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Unconditional Surrender

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Unconditional Surrender

By: Evelyn Waugh
Narrated by: Christian Rodska
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Summary

 By 1941, after serving in North Africa and Crete, Guy Crouchback has lost his Halberdier idealism. A desk job in London gives him the chance of reconciliation with his former wife. Then, in Yugoslavia, as a liaison officer with the partisans, Crouch becomes finally and fully aware of the futility of a war he once saw in terms of honor.
Unconditional Surrender is the third novel in Waugh's brilliant Sword of Honor trilogy recording the tumultuous wartime adventures of Guy Crouchback ("the finest work of fiction in English to emerge from World War II" -Atlantic Monthly), which also comprises Men at Arms and Officers and Gentlemen.©1961 Evelyn Waugh Classics
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Waugh revised his Guy Crouchback novel trilogy into the single volume ‘Sword of Honour’. He stated that this was his preference for the way that the story should be read. After listening and reading the separate three novels, I think that the author’s choice should have been followed and an audio-book of ‘Sword of Honour’ been made available on Audible. Revisions Waugh made will have been for a reason. This is the reasoning behind my star ratings not seeming to add-up. (The other reason is that it would have meant a single purchase/credit-use and not three. There are plenty of novels considerably longer on Audible.) I found the narration/performance very good. The ‘story’ was something of a gear-change from the second novel and there was far more to ponder. Wish I understood more about Catholicism. Several characters remain alive in my brain and will do so for long to come. I recommend the BBC collected adaptations of Waugh novels currently available on Audible. All are faithful to the spirit of the original books and there is so much to enjoy.

Darker Shadows and Much to Ponder

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Waugh's story captures the fine details of wartime military life and the strange perspective of the British upper classes in well crafted writing. Delivered by Christian Rodska in a brilliant narration - the best I have heard from over 200 books in my collection.

Great story: brilliant narration

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This is the final volume in The Sword of Honour Trilogy. This is late Waugh; more considered & more humane than his early satires, but still sharply & mordantly observant of human vanity & folly. While the first two books contain scenes of absurd & surreal humour, the final part of the second book and the whole of the third are much more somber, reflecting on the costs of war ...with truth often the first casualty. Christian Rodska’s narration is excellent - he does the voices so well it’s almost like listening to a dramatisation. Very highly recommended.

Outstanding reading of outstanding novel sequence

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I cannot imagine the narration being bettered. Waugh's characters come to life, the comic scenes are delivered deadpan and are all the funnier, and overall the pacing is superb. Nor do we lose sight of Guy Crouchback's sad trajectory through the war. One of the best audiobooks I have listened to.

Superb narration of a masterpiece

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So much armed forces humour and the vagaries of services discipline (?). An absolute gem and a linguistic treasure.

Wonderful Waugh

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