War and Remembrance [Paperback]

We all know fathers love their sons, and brothers love each other, but this book touches ever so lightly, but effectively on these familial loves. At first reading, the relationship between Pug and Byron seems distant, conflicted, and filled with disappointment, with occasional warmth. On second reading, that is still there, but there is bedrock of love that is so deftly written than it is amazing to uncover it. Think of Pug and Byron visiting the old house in Manila, where Pug apologizes for being rough on Byron when tutoring him as a young boy. Byron's response? "I didn't mind, Dad. I understood you. Best grades I ever got." Or Pug watching his sons at Warren's house prior to Midway. It's Byron who leaps up first to get his Dad a beer. Or the line in which Pug realizes he couldn't survive as a functioning man if Byron were lost. SPOILERS: And that's not just because Warren has already been lost. Also, reread Pug's letter to his wife about Warren's death. As a father myself, it is heart rending. How do you put into words the feelings of losing a son. Wouk does it well. "There was nothing better than just resting my eyes on him." or "We have Byron. We have Madeline. But Warren is gone, and there will never be another Warren."

As for Byron and Warren, think of the party prior to Midway with the hula dancer and Warren dancing. The women are looking at Warren, the men salivating at the hula girl, and there is Byron, tears streaming, watching his brother. Do you have an older brother? At some point, he was your hero. For Byron, he still feels that way about Warren, and Warren is deserving of that. In the other direction, there are several light sentences in which Warren acknowledges the superiority of his younger brother, e.g., his recognition that while Janice is a catch, Natalie is even more of one.

The relationship between Pug and Pam is very well done. It is not rushed, and you don't get a sense of being a prurient onlooker when they are together. Pam has her faults, to be sure, but you can see her making the older man happy, and not just in the bedroom as might be presented in more current fictions. It's wonderful to follow the starts and stops of this relationship, especially after the initial "I love you" uttered (at long last) by Pug.

Finally, I really enjoyed the writing about each Henry's feelings after a brush with death. Pug's feelings seeing the U.S. flag on embassy row in London (was that in WoW or this one?), Warren's bonhommie with the gun tub crew ("You bet your ass . . . sir") after his first Midway sortie, or Byron's sense of camaraderie after a depth charging.

Is this book perfect? It's pretty close: the history is good, the romance is well done, and there are subtleties that emerge only upon a second (or third!) reading. There have been few other books where I have regretted their ending -- that's saying something when talking about a thousand page book.

Reread it, maybe even with a pen to underscore the best parts. I only wish Wouk were alive to write a follow-on to this one. But maybe it is indeed best to leave us wanting more. I cannot see Pug as a bureaucrat in peacetime navy, Byron as an insurance salesman, Rhoda as a twice-divorced alcoholic.