commentary: Literature of Iraq War Missing in Action

[hellhathnofury]

COMMENTARY
Literature of War Missing in Action
Today's small, automated conflicts aren't yielding the acclaimed books of yesteryear

COMMENTARY

by Leo Braudy, Leo Braudy's most recent book is "From Chivalry to Terrorism: War and the Changing Nature of Masculinity" (Knopf, 2003).

Every day, we are inundated with war news and opinions. There are newspaper and magazine articles, White House news conferences, the critical musings of presidential candidates, statements from foreign leaders and commentary of every political perspective.

But in all this talk and writing, where is the literature of war? Where are the works that step outside the immediate and give us not only a larger perspective but also one that is deeply personal and engaging?

Indo-European literature begins with war. From the "Iliad" to the "Aeneid," the "Mahabharata" to the Icelandic sagas, the warrior is a prime heroic figure — looked up to in battle, mourned in death and celebrated for generations. Most of those heroes came from the upper classes of their times; some were even gods or demigods. And the poets who sang their virtues honored the aristocracy of physical prowess and earthly power from which they sprang.

<snip>

Will any great novel come out of Iraq? I doubt it. From the aristocratic epics of the past to the tales of citizen-soldiers of World War II, war literature has reflected the effort of a society to understand violence in the name of an idea, a religious cause, a political point of view. But the so-called small wars we fight now have little of that resonance, no matter how often the rhetoric is trotted out.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-braudy8mar08,1,4491283.story?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

[hellhathnofury]

1. lit kick.

I thought I was going to need nomex too.

[hellhathnofury]

2. dupe