David Piper (1) (1918–1990)

David Piper's 1959 novel Trial by Battle, reissued in 2019 along with a number of other World War Two stories by Imperial War Museum Wartime Classics, is a strange showing. It starts very slowly, with more than half the book having passed before combat erupts; this rather dry segment is "sweetly Kipling" (pg. 33) in its descriptions of barrack life in the colonies, developing the protagonist Alan Mart's relationship with his Gunga Din-like orderly Sundar Singh. A confusing, almost bipolar relationship with Alan's superior officer, Sam Holl, is also developed. In truth, neither of these two key relationships convinced me, though their respective final scenes were original.

After the extended Kipling-ing, Trial by Battle moves into the conflict with the Japanese in Malaya during the collapse of 1941. These are the best scenes; clear and well-plotted and provoking some sense of the chaos and fear of jungle warfare against a dominant enemy. That said, this part of the book is not quite as great as some reviews suggest; certainly not a show-stopper.

The book's ending then suggests a third form for the novel, after the Kipling and the combat. The final scene is a sort of black comedy, like something Derek Robinson would write, which would be fine if such a tone had been more prominent throughout the book. As it is, it's out of sync with everything that came before it. Prompted into expecting something more thoughtful, the grossly comic ending hit a bum note and made the novel seem cheap, however fleetingly.

All told, despite its occasional quality (the rumble of gunfire is "like distant surf" (pg. 139), whilst the sea, "calm and silver under the moon", is described as being as "remote as peace beyond the black inclination of the palm trees" (pp84-5)), Trial by Battle is an odd, though competent, choice for the IWM Classics series. Other books in the series are excellent: Alexander Baron's From the City, From the Plough is a minor masterpiece, whilst Fred Majdalany's Patrol is clever. This one remains a curio.… (altro)

This is a collection of 12 essays on different paintings that are currently present in various public galleries across Britian. Each was written by a different contributor who selected the painting becasue they found it interesting. So what we have is 12 very differerent paintings from different eras and places around Europe, and as many different ways of analysing and appreciating them and picking out their interesting and unusual qualities. As this is a relatively old book, the colour reproductions are not quite up to the standard that they are in modern books, however they are sufficient for the purposes of appreciating most of their obvious qualities.
This is not at all a technical book soley for art history students, though there is a good amount of historical context in some of the essays, as these twelve contributions were initially made for a BBC painting of the month series in the 1960s. This was back when the BBC took culture seriously, and comissioned other excellent art programmes such as Berger's Ways of Seeing. They are suitable then for the general reader (like myself) who has an interest in art but no professional qualification in it. It would also be a suitable book for someone who has never really looked at a painting properly in their life, as the range of works included in this is bound to include at least something to appeal to most people. This is not to say however that this book would not be of value to someone with a more specialised interest, as due to the wide variety of perspectives and types of paintings here, the reader is likely to gain new perspectives themselves and see more of value in the various paintings here than they otherwise might.
The paintings included are:
The Water Carrier – Velazquez (~1618; Spanish; Realist)
The Music Party – Watteau (~1718; French; Rococo)
The Martyrdom of St Sebastian – Pollaiuolo (1475; Italian; Altarpiece)
View from Louveciennes – Camile Pisarro (~1870; French; Impressionist)
Virgin and Child with Angels – Duccio (~1300;Italian; Medieval devotional icon)
The Origin of the Milky Way – Tintoretto (1560; Baroque)
The Ambassadors – Holbein (~1534; German; Realist/ Still life)
The Adoration of the Name of Jesus – El Greco (1580; Spanish)
The Triumph of Caesar – Mantegna (~1490; Italian; Renaissance)
The Entertainment – Hogarth (~1755; English; Satirical)
Ascanius Shooting the Stag of Sylvia (~1682; French; Classical)
The Ressurection: Cookham – Stanley Spencer (1924; English)… (altro)