James Webb's Third Novel: " A Country Such as This", 1983, Reviewed by C. W. Dean, Webb Volunteer

This week in a live debate between George Allen and James Webb,  George Allen continued to make scornful remarks about James Webb being a fiction writer.  Webb boldly and proudly responded, GÇ£Yes, George, I write books!GÇ¥

If you missed the first post and review of James Webb's first novel, Fields of Fire, you may still view it by clicking HERE.

The review of A Sense of Honor appears HERE.

A Country Such as This, 1983, James WebbGÇÖs third novel followed A Sense of Honor by but two years.  The fact that it was nominated for both the Pulitzer and Pen-Faulkner awards is seldom mentioned.  At 534 pages, it is his longest novel and is filled with more characters than any of his other novels.  The U. S. Naval Academy,  James WebbGÇÖs alma mater,  appears early in the novel as three 1951 graduates form a pact in an Annapolis, Maryland bar on graduation day to meet again in 25 years. 

Judd Smith is to be a U. S. Marine Lieutenant.  GÇ£RedGÇ¥ Lesczynski has volunteered for Navy flight training and Joe Dingenfelder will go to graduate school as an Air Force Lieutenant.  Webb follows all three as they enter their respective careers.

Naval Academy attendees must be unmarried and must stay single through graduation, so the three young graduates are officially bachelors, though one has successfully hidden a teen-age shotgun wedding.  They each marry at different times and Webb swiftly introduces each wife and fills the pages with their personalities.  Interestingly, WebbGÇÖs female characters (of which there have been few up to now) are far more dynamic, complex, and enigmatic than the men.

All of James WebbGÇÖs novels emphasize the armed services and war, and this is no exception.  Long passages about the wars in Korea and Viet Nam form a matrix for A Country Such as This.  The rest of the novel works its way through the lives of Judd, Red, and Joe, their wives Julia, Sophie, and Dorothy, and their offspring over 25 years of turbulent U. S. and world history.  They get together occasionally but their reunions become less carefree as time goes by.  Webb tries to avoid creating heroes or villains within this group.  There are fragile winners and wholesome losers and they all fail to fulfill their grand expectations from time to time.  A common thread is that they donGÇÖt easily give up under adversity GÇö they are mostly still in the game at the end.

James Webb studies history.  In 2004 he published a non-fiction cultural history, Born Fighting: How the Scots-Irish Shaped America.  Since we are only looking at his fiction here, letGÇÖs just say that accurate history and expansive analysis of historical events are his forte.  In A Country Such as This, world events become as important as the lives of the characters.  Those who were born in time to observe the 1951 to 1975 period will agree that James Webb has included thoughtful historical perspectives that none can fail to appreciate.

Since A Country Such as This is an American saga, there are many stories, many endings, some tragedy, and numerous twists of fate.  I have read the book three times and preparing this review was especially rewarding.  I continued to discover gems in dialog and style that were always there for the taking if you donGÇÖt turn the pages too quickly.  Have you ever called your hometown GÇ£a layer cake of dreamsGÇ¥?

This book is still in print and available new and used on the internet although I have not seen it often in local book stores.  When you get a copy, you may notice that James Webb talks a lot about himself in this work.  One of the characters, Judd Smith, is decorated for heroism in Korea and much later enters politics. (Simply coincidental, IGÇÖm sure.)  Judd was raised in a part of Virginia where some of James WebbGÇÖs ancestors settled.  A number of passages describe the proud but humble ways that still exist in the region.  Joe Dingenfelter is an Air Force officer who becomes a ballistic missile pioneer.  James WebbGÇÖs father was an Air Force officer who became a ballistic missile pioneer.  A near mystical fascination with the Orient appears often in A Country Such as This and other Webb novels.  Red Lesczynski becomes captivated with Japanese history and culture and cultivates a poignant intellectual friendship with a Japanese man.  In WebbGÇÖs words, GÇ£Joe Dingenfelder was doing what Kipling had believed to be impossible; he was hustling the EastGÇ¥.

There is much more to learn about Webb, the times of which he writes, and the historical lessons to be learned, of course, but to appreciate it fully you can and should find it on your own in the pages of A Country Such as This.  Then, you can say, GÇ£Yes, Senator Allen, and we read Jim WebbGÇÖs books!GÇ¥

We are half way through James Webb's six novels.  Next review:  Something to Die For
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C. W. Dean has been a Professional Photographer in the State of Virginia since 1972 specializing in portraits.  He is a Vietnam veteran, son of a World War II veteran, and, like James Webb, proudly traces his origins to Virginia's Scots-Irish immigrants.  He lives with his wife, Elizabeth, near Mount Vernon, Virginia.

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