The Caine Mutiny, by Herman Wouk: not a review, but a book report.
If anyone is familiar with the movie they'll know the story: in the middle of the Second World War an old WWI 'four piper' destroyer now converted to a mine sweeper is shackled with a captain who is slowly losing his grip on reality. The crew suffers under his strange behaviour as best they can. Then comes a situation so desparate that the XO feels he must sieze control of the ship. The
Caine is saved, and the XO finds himself facing a court-martial, and the charge is mutiny. If he is found guilty, he might hang. The trial is the highlight of the story, and it is all seen through the eyes of a young ensign, who is facing possible accessory charges himself.
The Caine Mutiny and
The Cruel Sea:
Having recently read
The Cruel Sea, I couldn't help but notice remarkable similarities between the two books. Both Authors served during the war, Nicholas Monsarrat in Corvettes and Herman Wouk in Destroyer-Minesweepers. Both books were published the same year, 1951. There are similarities in their experiences, and those show up in the books. Both stories start with young officers arriving on board; both feature wonderful descriptions of life at sea in small ships; both feature good men and detestable ones and both have scenes of the men coping with life ashore while their ships are in safe ports for refit. Both authors also put pieces of themselves into more than one character; Keefer, like Wouk, is a budding author; Keith is the new boy on the block and Greenwald, like Wouk, is Jewish, which has a bearing on the story.
Quote:
"Corvettes will roll on wet grass"-The Cruel Sea
"These buckets will roll in drydock. Pretty poor stability. Wind on the beam pushes her right over"-The Caine Mutiny
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Both books also partly hinge on the dislike of Regular and Volunteer officers for each other.
The Caine Mutiny-book and movie:
The book is a fantastic read; the old phrase "I couldn't put it down" is apt. It seems overlong at some points; reviewers of the movie complained that it would have been better without the long romance between the ensign and his girl, and the relationship with his mother. This is easier to take in the book, because it sets up his emotional state and frames the main story in seeming real life. In the movie it seems to get in the way, rather than help. There are many more scenes in the book of Commander Queeg's slow breakdown, and it flows more naturally. When it comes to the actual trial, there is a lot more in the book, making the movie seem a little choppy. That said, Queeg is certainly one of Humphrey Bogart's finest roles, and it's well worth seeing. The book also has a lot more on Ensign Keith's training days, leading up to his assignment to the
Caine. The movie leaves a lot of this out, as movies must. The book also contains a bit of anti-semitism: The lawyer, Barney Greenwald, is Jewish, and reflects some of Wouk's feelings about his perception of his treatment while in the navy.
The end of the movie is far different from the book. In both, when Keith first comes aboard he is appalled by what he considers to be a slovenly ship run by a slovenly captain, and he is glad when the the very martial Queeg first comes aboard. By the end of the movie Keith is glad to be reunited with Commander de Vriess, realizing that he is a good example of a captain who understands his men and knows how to get the best out of them. In the book this never happens. Instead, Keefer, the unlikable man who started it all, ends up being the
Caine's new skipper. He gets a commupance, finding out that he and Queeg are not so different after all. Probably the saddest figure is the XO, Lieutenant Maryk, who decides to make the navy his life, only to have that destroyed after the court-martial; even though he is aquitted he'll never have a real career as an officer.
In spite of some flaws, this is one of the best books I've ever read. I've been a fan of the movie for years; now I have to see it again just so I can make a better comparison.