Three Soldiers Audiobook By John Dos Passos cover art

Three Soldiers

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Three Soldiers

By: John Dos Passos
Narrated by: Peter Larkin
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A deft chronicler of the American experience, John Dos Passos has taken his place alongside contemporaries Ernest Hemmingway and William Faulkner.

In Three Soldiers, he introduces listeners to a Harvard aesthete who joins the Army out of idealism, and his two buddies. One by one, their illusions crumble under the tyranny, red tape, and boredom of the military. The soldiers' reactions range from bitterness to rage, and - for one - murder in this vivid portrayal of human spirit caught in the grip of war.

Public Domain (P)2009 Audible, Inc. Literary Fiction War Solider Fiction Genre Fiction Classics

Editorial reviews

Master storyteller Dos Passos bypasses convention. He doesn’t linger on the glamorous machismo of military officers, or the gory violence encountered by innocents. Dos Passos writes an anti-war novel by focusing on the ignored aspects of military life. The military is a machine, it requires coordinated action and obedience from all those within it in order to function. The military is also an institution plagued by mind-numbing bureaucracy. The men trapped within the machinery fall victim to physical and administrative drudgery. The self diminishes, and the beauty of the world becomes a gesture of irony. Narrator Peter Larkin’s brisk, neutral tone matches the dispassionate yet highly visceral text. Larkin’s romance-free delivery articulates the vivid details that underscore the stagnation and misery of military life.

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All stars
Most relevant
Maybe a petty thing but his constant overuse of adverbs drives me crazy! The story rambles along with a the poorest of story arch. People drift into and out of the narrative as filler. The second half is especially regrettable.

Adverb heaven

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Unsatisfying ending. Meandering plot. Inaccurate title (it's mostly about one soldier). Very well-written but I finished it wishing I hadn't read it. Nothing good to take with me from it.

The performance was excellent. The novel was not excellent.

Downer of a story

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