That $12 classic novel I rolled my eyes at turned out to be a hidden gem

My book club picked a beat-up copy of some 1970s sci-fi called The Forever War for our March read. I thought it would be dated and preachy like old Star Trek episodes. But after 50 pages, I was hooked on the timelines and the way it handled war and time dilation. We spent the whole meeting arguing about whether the ending was actually optimistic or just tired. Has anyone else been surprised by a book that looked totally boring on the cover?

2 comments

2 Comments

lilyo301mo ago

I get what you're saying about the "two worn-out people" part, but I actually saw that final reunion the opposite way. To me, it felt less like giving up and more like two people who finally found someone who gets their weird messed up experience. The world didn't make sense anymore but at least they had each other, which is kind of hopeful in a quiet way.

nora5351mo ago

Hmm, I gotta push back on calling the ending "optimistic." You said "the ending was actually optimistic," but I read it as just tired. The whole thing about the main character coming home to a world he doesn't recognize and finding out his old friends are dead or different, that's not hopeful to me. The time dilation makes it so he can never really go back, you know? That final reunion with the other soldier felt more like two worn-out people giving up on finding a place, not some happy ending.