LitPick Review
Willie Keith joins the Navy during the Second World War and becomes an ensign on the U.S.S. Caine, after he was nearly dismissed during his training at Furnald Hall. Before he joined the Navy, he had worked as a pianist at a nightclub where he met May Wynn, a singer who he falls in love with. During his time on the Caine, he tries to keep his relationship with May as casual as possible, not wanting to marry her. On board the ship, Captain De Vriess, the captain of the Caine, seems like the worst possible Captain to Willie until Philip Queeg relieves De Vriess. Willie and the other officers of the ship soon develop a hatred of Captain Queeg that grows every day, until the second in command, Maryk, is conviced by another officer, Keefer, to make Queeg step down, which Maryk eventually does in the middle of a typhoon. The final part of the book explains the court marshaling of Maryk aftermath of the mutiny and what Willie realizes about his relationship with May.
Opinion:
“The Caine Mutiny” is a classic wartime novel that exceeded my expectations. I thought that Willie’s relationship with May would get too descriptive and take over the whole focus of the book as in other books, but it was well controlled by Herman Wouk. “The Caine Mutiny” is not an action book; it is more comparable to “In Cold Blood” because of its suburb description that is prevalent throughout the book. It took a long time for the book to end, but I thought this helped it because there was more to think about when it was finished. Also, because it explained more in the end, so there was not a cliffhanger ending. This fact made the book better in my opinion. Although the relationship with May is not very graphic, the book itself is more suitable for older audiences because it was not an easy read.
