The Return of the Soldier Audiobook

" This isn't a review, but a complaint. West uses the phrase she wears "cheap stays" for every woman who is not of her class. Her small homes are "squalid", her Margaret was like a house that let out the smell of cooking cabbage and the sound of screaming children. Very purple prose. "

" _The Return of the Soldier_ is a pretty quick read, set in Europe in World War II. It addresses a common theme at the time, which was how those who went to war and those left behind coped with the difficult reality of the time. The story is fairly simple, while capturing the very complicated emotional tangles of several people whose lives have been turned upside down by either going off to war, or being left behind to continue life as best they can. For those interested in WW2 literature, this is a good and quick read. "

" My heart is breaking... Fucking Kitty... "

" This book quietly but persistently destroys a common idea about the relative value of reality and its ministers (pscyhologists, psychiatrists, etc) in the course of its lovely pages. Along the way it has some harsh ideas about bourgeois aesthetics as well. "

" Brief, terribly sad and utterly lovely. I listened to the audiobook--first time I've read Rebecca West, and it won't be the last. "

" A fine story and well-written, but the resolution is marred by Freudian hooey. "

" Story which gives the view point of a WWI soldier returning home from the war, shell shocked and suffering from amnesia. "

" I don't understand how Rebecca West has alluded me for all these years, but I loved this book and can't wait to read more of her work. Tight, claustrophobic, gorgeous prose. A wonderful short novel. "

" Interesting!! and quick! my first experience with Rebecca West. "

" For a story that's only about eighty pages long, this book really packs an emotional punch. Usually I know how I want a story to end, but with this one, I felt torn. Either way, lives would be ruined. Very poignant and gorgeously written--hard to believe this was West's first novel. "

" When I read Rebecca West's prose, I feel like I'm reading poetry. Her descriptions are so beautiful--filled with tender images. This is a sad story, but it touches on all of the key themes of WWI literature. "

" very good. very difficult to finish. i'm going to have to hide this book for a little while as not to get upset. "

" Quick, interesting; I'm assuming it's not her best work. "

" A man returns from World War I with little memory of what he's returning home to, well written story, with believable characters. "

" It a quick read--less than 100 pages. It gives a fresh insight to the effects of World War 1 on the women that the soldiers leave behind. It plays with time and memory in a way that shows there is something much worse than losing your husband in war because of death. "

" WWI, a soldier with memory loss, how that effects him and his family, and how a return can mean many things. "

" Astonishing. Painful, intense, lyrical, mystical, disturbing. I'll write more about it on the blog as soon as I can. "

" For such a sad story, Rebecca West's prose is lyrically beautiful and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. "

" It could have been a high concept movie idea and it went beyond that. It is short and a bit confusing but it had depth.<br/><br/>Some female characters seem to be infanticized but it concerned interesting themes related to love, memory and loss. "

" I'm not yet sure... The prose was wonderful, but I'm not sure what I thought about the story. I shall have to ponder for a little bit and write more after I've thought about it. "

" Man, Rebecca West, you are so pretentious! And yet there is something true under all that blah blah blah. I'm not going to quit you, but I AM going to make many a disapproving sniff while reading your books. "

" A short novel, leaves a lot to assumptions, would leave u thinking on wat cud hav happened.. Nice one to discuss n argue abt. Read it as part of group-reads on the Indian Readers group. "