A violent, dark, amusing play exploring that ineffable moment of mourning when the newly deceased is still almost palpable, by the author of "Art". It was her first play and won her the Moliere Award for best author in 1987.

2007-08-15 Part of an immense history

Sassoon's book is an accurate and thoughtful reflection upon his experiences during the First World War, though is naturally limited by the mores, attitudes and idiosyncrasies of his class and generation. I appreciate that these lessen the 'power' of the account and it's authenticity from the lower rank point of view, but we must accept them as an authentic account of one man's experience of a highly traumatic set of events. Whilst some passages of the book will live long with the reader (perhaps the most salient being his description of his nerves prior to going into battle), we cannot expect him to be able to write in a way that represents the experience for the common soldier. Let's be grateful that an articulate and accomplished officer actually survived the war to pass on this account, regardless as to whether they can show only one facet, i.e. that of the officer class.

Any subjective account of the First World War will be limited by the social position of the participant: at that time the UK had a very strong class structure. It is perhaps more of a shame that 'lower-class' soldiers were unable to publish their own accounts of the experience for other reasons (i.e. an unwillingness to discuss the war from a working class point of view immediately after the event, and perhaps a lack of publisher/reader interest).

Sassoon had the integrity to protest about the war both during and after the event, using his social position and talents as a writer. It is of course vital to remember that in doing so, he did not claim an exemption from its horrors (though it is perhaps an accurate reflection that he was spared ceaseless exposure, and hence lived to tell the tale).

To gain a comprehensive understanding of the conditions of the armies that served in the Trenches, it is necessary to read a range of different sources in order to piece-together the disparity between the officer-rank experience. The books of Lynn MacDonald are extremely useful in doing this, and bring in a wealth of letters home from all ranks in the service. From these emerge a more rounded picture of the experience shared by both Officers and the men that served under and respected them. Perhaps Gary Sheffield's book `Forgotten Victory' helps to remind us that the majority of fighters believed in what they were doing, and saw the horrors of the war as necessary in attaining their goal.

Sassoon wrote about the horror of war, but in a style and with a talent that prevented that horror from occluding the all other considerations, and the result is a reasoned account by a man with a highly developed sense of human responsibility.