How Many Miles to Babylon? (Revisited)

Last fall I read Jennifer Johnston's How Many Miles to Babylon?, a story of friendship, love and honor set in Ireland and on the battlefields of Flanders during WWI.  It was one of my favorite books of the year, so when Caroline choose it as one of the reads for her Literature and War Readalong, I was happy to return to it once more.  You can read her thoughts on the story here, as well she links to other reviews of the book.  I wrote about it very briefly already, but I thought I might mention a few things that struck me the second time around.  Even knowing the outcome, it was as heartwrenching this time as the first.  I still regard it as an excellent story and a second read only emphasizes in my mind what a good writer Johnston is. 

Jennifer Johnston is an author who can tell a story with much depth but with few words.  As a matter of fact, that is one of the things that stood out as I was reading.  There is nothing excessive about her storytelling.  There are no unnecessary words or descriptions yet her characters are very rounded and deeply nuanced and interesting.  Alec and Jerry couldn't be more different, as they come from different sides of the political divide in Ireland.  Alec is the only son of a wealthy landowner and Jerry one of several children from a poor Catholic family.  They share a love of horses, however, so they find common ground and their friendship flourishes.  It is a friendship that must remain secret however, as neither family would welcome it. 

The story is narrated by Alec, who at the beginning awaits disciplinary action for something that occurs during the war.  I have a stronger sense of what Alec is like (or maybe only his situation) yet there is still something enigmatic about him.  In many ways he seems a much more passive character than Jerry, yet I think to say that somehow simplifies him, and I don't think there is anything really simple about him.  Perhaps he is only a product of his circumstances.  It's obvious his parents have a strained relationship, and there is a question of why they married in the first place.  Alec's father loves the land and considers himself only a temporary caretaker, yet he tends to be ineffectual--at least in his wife's eyes.  Alec's mother is beautiful and cold and cares for appearances and propriety.  Alec is educated at home and when it's time to send him off to school she refuses--calling his health fragile.  The real reason is she doesn't wish to be left alone in her grand house with her husband where their dislike for one another is palpable.  Alec hates her, or at least doesn't understand her or her motives.

"She had a contrived radiance which strangers took for reality, but which to me seemed to be a thin shell covering some black burning rage which constantly consumed her.  When she played the piano she played with an anger that made me uneasy, made me have to leave the room out of some kind of fear, listen from a safe distance.  I think she loved me, but wanted for me something about which I had no comprehension.  It angered her more and more as the months passed, to watch the mutual pleasure given and received between my father and myself."  

She had taken Alec to Europe to finish his education and hoped on their return that he would be able to participate in cultivated conversations yet he seems to become more and more like his father as he learns how to manage the estate.  She deplores this fact, and as soon as war is declared and the first young man from their community dies, she's ready to shuttle him off to battle as well.  Alec's father thinks it's insanity, but his mother believes it's Alec's duty to fight for country and King, and no doubt it would be an embarrassment for him to remain at home.  By this time Alec has essentially been separated from Jerry.  Jerry's responsibilities are clear--he leaves school to get a job to help his family financially, so the two young men go their own ways, but will be reunited through war.

Each young man has his own reasons for joining up.  For Jerry he believes it will toughen him and train him for the real fight at home in Ireland later.  Alec doesn't want to go, but his mother pushes him into it.  The idea of war becomes more bearable than remaining at home.  Jerry ends up as an enlisted man and as expected Alec is made an officer.  The Major in charge of their regiment finds the men under him a sorry lot and ensures them he will make men of them--particularly of Alec.  Neither Jerry nor Alec makes a very good soldier.  Jerry is small for his age, his growth almost stunted, and Alec has a lackadaisical sense about him.  It's his emotions that seem stunted.

"In the life that I had always known, spontaneity and warmth were unknown, almost anarchic, qualities. Dangerous."

Alec's problem is that he is too gentle.  Another officer says about him, that he never expected to admire gentleness in another man.  And perhaps it is this gentleness and ability to empathize with the men (even though he is an awful leader and no one listens to him) that will ultimately come to the aid of his friend Jerry.  This is a story filled with contradictions.  Of course that is the problem with trying to get inside the head of a character who is so complicated and perhaps conflicted.  Perhaps that is why I like this book so much, it's a story simply told yet not simple at all.  There is much to appreciate and think about in this story.  Next up for March is Rebecca West's The Return of the Soldier.

Comments

[cathy]

This is truly one of the saddest books I have ever read! Just seeing the title of your post today made me feel badly again. That said, it was beautifully written and I will get to her other titles in time.

[Caroline]

Thanks Danielle, for participating, I will link your review. I really love this book despite the sadness. I never thought of Alec as a coward, I just thought he wasn't keen on fighting but not that he was afraid of it. And if he had been. Would that make him a coward? Not in my eyes. I will certainly read another Jennifer Johnston sonn and am looking forward to The Return of the Soldier.

[Annie]

This is a book that has always been on my radar but which I actually knew nothing about. Having read several reviews of it over the past few days, I think I'm going to take it off my radar screen for the moment. One of my reading groups read William Brodrick's 'A Whispered Name' at the back end of last year, a truly brilliant book, but it covers the same ground to some extent and I'm still excoriated by it. I can't go back there just yet.

[Simon T]

I love The Return of the Solider!

I'm reading one of JJ's at the moment - The Gingerbread Woman - for my book group. So far, I think it's ok - not bowled over.

[Danielle]

Cathy--I agree it was very sad. I've had to pick up something fluffy and light to balance it all out. It is worth the time and effort but you definitely need to be in the right mood!
Caroline--I knew this was one I wanted to read again, so thanks for giving me a chance to do so--it's amazing how much more you get out of a book the second time around. Did you catch that conversation he had with his father where the father called him a coward for going to war rather than staying and facing life (and maybe taking a harder path?)? I thought that really interesting, but I also didn't think him a coward at all. I have a few other books by her and will also be reading something else this year.
Annie--Do keep this on your pile, but despite its short length, it does pack a punch. Too many stories like this at once might be too much so I don't blame you for waiting a bit. I will have to check out the Broderick book as that is a name I am unfamiliar with.
Simon--I think I read it too fast when I read it a few years ago, so I am happy to have a chance to read it again (slower this time!) in a group setting--I always get more out of a story when I can read different perspectives. I've not yet read The Gingerbread Woman--I do have it, though. I read one called Truth or Fiction, which was good (maybe like you--didn't exactly bowl me over), but this one really was excellent.

[Dorothy W.]

I'll have to keep an eye out for this one because it would be good preparation for my Ireland trip. It reminds me of the Frank Delaney I just finished reading, although that was World War II. But it's interesting to read about Ireland's role in the wars. It sounds like this one is better than the Delaney, though!

[Danielle]

Dorothy--I thought of you when I was writing my post. About half the book is set in Ireland and it might be interesting to read about the attitudes and history. Jennifer Johnston has written quite a few novels, so if a WWI story doesn't appeal, I bet you could find one that does. She's certainly worth reading at some point.

[Caroline]

I found the father the most likable and sensible person. He also says "War is never over By Christmas", the exact opposite of what people said.

[Danielle]

Caroline--I liked the father as well. I liked what he had to say about the land and just having it temporarily--he was a wise man. He understood it all, but how does one fight against the tide?!