Abstract
Christopher Coker has written a thoughtful, engaging and timely (if not timeless) tome on the insights of conflict offered by well-known works of fiction. Not a piece of literary criticism, the purpose of the book, he explains, is to ‘grasp the essence of war as a cultural phenomenon through its existential codes’ (p. 9). Historians, Coker argues, are superior at considering the instrumental nature of certain conflicts. Fiction, however, is more focussed and more probing. The novelist’s task, he contends, ‘is not necessarily to make sense of the event, but to make sense of the experience, including, for some, its apparent “senselessness”’ (p. 6).
In that sense, good war fiction does not merely instruct readers; it challenges them. ‘We should not read any work of literature to find a moral’, Coker argues; ‘It is we, ultimately, who must determine whether war can be justified’ (p. 12).
The book is simply and helpfully organised around five common roles in conflict: warriors, heroes (i.e. warriors able to see the irony of war), villains, survivors and victims. Warriors (e.g. Achilles, ‘Lucky Jack’ Aubrey), who kill in a supra-professional sense, are the ‘most rewarding to discuss but the most difficult to pin down’ (p. 15). Indeed, Coker concludes, good war novels are marked by larger-than-life characters who are more complex than what we mostly find in today’s superheroes. Literature is ripe with ‘characters who experience self-discovery while never really pinning themselves down’ (p. 10). It is easier for readers to get into the minds of characters through a book. Dr. Strangelove, the only non-literary selection, is an exception because his vacuousness resembles the nuclear age. Catch-22’s Yossarian, literature’s most hapless survivor, adds some levity to an otherwise weighty text.
The studies are a nice mix of ancients and moderns, and the division is not marred by the fact that it is neither exhaustive nor mutually exclusive. That said, Coker could have been more diverse in his selections, especially as regards survivors and victims, which are more equally representative of the population. As Coker notes, 99% of war is conducted by adolescent males, which is reflected in his choices and emphasis. The book is a highly readable overview and guide. Readers will benefit without any familiarity with the works Coker covers, although it will certainly make them want to read deeper into its syllabus.