William Styron - The Suicide Run

The Times“They fail to satisfy the expectations they arouse...” Styron’s skill in suggesting Whitehurst’s ambivalent feelings is admirable but, as in the other extracts from what were intended to be longer works, the story is abruptly cut short...

The Telegraph“Five powerful, pacifist tales...” In his elegant, sometimes ornate prose, Styron balances a loathing of military life with a respect for the potential for human nobility it grants the most unlikely of candidates...

Guardian“A kind of literary doggy bag, its bulk made up of unnourishing scraps...” Like both Conrad and Faulkner in their weaker moments, his technique for creating atmosphere is simply to increase the density of his adjectives. His books are filled with words like "melancholic", "Procrustean" and "dank"...

Financial Times“If only Styron had finished the book he planned...” Mostly unsuccessful attempts to recast his military experiences in fictional form... one charming and previously unpublished late vignette of lost innocence; and a section of another abandoned autobiographical war novel that is remarkably good...

The Scotsman“Not yet reviewed”

The New Yorker“Not yet reviewed”

The New York Times“Not yet reviewed”

The Independent“Not yet reviewed”

Publishers Weekly“Not yet reviewed”

Economist“Not yet reviewed”