Pierre Boulle has produced a magnificent story.
Using brevity and scene-development, Boulle created a palpable atmosphere to introduce his honorable, yet flawed, World War II characters.
This book is so riveting and reads so well that I was able to finish the 234 pages in one day.
I generally read non-fiction World War II books, my favorite genre; but I believe this, my first war fiction, is the most captivating book I've read.
The author sets up his characters like chess pieces on a board.
There is no ambiguity in these characters.
They are strong, realistic, proud, and talented, but they certainly have weaknesses.
Those weaknesses help to shape a magnificent plot.
The stuffy, self-righteous, British Colonel Nicholson is certainly the most memorable, but flawed character I could imagine.
That character alone makes Bridge Over The River Kwai a magnificently entertaining novel.
But add Colonel Saito, the Japanese prison commander with an identical personality and you have a thrilling, intriguing plot - a plot with great tension and an entertaining and surprising finish.
For both colonels, the dilemma presents itself throughout the novel.
The dilemma: Which is more important, honor or survival? Colonel Nicholson proudly and repeatedly risks his own life in order to keep his officers free from manual labor and in charge of their men.
Colonel Saito gives up control of the bridge construction in order to finish the project within the timeline required by his superiors.
The Brit aids the enemy, but Saito loses his honor.
Perhaps I liked the book so much because the movie, actually titled Bridge On The River Kwai was my favorite during childhood.
It was the best movie I've ever seen and was extremely dynamic.
I watched it during a time of my life when I was just learning about my father's WW II experiences on his C-47 during the China-Burma-India Campaign - during a time when I read the letters about his brothers.
Charles, the eldest brother was a prisoner of the Imperial Forces in the Philippines for 30 months after surviving the Bataan Death March and before dying of malaria, dysentery, beriberi, injuries, and malnutrition aboard the Hokusen Maru.
That freighter had previously carried coal and horses.
Speck, the second eldest brother survived 55 bombing missions and a crash landing in his B-17.
Finally, Mel, the youngest brother survived 13 months and two escapes from the Nazi's Stalag 7A.
The knowledge of all those events contributed to my interest in the movie and ultimately the book.
I can enthusiastically recommend this book to all readers of historical fiction and non-fiction alike!
Using brevity and scene-development, Boulle created a palpable atmosphere to introduce his honorable, yet flawed, World War II characters.
This book is so riveting and reads so well that I was able to finish the 234 pages in one day.
I generally read non-fiction World War II books, my favorite genre; but I believe this, my first war fiction, is the most captivating book I've read.
The author sets up his characters like chess pieces on a board.
There is no ambiguity in these characters.
They are strong, realistic, proud, and talented, but they certainly have weaknesses.
Those weaknesses help to shape a magnificent plot.
The stuffy, self-righteous, British Colonel Nicholson is certainly the most memorable, but flawed character I could imagine.
That character alone makes Bridge Over The River Kwai a magnificently entertaining novel.
But add Colonel Saito, the Japanese prison commander with an identical personality and you have a thrilling, intriguing plot - a plot with great tension and an entertaining and surprising finish.
For both colonels, the dilemma presents itself throughout the novel.
The dilemma: Which is more important, honor or survival? Colonel Nicholson proudly and repeatedly risks his own life in order to keep his officers free from manual labor and in charge of their men.
Colonel Saito gives up control of the bridge construction in order to finish the project within the timeline required by his superiors.
The Brit aids the enemy, but Saito loses his honor.
Perhaps I liked the book so much because the movie, actually titled Bridge On The River Kwai was my favorite during childhood.
It was the best movie I've ever seen and was extremely dynamic.
I watched it during a time of my life when I was just learning about my father's WW II experiences on his C-47 during the China-Burma-India Campaign - during a time when I read the letters about his brothers.
Charles, the eldest brother was a prisoner of the Imperial Forces in the Philippines for 30 months after surviving the Bataan Death March and before dying of malaria, dysentery, beriberi, injuries, and malnutrition aboard the Hokusen Maru.
That freighter had previously carried coal and horses.
Speck, the second eldest brother survived 55 bombing missions and a crash landing in his B-17.
Finally, Mel, the youngest brother survived 13 months and two escapes from the Nazi's Stalag 7A.
The knowledge of all those events contributed to my interest in the movie and ultimately the book.
I can enthusiastically recommend this book to all readers of historical fiction and non-fiction alike!