‘Having now been in the trenches for five months, I had passed my prime…’
Robert Graves was a celebrated poet, novelist and critic who started writing just before WWI and who remained a prominent presence in the world of literature until his death at the grand old age of 90 in December of 1985. In spite of all his subsequent successes, Good-Bye to All That, Graves’ autobiographical account of life as a captain in the Royal Welch Fusiliers, was Graves’ calling card. Unsurprisingly, it’s excellent…
Published when he was just 34 years old, Good-Bye to All That is split into three distinct sections. Life at a private boarding school, wartime and post-war. While the middle section is unsurprisingly the most compelling, Graves’ sardonic and matter-of-fact writing style is irresistible throughout, and he has a knack for finding humour and universality in even the most horrific and specific anecdotes.
While many of the stories contained here are incredibly dark (Graves’ multiple descriptions of mutilated corpses are particularly grim), there are also uplifting moments. Several passages highlight the magnificent bravery of the young soldiers on the frontline, for example. There are also plenty of moments that expose the absurdity of war (at one point, Graves refuses to take part in the court-martial of a man sentenced to death for cowardice). This dichotomy brings to mind the innate genius of Catch 22 – the difference being, of course, that everything described here, as absurd as it may seem, is only too real.
Fans of war poetry (the final chapter is replete with descriptions of Graves’ friendship with Siegfried Sassoon – the two fell out following the publication of the book) will find plenty to enjoy here, but for anyone looking for a true soldier’s account of the horrors of wartime, Good-Bye to All That is essential reading.