Sir E. J. Drury II
Autor von A Different Kind of Sentinel
Über den Autor
Werke von Sir E. J. Drury II
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Wissenswertes
- Rechtmäßiger Name
- Drury, Eaudore James, II
- Geburtstag
- 1947-03-31
- Geschlecht
- male
- Nationalität
- USA
- Wohnorte
- St. Louis, Missouri, USA
- Ausbildung
- Mehlville Senior High School
- Berufe
- Building Inspector
- Organisationen
- Veterans for Peace
- Kurzbiographie
- Sir E. J. didn't stumble upon his true vocation as a writer, until late in life. Severely handicapped by an alcoholic stepfather, he set off on a crusade in search of the very soul he had lost to this ogre. Having found a close facsimile of her, out in nature, years later, he married her and began to raise a family. And so did he try his hand at various occupations, ever in search of the one that would satisfy the ache inside his heart. Only after an injury to his back had severely limited the field of possibilities, did he turn inward for guidance. There he finally heard the call to write.
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Rezensionen
Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Member Giveaways geschrieben.
A member giveaway book. Just couldn't get into it at all. Many have, I know, but for me-this book was a difficult read and did not hold my interest from the beginning.
1 
KWoman | 4 weitere Rezensionen | May 7, 2009 |
KWoman | 4 weitere Rezensionen | May 7, 2009 | Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Member Giveaways geschrieben.
There are some fascinating ideas here. The author uses the springboard of a navy hearing to create a memoir of a difficult life; a bit Joycean both in the collapsing of a personality down into less than a day's worth of time, and in the sudden drops into fantasy. These are not, unsurprisingly, handled as well as Joyce, but then the overall pattern of the book is a lot more clear than Ulysses, too, and perhaps Drury's attempt at combining readability with a jarring fantasy life isn't as unsuccessful as it could have been.
Some of the literary devices come across really well; one metaphorical description of a masturbatory experience had me snickering like a schoolboy and being impressed by the command of language at the same time. There's an interesting gimmick where conversations, probably orgiinally just a few words, between the protagonist and his shipboard companions are exploded into long Socratic dialogs. And some of the jumps from the real world to the world-inside-the-mind are handled well.
In many places it's hard to say where the line falls between fantasy and reality. A lot of the early sections of the book read more like the author self-justifying his own lack of responsibility; but as the end approaches the point comes out, with varying degrees of success, that that lack was actually a symptom of the author's awareness of the evils of governments and militaries.
All very 60's-hip. But for all the nice literary devices, the book lacks a certain flow to it. There's no real sense that we march steadily towards a climax; some events happen and then other events happen, and then the book ends. I suspect the goal of a memoir was probably met, but moving farther away from the actual events might have provided a better story. And other problems crop up, such as the jarring and inconsistent attempts at vernacular. So while I have a lot of respect for the author to be able to put together this book, and make a solid attempt at creating literature rather than just hacking something out, in the end I didn't enjoy it all that much. Maybe that's just the destiny of great literature in its own time.… (mehr)
Some of the literary devices come across really well; one metaphorical description of a masturbatory experience had me snickering like a schoolboy and being impressed by the command of language at the same time. There's an interesting gimmick where conversations, probably orgiinally just a few words, between the protagonist and his shipboard companions are exploded into long Socratic dialogs. And some of the jumps from the real world to the world-inside-the-mind are handled well.
In many places it's hard to say where the line falls between fantasy and reality. A lot of the early sections of the book read more like the author self-justifying his own lack of responsibility; but as the end approaches the point comes out, with varying degrees of success, that that lack was actually a symptom of the author's awareness of the evils of governments and militaries.
All very 60's-hip. But for all the nice literary devices, the book lacks a certain flow to it. There's no real sense that we march steadily towards a climax; some events happen and then other events happen, and then the book ends. I suspect the goal of a memoir was probably met, but moving farther away from the actual events might have provided a better story. And other problems crop up, such as the jarring and inconsistent attempts at vernacular. So while I have a lot of respect for the author to be able to put together this book, and make a solid attempt at creating literature rather than just hacking something out, in the end I didn't enjoy it all that much. Maybe that's just the destiny of great literature in its own time.… (mehr)
Diese Rezension wurde für LibraryThing Member Giveaways geschrieben.
I really wanted to like this story of a man and his fight to get free of the Navy but really it wasn't to be. It was a story that might appeal to someone who is interested in the psychological reaction of someone having to go against his conscience and the almost-shamanic way in which he has to deal with this issue.
There are some quirks that just don't gel quite right. He uses 'n' for and everywhere and 'm for him. He also has some long speeches that don't quite ring true for his circumstance.
This basically is a transcript of his hearing to determine his fitness to serve, and I'm sure if I had heard it I would have decided that he wasn't suited to warfare. Being under the discipline of a branch of the military did his psyche damage that he had to face up to while also trying to stay alive.
There's either a good fiction story or a good biography lurking under the prose here, unfortunately it doesn't work for me and I would have a sneaking suspicion that it has a limited audience.… (mehr)
There are some quirks that just don't gel quite right. He uses 'n' for and everywhere and 'm for him. He also has some long speeches that don't quite ring true for his circumstance.
This basically is a transcript of his hearing to determine his fitness to serve, and I'm sure if I had heard it I would have decided that he wasn't suited to warfare. Being under the discipline of a branch of the military did his psyche damage that he had to face up to while also trying to stay alive.
There's either a good fiction story or a good biography lurking under the prose here, unfortunately it doesn't work for me and I would have a sneaking suspicion that it has a limited audience.… (mehr)
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- 5
- ISBNs
- 2
Drury's taal is te doorwrocht en gecompliceerd en daar ligt voor mij het probleem met dit boek: het is moeilijk om door te dringen in het verhaal, je blijf als het ware drijven op de overvloed aan woorden en opgezwollen war/beeldtaal. Jammer, want de premisse van dit boek is absoluut veelbelovend. Na vijftig bladzijden hield ik het echter voor bekeken: mijn brein was moegelezen en had dringend behoefte aan een siësta.
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There are books that you better just lay down and try again later. This book is one of those. Man, this was a difficult read!
In this autobiography Drury tells us about his experiences once he decided that the navy was not his thing after all, but the army proved to be a big machine that is not easy to get away from.
Drury's langauge is too complex and that is my problem with the book: it is difficult to get to the point of the story, you keep floating around on the excess amount of words and swollen imagery and speech. More's the pity because the idea behind the book was absolutely promising. After fifty pages however I put the book down again: my brain was tired and urgently needed a rest.… (mehr)