What do You think about Mr. Britling Sees It Through (2007)?
Breathtaking view on WW1. Never heard these things in German school history. We don't know much about WW1, except for the outcome of the Versailles Treaty. At the time, Germany had grown industrious and powerful for 40 years and was a menace. The first book was a bit tedious to get through, because the author spends much time describing the characters, to what end is not immediately obvious, until later. The language is awesome. I love the way Wells lets his characters express their minds, speech, monologues, letters, and in Mr Britling's case, drafts for his projected books not one of the least, his projected manual on how to realise democracy...
—Irma Walter
I have recently finished reading Mr Britling, and I actually quite enjoyed it. I find myself preferring his novels to his scientific romances because I think the novels, although set around the same time as his scientific romances (ie: the late 19th and early 20th centuries)are less dated. Mr Britling is really Wells himself, seeing the Great War through, believing it will be the war to end wars. When the war starts in the novel, Britling supports the British war effort, but towards the end of the novel, he is becoming more critical and disillusioned. He loses one of his sons, and a young German who was staying with him before the outbreak of war, is also killed and Mr Britling gets religion and finds some consolation in that. There must have been thousands of Mr Britling types at the time of the First World War who supported the war in its early stages, and became disillusioned later. If this novel was a propaganda novel for the war effort, it does not fit neatly into a government-approved mould.Of course, it is easy for us, with the benefit of a hundred years between us and the war to be cynical about the war and its aims, and its protagonists. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. But we (or rather our governments) are still making mistakes today: going to war when we have no business doing so, so I don't think we can be too hard on that generation. Most of the soldiers who volunteered in the early days of the war were doing it for what they thought were good reasons: to protect a small country which was being over-run by Germany.Mr Britling is a worthwhile read to get one into the mentality of someone from that time. After all, although Wells was a man ahead of his time, he was also a man of his time, and we can see into his thoughts and how they change over time through the medium of his character, Britling. The novel was written and published before the war ended, so there is no victory, no Versailles Treaty and no notion of what is to come.
—Pete F
A confusing book. At first it's a novel about pre-WWI England seen through American eyes. Then it switches to a different pov and then into a philosophical book about war. It was gently satirical at first, then became more and more philosophical. I was quite moved by one character, a young German tutor living in England who is very gentle and affectionate. This rather broadly illustrated the stupidity of different nations fighting over nothing when individuals get along so well. But I wonder if the character was based on a real person.
—Karen
