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The Return of the Soldier Modern Library Classics Rebecca West Verlyn Klinkenborg Books

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The Return of the Soldier Modern Library Classics Rebecca West Verlyn Klinkenborg Books

“Return of a Soldier“ is British writer Rebecca West’s first novelette. It was published in 1918, during World War I and is about the war, or more precisely, the effects the war had on civilians on the Homefront and soldiers on the battlefield. It conveys the story of Chris, a soldier who was shell shocked on the battlefield; Kitty, his wife; Jenny, his cousin; and Margaret, his long-ago sweetheart. Chris, upon his return home, has little idea who Kitty and Jenny are, and their importance they have in his life, yet it is Margaret whom he remembers and has feelings towards. Moreover, he believes the present time is fifteen years prior, and that he and Margaret are still in their twenties, not in the reality that they are “middle aged” in their mid-thirties and married to other people.

We discover that even though a soldier suffers from shell shock, the effects bleed over to others in his life. They agonize, too, as this story shows, and to “return a soldier” to reality so as to return him to the front, is to also send the civilian to another battlefield, albeit a psychological one. The ending is compelling, and most likely will cause the reader to ponder its deeper meaning.

This novelette is delightfully written, with flowing syntax and descriptions of nature and home settings that are strikingly real. What makes this story so enjoyable, is the first person narration by Jenny, whose language ebbs and flows is such pretty, undulating sentences, that the reader feels and shares in her observations and emotions.

I really like this novelette. It is very well-written with a topic that is as apropos today as it was a century ago, and its length (about 116 pages) is manageable in one or two reading sessions.


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The Return of the Soldier Modern Library Classics Rebecca West Verlyn Klinkenborg Books Reviews

'The Return of the Soldier' is a short novel which describes the impact of a shell-shocked World War 1 officer's return on the lives of three women who love him. Chris Baldry is a man in his mid-thirties, so he has a past, some of which seems eliminated in his memory by his trauma. Although he remembers his cousin Jenny from childhood, he has no recall of his wife Kitty. His mind seems stuck at the age of 20, at which time he had a summer romance with an innkeeper's daughter, Margaret.

The story is narrated by the unmarried Jenny, who obviously has had an unrequited crush on her cousin since her childhood. She and Kitty share an appalling snobbery, which is deluged upon the unfortunate and rather plain Margaret "Wealdstone. That is the name of the red suburban stain which fouls the field three miles nearer London than Harrowweald." "She was not so much a person as an implication of dreary poverty, like an open door in a mean house that lets out the smell of cooking cabbage and the screams of children." But these bitchy and catty (though very entertaining) insults say rather more about Jenny than they do about Margaret.

As time goes on, and Jenny observes the effect that his lost love has on Chris, she gradually sees Margaret's goodness and wisdom, and the once drab woman is revealed as near-saintly.

I enjoyed the book very much. Some of the writing is a touch too flowery for my liking, but there are some gorgeous passages, particularly those recalling the young couple on Monkey Island ("not a place but a magic state") in a golden summer, before the horrors of the Great War.

The ending is a little too sudden and convenient for me, but I think it does leave the question was 'curing' Chris really in his best interests, and those of the three women?
This is the debut novel of Rebecca West. It was composed during World War I and set in World War I. It is about a soldier returning home having suffered from "shell shock". As one can imagine his family suffers along with him.

The narrator is a female cousin who has very high regard for the soldier. The style is Early Post Victorian, and there is no crass language whatsoever. A modern American reader may find the style somewhat dated. Personally I very much like Victorian and Post Victorian literature and really enjoyed this novel.

I purchased both and audiobook and read along on . The audiobook was more descriptive than the . They were very similar but not identical and I much preferred the audiobook.

The narrator of my audiobook was Nadia May. Nadia May happens to be one of my favorite narrators and is my favorite narrator for George Eliot Novels. The reason I mention this is that this novel really reminds me of George Eliot, who is my favorite author. I cannot help but wonder if my perception is affected by Nadia May being the narrator.

The novel also reminds me of the early novels of Virginia Wolff. Specifically I am thinking of "The Voyage Out", "Night And Day", and "Jacob's Room". In that Rebecca West reminded me of both George Eliot and Virginia Wolff, I absolutely intend to study her further and read more of her works. Thank You...
“Return of a Soldier“ is British writer Rebecca West’s first novelette. It was published in 1918, during World War I and is about the war, or more precisely, the effects the war had on civilians on the Homefront and soldiers on the battlefield. It conveys the story of Chris, a soldier who was shell shocked on the battlefield; Kitty, his wife; Jenny, his cousin; and Margaret, his long-ago sweetheart. Chris, upon his return home, has little idea who Kitty and Jenny are, and their importance they have in his life, yet it is Margaret whom he remembers and has feelings towards. Moreover, he believes the present time is fifteen years prior, and that he and Margaret are still in their twenties, not in the reality that they are “middle aged” in their mid-thirties and married to other people.

We discover that even though a soldier suffers from shell shock, the effects bleed over to others in his life. They agonize, too, as this story shows, and to “return a soldier” to reality so as to return him to the front, is to also send the civilian to another battlefield, albeit a psychological one. The ending is compelling, and most likely will cause the reader to ponder its deeper meaning.

This novelette is delightfully written, with flowing syntax and descriptions of nature and home settings that are strikingly real. What makes this story so enjoyable, is the first person narration by Jenny, whose language ebbs and flows is such pretty, undulating sentences, that the reader feels and shares in her observations and emotions.

I really like this novelette. It is very well-written with a topic that is as apropos today as it was a century ago, and its length (about 116 pages) is manageable in one or two reading sessions.