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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Man in The Middle,
By
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This review is from: Some Came Running (Paperback)
You either liked "some came running" or you didn't, and there doesn't seem to be anything in between. And the movie of the same name was a typical Hollywood treatment at the time with little about it that followed the objective of the book. If reading this book, I sincerely recommend taking the "abridged" version. Nothing of the story is lost in the excellent editing but removes the non-essential rambling that Jones was going through when he wrote the original.
I thoroughly enjoyed it. For me, there was an honesty about it from all angles; from the black sheep, insecure would-be writer to the over-achiever brother of same, and all the widely diverse, yet associated personalities in between. Jones got into the psyche of each as he penned their thoughts and actions against the thoughts and actions of those they associated with. It's true it dealt with the seamy side of life, but it dealt with the middle class striving for the high society life, too. Each striving, striving, for something elusive; and self-destruction lived close to the surface within all of them. It begins with the black sheep brother, the non-conformist Dave Hirsch, returning by bus from a stint in the army and a war, and stepping off into the old hometown from where he had been helpfully banished several years before by his brother, Frank, for an indescretion. One immediately feels that he has returned solely to embarrass the older brother, who has achieved a measure of social standing and wealth, thereby exacting a subtle revenge - after all, it's his home too and he can return if he wants. Then the action begins; Dave has long desired to become a writer and has a certain amount of unrealized talent; but he has no drive, no motive, and lapses into the dark recesses of the local bars and it's correspondingly dark female companionship much too often to allow him to concentrate. He feels some guilt about it, not enough to reform it; he is overly sensitive about his weight; and he suffers from all sorts of other insecurities because of these truths about himself that he dislikes, but isn't strong enough to overcome. One of the most pitiful of the female characers, Ginny, figures prominently in the life of Dave almost immediately. Lost, dull witted, unable to have any normal relationship with a man, she nonetheless has the use of men because she provides a use "for" them. The reader feels sorrow along with the adult knowledge that there are really such people out there. Along the way, Dave is introduced to a wonderful old gentleman through his brother, Bob French, an intellectual who has a correspondingly educated daughter, Gwen. Dave is immediately attracted to the daughter, and although his personal obstacles are still there, he has one advantage: She has somehow gone slumming in her choices of reading material at one time and discovered Dave's work which she feels has merit but not enough polish. She sees hidden potential in him and determines to assist him write a new novel. (she can cook,too) Gwen also has problems of her own. This, then, becomes the underlying theme of the story, complete with unrequited sexual tension between Dave and Gwen. There are others that figure prominently in Jones' tale of small-town injustices, secret and not-so-secret lives: 'Bama, the Gambler was one of the most interesting. Street smart, possessed of common sense under his debauched life style, the reader somehow senses he may be one of the only sane ones among the characters and then immediately wonders why one thought so. The trip Dave takes to 'Bama's farm to meet Mrs. 'Bama was truly one of a kind. My take on the whole thing was that Jones was perhaps more than a little like his character "Dave" in his own life. He seemed to know him intimately.
13 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Running With the Big Boys,
By
This review is from: Some Came Running (Paperback)
Take a little Lewis, add Farrell, Faulkner and Dreiser. Mix all that up and you might come close. Jones creates characters that stand up and talk back. They cast long shadows. Jones creates a real town out of paper, ink and imagination. This town is in the Midwest, but it could be anywhere. His people have problems like you have problems. At times they work it all out. At times they don't. This is life lived. This is great literature. This is James Jones best work. And they don't come much better than James Jones.
17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good...as always, you can see Jones in his characters,
By Stephen Schnorf (Illinois) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Some Came Running (Paperback)
I was quite surprised to see that this book was un-reviewed. Jones' lead character in some ways must be him...young man returning to his Illinois small-town home from the war.It certainly appears to me that his writer's colony patron is here in some part. His anger at the less than wholesome undercurrents in his home town come through strongly. The characters are quite vivid, especially 'Bama. and the dialogue is good. I vote this one in Jones' upper tier, but definitely below his best.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
A Classic
They don't write 'em like this anymore.
Published on September 28, 2002
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