The Winds of War: a foreboding narrative of Helplessness and Tragedy

The Winds of War (1971)- Herman Wouk
Part 1- 435 pages, Part 2- 450, total- 885

The Winds of War is a work of historical fiction that follows the Henry family from 1939 to 1941, from six months before the German invasion of Poland through to the bombing of Pearl Harbor in December of 1941. Wouk follows the Henrys, a military family, across the world using each member to show a different view of the World War II narrative. The father, Victor Henry, a Navy officer, and Byron, his younger son, a traveling college graduate turned Navy man serve as the two pseudo-main characters in
the book. Warren, the older son, and Natalie, the daughter, are used to carry some of the narrative but markedly less than Victor and Byron. Additionally, whenever a book I read has a film or tv show adaptation and I have watched it, I try to score that adaptation or at least explain the differences and similarities. I have not watched the miniseries from 1983 so I will not comment on its interpretation of the book.

Herman Wouk’s Winds of War has excellent readability. Partly due to its relatively recent publication but also likely due to Wouk’s own writing style. Wouk does an excellent job of diving into scenes of action while also using certain characters to exemplify sentiments of the war. Additionally, Wouk uses segments of a fictional German General to explain the progression of the war from a military, German perspective. This allows the reader insight into German thought and rationale for the war.

While the novel has a historical tone and setting, it also utilizes the fictional lives of the characters to develop a long list of themes namely: love, betrayal, and perspective. A family driven apart by the winds of war scattered throughout the world find love around them and together in small segments. Byron and Warren find love in this book and find a place with a growing family only to be split apart by war. Betrayal much like love is just as strong in the work: both personal betrayal and betrayal on a military front. Lastly, I don’t think perspective is often thought of as a theme, but I think it is critical to this work. Wouk allows the reader to view countless perspectives on the war from dozens of angles. From the Navy officer to the College Graduate traveling Europe, to the isolationist US Senator, to the Jewish writer living in Italy. Wouk does an excellent job of giving each side sympathy and a sense of humanity in his explanation of their rationale.

My edition of the Winds of War split the book into two parts. For this section on enjoyment, I will keep them split. Part 1 follows Victor and Byron, but mostly Byron in his adventures in Europe. During this section, Wouk does an excellent job of highlighting and spending significant time on very important scenes of the war but then does not hesitate to use a passage to accelerate the war several months ahead. In Part 1, the reader encounters incredible growth in the characters of the work and the war itself. Part 2 is enjoyable but drags. Part 2 seemed to get stuck in the mud of the war. Rather than propelling forward personal life or the war, Wouk spends much more time on the conflict in Russia which while very important seemed to bring the pace of the novel almost down to a standstill. Lastly, the ending is not fulfilling at all. I understand he is trying to set up the plot of War and Remembrance, which takes up the narrative right after Winds of War, but there is a difference between a cliffhanger ending and a bad ending. This was a bad ending.

Overall, I enjoyed the Winds of War. I enjoyed becoming more informed on the beginnings of the war, the progression, and the perspectives of everyone involved. I however struggled with the book. I like books that are foreboding but while reading the book I remembered why I historically have not liked historical fiction: 1- it is bad fiction, 2- it is bad history, and 3- I already know the ending. I know that is harsh, but I think too often when you read historical fiction the author either focused too much on the
history portion and neglects true character development or the opposite happens, and the history portion is either just wrong or misguided. Lastly, as I mentioned I know the ending. I knew what happened in Pearl Harbor and I knew what happened to Jewish people in Italy and throughout Europe, instances like this and more made me sometimes dread the next page. To summarize, I think there are better books to read than the Winds of War. Although if you really want to read it, I might suggest even reading just Part 1. It might be tough to put down the narrative before you start Part 2, but I think Part 1's ending is more resolute than Part 2.

As always, my scoring breakdown is below. Thanks for reading!

Score: 7.3- Overall a good novel with a higher score than I anticipated due to easy readability and strong thematic discourse.

Readability: 8- A very easy read. Wouk does a great job changing between historical descriptions and development of the characters.

Thematic Questions: 8- An excellent explanation of the perspectives, outcomes, and personal experiences leading up to World War II.

Enjoyment: 6- Split between the two parts: Part 1- 8, Part 2- 4. Overall, an enjoyable work with a great split of character and plot progression.