is almost done preparing for its important role in the D-Day invasion. Accompanying him in these (and apparently all endeavors) is his redoubtable one-testicled sidekick Price, who is actually placed as his Sargent in the 47 RMC. Price is perhaps best imagined as a combination of super-capable military man a la Sharpe, and ever-reliable, ever-forward thinking sidekick a la Jeeves. In any event, by placing the duo in the commando, the author is then able to tell an unvarnished version of the D-Day landing at Gold Beach, replete with men crushed by landing craft, men forced to shed their clothes lest they drown, and a whole laundry list of things gone wrong during D-Day. Coward's unit is tasked with capturing the heavily defended port town of Port de Bessin with not nearly enough men, support, or equipment. Horrific, adventurous, humorous, and wacky antics ensure.

And that last line says quite a bit about why the book isn't nearly as entertaining as it could be. Aside from the "big twist" at the end being pretty obvious, the book is tonally all over the map, lurching from comedy to Boys Own adventure to sappy tragedy to sex farce with very uneven pacing. It might well be that the author is just getting his sea legs here, and future installments will flow much more smoothly. To be sure, the military history and details are all quite well done (according to the end notes, the book draws heavily on From Omaha to the Scheldt: The Story of 47 Royal Marine Commando by John Forfar, as well as D-Day 1944 by Ken Ford and Battle Zone Normandy: Gold Beach by Simon Trew) and I learned a lot as I read. However, it's the kind of book I read avidly, all the while wishing it were better than it is.

Coward on the beach is a WWII version of Flashman - or, rather, the anti-Flashman. While Flashy was a rogue, bounder and cad who became a national hero, largely via misunderstandings and misdirection, Coward is a thoroughly decent chap who is constantly vilified, pilloried and scorned, with those "in the know" about his true character generally meeting an untimely end. This is presented as the ramblings of an aged Dick Coward to a grandson, with all that entails - we know that Coward survives WWII, presumbly with functioning genitals (not all characters in this book have the same fortune).

Here we meet Coward in 1944, with quite a backstory behind him - flying Spits in the Battle of Britain, North Africa, Stalingrad, Italy, Burma. I assume we will see these various events later volumes, as apparently the author plans to write 10 Coward novels (presently there is a sequel, Coward at the Bridge, about Op Market Garden, and a planned release Coward in the Woods, which may cover the Battle of the Bulge). There is even an old antogonist introduced - and he is somewhat chilling, despite the fact we have never met him before.

Coward ends up storming the beach on D-Day as a Royal Marine commando, taking a gun emplacement, getting captured, led up the garden path by a pretty girl or two, wounded, and generally misunderstood. For all that he is our protangonist, and a bit noble, Coward is also a little bit silly, and a bit of an upper class prat. For the most part though, the story is well told, and gallops along merrily. There is battle, sex, bridge and banter. If you like Flashman, and WWII history, then this is the perfect book to read on a beach, on a plane...anywhere, really. Its not Anna Karenina, but then again, who is?

A splendid and captivating novel. That is, once you overcome the initial confusion caused by so many historic events being piled up one after another (reminds a bit the way the One Thousand and One Nights stories are intertwined and gives hope that a good many sequels will soon follow the book). Having lived a long and eventful life myself, I can only sympathize with the storyteller's struggle to overcome his hearers's natural prejudice: so many adventures simply cannot happen to anyone!

In any other novel, I most enjoy those that meet meet a few basic criteria: twists in the plot should be hard to predict, characters should be realistic and you should be able to learn something abt the "real life" as well. I'm glad to report that Coward on the Beach does indeed meet all three of these demands. As James delingpole has evidently done his research well, you can get a good glimpse into the world of Allied soldier's doings around D-Day. Explanations and references at the back of the book make it even more enjoyable.

The only downside of having now read the book is, of course, that it is not easy to wait for the sequel to arrive. :)