May 23
Augie Warrender's Chevy Impala....
Well look what turned up at my local car show - a 1966 Chevy Impala!
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Ukraine
seen from United Kingdom
seen from France
seen from Kazakhstan
seen from Türkiye
seen from Türkiye
seen from Norway
seen from United States
seen from Norway
seen from United Kingdom
seen from Estonia
seen from Kazakhstan
seen from Taiwan
seen from Romania
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from Taiwan
seen from Taiwan
seen from United States
Augie Warrender's Chevy Impala....
Well look what turned up at my local car show - a 1966 Chevy Impala!
I am probably missing lots of Wingmen/Beach Head connections but I thought I would highlight this one as it is sort of sweet....Carl Randall staying practically next door to the Wingmen love-birds on Waikiki beach, Christmas 1943
Wingmen, Ensan Case
Beach Head, C.E. Case
Beach Head, C.E. Case
Ensan Case missing in action 🙁
So, I have finished Beach Head, the second and, as far as we know, last book by Ensan Case (here writing as C.E. Case), published in 1983. I think it’s fair to say the book is not quite as perfectly formed as Wingmen. But it is far more ambitious in scope. He may not have been the first to write about the WWII US/Japan conflict from both perspectives, but he does it convincingly, and constructs the whole book around that dual perspective, personally and politically.
It’s not an easy read. But more than ever, there is something about the way Case writes that is so compelling. The action is powerfully written, and the spikiness, the grittiness of the characters, even the unlikeable ones, are exciting to read, with even the briefest of cameos pinging off the page. I do like Carl Randall very much, and his journey is beautifully written. The hack journalist who got his job through nepotism, but finally finds the words….
As if to deliver a final twist of the knife, this book even features a sub-plot involving a manuscript that failed to be published. You are breaking my heart......
But I am just grateful to have read these two wonderful books. And to @alovelywaytospendanevening for introducing me to this writer, whose qualities I can’t quite put my finger on…….
The tenderness we know as feminineness....
Beach Head, C.E. Case
He will find the words.......
Beach Head, Ensan Case, General Eiger, Carl Randall
The US Navy really did name ammunition ships after volcanoes......
I had a little moment here because Mount Hood is in the Cascadia range close to Mount St Helen's, which blew up in 1980, three years before this novel was published. I'm sure Case appreciated the irony......