The Merry Month of May [Paperback]

James Jones (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2004

“The only one of my contemporaries who I felt had more talent than myself was James Jones. And he has also been the one writer of any time for whom I felt any love.”—Norman Mailer

Paris. May, 1968. This is the Paris of the barricaded boulevards of rebelling students’ strongholds, of the literati, the sexual anarchists, the leftists—written chillingly of a time in French history closely paralleling America in the late ’60s. The reader sees, feels, smells and fears all the turmoil of the frightening social quicksand of 1968.

James Jones (1921–1977) established himself as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century with his WWII trilogy, From Here to Eternity (National Book Award winner), The Thin Red Line and Whistle.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The only one of my contemporaries who I felt had more talent than myself was James Jones. And he has also been the one writer of any time for whom I felt any love." --
NORMAN MAILER -- Review

From the Publisher

Upon its initial publication in 1970, critics from the Denver Post, Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and many other publications agreed that The Merry Month of May was Jones’s best novel since From Here to Eternity. Out of print for more than fifteen years, this edition includes a brand new preface by National Book Award–winner Larry Heinemann (Paco’s Story) and an introduction by Jones scholar Judith L. Everson.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 298 pages
• Publisher: Akashic Books (May 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1888451459
• ISBN-13: 978-1888451450
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #143,394 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perhaps his best, August 16, 2004

By 

David A. Bede (Singapore) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Merry Month of May (Paperback)

For those of us who thought James Jones could only write war stories, this relatively obscure title is a nice surprise. Of course, there is a warlike element to the story's backdrop of 1968 Paris, but ultimately the student riots are just that - a backdrop.

The main focus of the story is on the descent of an American expat family into chaos, in part as a reflection of the generational divides laid bare by the riots. There are bits of sex and violence thrown into the mix (although far more of both are referred to indirectly without actually being portrayed), but the story is more concerned with changing values and the bonds of family and friendship than with anything melodramatic. It turns out that Jones was far better at telling such a tale than his earlier and better known novels had let on.

Since most of the lead characters are defined by their uglier sides, there aren't many people to root for. But as the story progresses, it increasingly becomes a story of the well-to-do American community in Paris as a whole, which makes for a somewhat more sympathetic picture. Jones also did a great job of bringing in real-life events of May-June 1968 on both sides of the Atlantic to influence his fictional characters and their story, which is told from the point of view of an intimate observer of the chaos just a few weeks after it's all over. Is it really the end of an era for the Americans of Paris, or just for one dysfunctional family? For once, as the reader, you're free to decide on your own.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I'm tired of dumb...reviews, September 26, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Merry Month of May (Paperback)

... "The Merry Month of May" is a brilliant, perfectly structured novel which was misunderstood when it was first published, and is apparently still misunderstood. Like Jake Barnes in "The Sun Also Rises," Hartley is a wounded man who finds himself emotionally impotent to help the people he loves most, even when his own godchild's future is in question. He is an observer, in the tradition of Barnes, or Nick Carraway, and to observe is his JOB. His own feelings of guilt and shame come from the very fact that he can't bring himself to act, take sides, or take a stand, even when his friends demand it of him. This is actually, in my estimation, one of the few novels of its time that deals honestly and compassionately with women's true roles in the "sexual revolution" of the Sixties.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Can't Stop Reading It, February 3, 2011

By 

Sandra in Motown "MotownBabe" (Motown) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Merry Month of May (Paperback)

For awhile there, I was thinking I don't want to read this book, and thought I wouldn't finish it, BUT I kept reaching for it and I think it was more about my mood lately, I can't seem to find anything to read. There's something about this book that reels me back IN. I find it kind of silly here & there, but I think that's because of the era in which it was published. If I'd read it when I was 20 in 1971, instead of NOW when I'll be 60, I would have seen it all much differently! So, I have to say, I AM enjoying it and I'm glad I read the reviews here. I came specifically for that, to see what others have to say. I'm not quite finished with the book, but it's LURE intrigues me! I can't stop reading it.