The Thin Red Line: A Novel [Paperback]

James Jones (Author), Francine Prose (Foreword)

Book Description

Release date: February 9, 1998

They are the men of C-for-Charlie company—“Mad” 1st Sgt. Eddie Welsh, Pvt. 1st Class Don Doll, Pvt. John Bell, Capt. James Stein, Cpl. Fife, and dozens more just like them—infantrymen who are about to land, grim and white-faced, on an atoll in the Pacific called Guadalcanal. This is their story, a shatteringly realistic walk into hell and back.
 
In the days ahead, some will earn medals, others will do anything they can dream up to get evacuated before they land in a muddy grave. But they will all discover the thin red line that divides the sane from the mad—and the living from the dead—in this unforgettable portrait that captures for all time the total experience of men at war.
 
Foreword by Francine Prose
 
“Brutal, direct, and powerful . . . The men are real, the words are real, death is real, imminent and immediate.”—Los Angeles Times
 
“A rare and splendid accomplishment . . . strong and ambitious, spacious, and as honest as any novel ever written.”— Newsweek
 
“[A] major novel of combat in World War II . . . reminiscent of Stephen Crane in The Red Badge of Courage.”—The Christian Science Monitor
 
“The Thin Red Line moves so intensely and inexorably that it almost seems like the war it is describing.”—The New York Times Book Review

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

"When compared to the fact that he might very well be dead by this time tomorrow, whether he was courageous or not today was pointless, empty. When compared to the fact that he might be dead tomorrow, everything was pointless. Life was pointless. Whether he looked at a tree or not was pointless. It just didn't make any difference. It was pointless to the tree, it was pointless to every man in his outfit, pointless to everybody in the whole world. Who cared? It was not pointless only to him; and when he was dead, when he ceased to exist, it would be pointless to him too. More important: Not only would it be pointless, it would have been pointless, all along."

Such is the ultimate significance of war in The Thin Red Line (1962), James Jones's fictional account of the battle between American and Japanese troops on the island of Guadalcanal. The narrative shifts effortlessly among multiple viewpoints within C-for-Charlie Company, from commanding officer Capt. James Stein, his psychotic first sergeant Eddie Welsh, and the young privates they send into battle. The descriptions of combat conditions--and the mental states it induces--are unflinchingly realistic, including the dialog (in which a certain word Norman Mailer rendered as "fug" 15 years earlier in The Naked and the Dead appears properly spelled on numerous occasions). This is more than a classic of combat fiction; it is one of the most significant explorations of male identity in American literature, establishing Jones as a novelist of the caliber of Herman Melville and Stephen Crane.

From Library Journal

Jones's 1962 novel follows the men of Charlie Company as they fight on Guadalcanal. Though LJ's reviewer was less than knocked out by it, a forthcoming feature film starring John Travolta, George Clooney, Nick Nolte, Leonardo DiCaprio, Gary Oldman, and many others should generate heavy interest.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 510 pages
• Publisher: Delta Books; Reprint edition (February 9, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385324081
• ISBN-13: 978-0385324083
• Product Dimensions: 5.5 x 1.1 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #63,652 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 96 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Keystone of a monumental trilogy August 21, 2002

By Chris Mark

Format:Paperback

I have always liked the James Jones trilogy of the war era army--
"From Here to Eternity"
"The Thin Red Line"
"Whistle"

"From Here to Eternity" details in unmatched accuracy what the pre-Pearl Harbor
professional army was like for the enlisted man.
"The Thin Red Line" carries that army and those men into combat in the Solomons
with the same honesty and intensity.
"Whistle" takes men wounded in combat home via hospital ship and stateside
rehabilitation center.

Most people have heard of "From Here to Eternity" and "The Thin Red Line" because
they have been made into movies.
"Whistle," the concluding, and in many ways the most important volume of the
trilogy, is less known.

Jones has always dwelt in the shadow of the more famous Norman Mailer. But I
have always thought of Mailer as poseur who wrote what he wrote in order to be
accepted into literary society and become famous. Jones has always seemed to
me the real deal. He enlisted in the army in 1939, was at Pearl Harbor when
the Japs attacked, fought in the Solomons, receiving the Bronze Star with V for
Valor and the Purple Heart.
With the money he made from "From Here to Eternity," Jones founded a writer's
colony and paid the hospital bills of the great and tragic poet Delmore
Schwartz, who clearly influenced Jones' writing. See especially the poem "For
the One Who Would Take Man's Life in His Hands" from the collection "Summer
Knowledge" published in 1938.
As far as I know, no critic has ever noticed this, but the first stanza of this
poem in 12 lines gives the storyline of "From Here to Eternity." The second
stanza gives that of "The Thin Red Line," and the third and final stanza that of
"Whistle."
Jones carried out something remarkable, getting the vision for a monumental
literary undertaking from a poem he read as an enlisted man in a garrison army,
actually carrying out the vision and producing what, in my opinion, is the
definitive American fictional narrative of the war. In short, Jones turned his
life into a poem and that poem into splendid novels.
I stand in awe.

30 of 30 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Fiction? October 27, 2004

By J R Zullo

Format:Paperback

It's difficult to write a book about soldiers at war. There are always many characters, the ranks are confusing, the description of the battles must be very accurate otherwise the reader will be lost. If it's fiction, the author must be very careful not to, unwillingly, transform his book in a re-telling of other, more commonly known battle events. James Webb managed to write a very good book about soldiers at war, "Fields of fire". Cornelius Ryan wrote a series of excellent non-fiction books about the second World War in its European Theatre.

"The thin red line" is about the battle of Guadalcanal, an island of the Solomons chain and an important base in the south Pacific Ocean, between the american and the japanese troops.

"The thin red line", by author and ex-combatent James Jones, was brought under the spotlights once again more recently after cult director Terrence Mallik transposed it to the big screen, for the second time, in 1998 (the first time was in 1964). The movie is visually beautiful, long, and insightful, with extraordinary development of its main characters. The book does not have visual resources, but Jones' fast prose, moving from character to character, from battle scenes to the long nights spent in the open, all this makes the reader "watch" what is happening with his or her mind, just like it was a movie.

Jones knows what he is writing about. He was there, he did that. And he is intelligent. War battles are not much different, one from another (except if you are actually there, of course). So, Jones technic is to write unusually long chapters, to make the reader feel involved with the environment, with the people of C-for-Charlie Company. All the characters, with no exception, have, contrary to the chapters, unusually short names - four or five letters at most. Witt, Fife, Bell, Dale, Stein, Tall, Bosch, Bead, Gaff, just one syllabe, they are easy to remember and their sonority makes the reader instantly recognize the person associated to the name. Also, the brevity of the names reminds us of the brevity of the lives of his characters, fighting unexpected death at every moment.

"The thin red line" is fiction, but barely. The last sentence of the book gives Jones away. It's fiction in the sense of characters ann their development, and building atmosphere. It is very good fiction, really a masterpiece. And it's a true account on the horrors of war. Fiction and truth, ballanced. Enjoy both parts.

Grade 9.0/10

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Book and an Excellent Movie February 7, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback

I thought both this book and the movie were excellent but the two are so unique in their own way, you almost can't compare them. Both address the difficulties of facing and accepting death brought on by war. The book does this in a realistic, almost 'in your face' way with its detailed depictions of soldiers' experiences, both on the front line and off, and as it delves into each character's evolving thoughts and emotions. James Jones really brings you onto the battle field and into the soldiers' minds. The movie on the other hand takes a poetic, almost ethereal approach, leaving you to wonder and reflect upon death and war. While it doesn't take you deep into all of the character's minds, the movie does offer powerful imagery and eloquent narratives to illustrate its message...as well as excellent performances by the actors themselves. I highly recommend reading this book and seeing the movie, but don't expect them to take you down the same road. And if you're expecting another "Saving Private Ryan", then you should see "Saving Private Ryan". "The Thin Red Line" is on a whole other level.