Getting By, Dreaming Big

The Caine Mutiny, Herman Wouk

537 pages, @1951

A couple of years ago I read, and thoroughly enjoyed, Winds of War and War and Rememberance by Herman Wouk.  My parents had recommended him to me and while I was dubious due to the nature and length of the book upon receiving Winds of War in my Easter Basket one year, I eventually was swayed to pick it up.  It did not disappoint.

My dad kept saying over and over that if I enjoyed Wouk as an author I should pick up The Caine Mutiny, as in his opinion, it was Wouk’s best book.  Last year, I purchased the book and this summer Jon picked it up intrigued.  He enjoyed it so much that it prompted me to pick it up.

The Caine Mutiny is the story of none other than the DMS (destroyer minesweeper) The Caine.  Willie Keith, a young, wealthy 20-something from Manhasset, Long Island, checks in for Midshipmen School in the beginning of the book.  After an unsuccesful time at Midshipmen School he is assigned The Caine for his first tour of duty in WWII.  Soon after arriving on The Caine, Captain Queeg arrives to takeover as Captain of The Caine.  Wouk takes the reader through Queeg’s 15 months as Captain of the ship and Willie Keith’s entire career aboard The Caine, including the Mutiny.  I would say more but I don’t want to give the story away.

While it is a book that takes place during WWII, the war is purely a back drop, it is not an active character in the book.  Wouk’s strength (at least in the 3 books I’ve read by him) is in giving the reader a sense of what everyday life was like for his characters during war.  In this instance it brought the reader onto the fictional DMS Caine and gave them a glimpse as to what life was like for all of the men on destroyers in the Pacific during the war; from the mundane everyday tasks, to the friendships, to the chain of command, to the crises that arose.  I think perhaps that is why I enjoy Wouk so much; I love trying to live vicariously through the characters in the books that I’m reading, imagining what life must have been like for that person, during that experience.  When reading The Caine Mutiny, I didn’t feel as if I was in my living room reading a piece of fiction, I felt like I was on the USS Caine shadowing this amazing characters.  Wouk addresses topics such as loyalty, competency and trust and how the relationships you form based on characteristics such as these lead to decisions during trying times.

Herman Wouk was born in 1915 in NYC.  Wouk joined the US Navy and served in the Pacific as an officer aboard two destroyer minesweepers.  The Caine Mutiny drew from his experiences during WWII.  In reading some information about Wouk’s background, I was actually reminded of certain characters from the book itself, which makes it all the more interesting to me to think that while it is a work of fiction there might be some truth behind it.

Wouk’s writing is so enjoyable to read.  While this book was written almost 60 years ago, it could have been written last year.  His writing is timeless and worth savoring.  I thoroughly enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading the rest of Mr. Wouk’s book during my lifetime!

Overall Rating:  5 Stars

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Have you read Herman Wouk?  If yes, what is your favorite book by him?