An Ice-Cream War: A Novel
by William Boyd
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Book Summary Information
Author: William BoydEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 1999-10-05
ISBN: 0375705023
Number of pages: 408
Publisher: Vintage
Book Reviews of An Ice-Cream War: A Novel
Book Review: First-rate historical fiction
Summary: 5 Stars
"An ice-cream war" was what a British soldier confidently predicted would be the extension of World War I to the colonial outposts of German and British East Africa. But the British badly bungled their invasion of German East Africa in November 1914, and the war in Africa, just as the war in Europe, ended up being far different than the glorious enterprise envisioned in the summer of 1914. In AN ICE-CREAM WAR, which was nominated for the Booker Prize in 1982, William Boyd tells the story of this satellite war, primarily through the experiences of two English brothers of relative privilege and affluence, Felix and Gabriel Cobb. Other principal characters are an American who has taken up farming in British East Africa, near the border with the German colony, and, from across the river, his German neighbor and his wife. The novel begins in June 1914, before the war erupts, and scenes shift back and forth between East Africa and England until, at the end, the principal characters have all come together in East Africa and the war is over, with some of them dead.
AN ICE-CREAM WAR is first-rate historical fiction, so much so that perhaps I should drop the vaguely limiting adjective "historical". In addition to the story itself, which has plenty of twists and turns, there are the deeper themes of the horrors and absurdities of war -- and, of life itself.
Example: "Gabriel thought maps should be banned. They gave the world an order and reasonableness which it didn't possess. * * * Nothing today had been remotely how he had imagined it would be; nothing in his education or training had prepared him for the utter randomness and total contingency of events. Here he was, strolling about the battlefield looking for his missing company like a mother searching for lost children in the park."
And the novel underscores that the human cost of war is not limited to the soldiers who are killed in battle or die behind the lines, from wounds, or disease, or accident. There also is the "collateral damage" to civilians, which is both physical and psychological, which occurs both at the front in Africa and back home in Kent, England.
William Boyd manages his rather sprawling story very ably, and his writing is excellent, always in service of his narrative and never calling attention to itself. My only criticism is that several of the characters are not wholly convincing to my mind. Still, this is a fine novel. I recently read (and reviewed) "Land of Marvels", by Barry Unsworth. There are certain superficial similarities between it and AN ICE-CREAM WAR: both are historical fiction, both begin in 1914, and the plots of both are driven by the collision between the expanding imperialism of Britain and Germany. Many Amazon reviewers have raved about "Land of Marvels". But AN ICE-CREAM WAR is much superior. It is not quite as good as "Restless", the only other novel by William Boyd that I have read, but both are popular fiction that might arguably be elevated to the status of literature. I will definitely read more of Boyd (God willing).
Summary of An Ice-Cream War: A Novel
"Rich in character and incident, An Ice-Cream War fulfills the ambition of the historical novel at its best."--The New York Times Book Review
Booker Prize Finalist
"Boyd has more than fulfilled the bright promise of [his] first novel. . . . He is capable not only of some very funny satire but also of seriousness and compassion." --Michiko Kakutani, The New York Times
1914. In a hotel room in German East Africa, American farmer Walter Smith dreams of Theodore Roosevelt. As he sleeps, a railway passenger swats at flies, regretting her decision to return to the Dark Continent--and to her husband. On a faraway English riverbank, a jealous Felix Cobb watches his brother swim, and curses his sister-in-law-to-be. And in the background of the
world's daily chatter: rumors of an Anglo-German conflict, the likes of which no one has ever seen.
In An Ice-Cream War, William Boyd brilliantly evokes the private dramas of a generation upswept by the winds of war. After his German neighbor burns his crops--with an apology and a smile--Walter Smith takes up arms on behalf of Great Britain. And when Felix's brother marches off to defend British East Africa, he pursues, against his better judgment, a forbidden love affair. As the sons of the world match wits and weapons on a continent thousands of miles from home, desperation makes bedfellows of enemies and traitors of friends and family. By turns comic and quietly wise, An Ice-Cream War deftly renders lives capsized by violence, chance, and the irrepressible human capacity for love.
"Funny, assured, and cleanly, expansively told, a seriocomic romp. Boyd gives us studies of people caught in the side pockets of calamity and dramatizes their plights with humor, detail and grit." --Harper's
"Boyd has crafted a quiet, seamless prose in which story and characters flow effortlessly out of a fertile imagination. . . . The reader emerges deeply moved." --Newsday
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