The Middle Parts of Fortune (Vintage Classics)

After WW1 Erich Maria Remarque published his classic anti-war novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" which is admired and respected to this day and has been filmed at least twice.Australian Frederic Manning's novel, published around the same time, tells the tale of horror, devastation, comradeship, and death at least as well yet this work tends to be ignored. We meet an educated young man enlisted as a private in a British infantry regiment and meet his officers and comrades in arms. We share in their lives, fears, and joys as all hell breaks loose around and among them as the story moves towards its tragic conclusion. Strongly recommended and at least as good as Remarque's classic work.

I would recommend this by way of introduction to reading anything about WWI. Fiction is often required when the subject matter is far too dense, fraught and difficult to internalize from non-fiction. We fail to "get" WWI and the facts are that it didn't really end until 1945-6 and the trails at Tokyo, Manila and Nuremberg.

Not everybody's cup of tea - WW I warfare up close.

I am impressed all to hell with this work of Frederick Manning . I can only wish He had put out more . Most Excellent .

More like a diary than novel. The movie 1917 captured only a fragment of the daily activities unfolding in this story

Okay. No great shakes.

Probably among the best books I’ve read on trench warfare and soldiers involved during WWll. Made me recall Hemingway in a lot of way. Get this one and stick with it. Not disappointing.

This book mirrors may own experiences in the trenches of Vietnam more than 50 years ago that move me still to reflection and nightmares. My own book tells much the same story with prose far less elegant than Manning's. The language, emotions and sense of helplessness have change very little over time. This was a easy book for me to understand on that account but no less moving.

This book is searing ..it tears out your guts with its unsparing honesty and leaves you wondering why we are alive in this cruel and heartless world… When will we ever learn ?

Recommandé aux amateurs d'histoire militaire. Comme "La Main Coupée" de Blaise Cendrars, c'est le recit d'un simple fantassin, mais écrit dans une langue (anglaise) et un style superbe

I've enjoyed reading WW1 literature over many years and naturally 2014 evoked my interest again.After a search for something new, l discovered in what high regard this book is held.What sets it apart from other classics is Mannings subtle examination of the influence of the class system in the trenches.Bourne is fatally caught in the no-mans land of not really belonging.His deeply human observations of war and its impact on his fellow man is deeply moving.

I was required to read this for university, in a module where books about and around the war were quite frequent. I didn't know what to expect from this, having not realised that Manning had published under two titles (Her Privates We) until later on, so researching it proved difficult initially. I think Mannings writing is wonderful really, it feels true to what he is trying to portray but it's engaging and quite often poetic in its description. Bourne is a very interesting soldier who deems to show you the life in the trenches through his intelligent eyes. There are no rose tinted glasses when it comes to these characters and events though. The soldiers conditions are put out there for all to see and they swear, quite frequently whilst giving their honest opinions. It is clear to see why Manning had to release a more censored version but I think that takes away the interesting spark in Mannings creation. The narrative moves at a nice pace and you feel for the characters. What I loved about it was that it wasn't too heavy, the politics of war etc were present but only ever underlined the main story and it wasn't just mindless war imagery either. It's an emotional account of a collection of soldiers who put their lives on the line, with the occasional chance at sharing laughs. I recommend reading it, I was very surprised by the novel myself. Although I think this one has the edge over Her Privates We, but that's more a personal choice! As for the kindle side of things, I only really noticed a couple of typos and its formatted okay too. Although for some reason there are a lot of gaps, they occur between most short passages. It doesn't spoil the reading but you'll find it strange at first! Anyway, I hope I made some sort of impression amongst the rambling! Enjoy :)

A very realistic and harrowing tale of life in the Trenches during the First World War.