A Midnight Clear

by William Wharton

Book Overview

Set in the Ardennes Forest on Christmas Eve 1944, Sergeant Will Knott and five other GIs are ordered close to the German lines to establish an observation post in an abandoned chateau. Here they play at being soldiers in what seems to be complete isolation. That is, until the Germans begin revealing their whereabouts and leaving signs of their presence: a scarecrow, equipment the squad had dropped on a retreat from a reconnaissance mission and, strangest...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1557042578
• ISBN13: 9781557042576
• Release Date: June 1999
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 256 Pages
• Weight: 0.57 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.2" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

There was only darkness

Wharton goes back in this book to his adventures during the Second World War. Lured into the Army by a promise of receiving free university education ("we will need engineers to rebuild the world after the world") young Will Knot ends up in an intelligence military unit all the members of which have impressively high IQ (the decision of some military genius). The book concentrates on events which took place around Christmas 1944 - when an attempt of striking a deal with Germans who wanted only to surrender went disastrously wrong. But it has much more to tell than just a story - it is Wharton's protest against all wars written as a response to Ronald Reagan's administration's attempt to bring back obligatory military service. Be prepared to get shocked because Wharton goes all the way to prove his point.

Ten stars. This is a MUST READ book

A Midnight Clear is a stunning, poignant, passionate paean to the futility and tragedy of war. The setup is 6 very young, very bright US soldiers sent on a reconnaissance mission to a chateau deep within the Ardennes Forest in France in December 1944. Use of symbolism deepens the book's meaning: the men (read "boys") play chess and bridge (without cards) with deadly passion, one is called Mother because of his mother-hen neatnik qualities, another is called Father because he's a devout Catholic who left seminary cuz he didn't think he was good enough. Their leader is Wont (his name is William Knott, AKA Will Knot, AKA `will not,' thus: won't, usually shortened to Wont), a kid recently promoted to sergeant who hasn't had time to sew his stripes on yet. So they're in this abandoned chateau in the middle of this isolated forest, burning furniture to try to keep warm, and the dialogue and situations are hilarious and horrible, but mostly hilarious...but this is a book about war, so you know bad stuff is going to happen. Reading the first ¾ of the book, you feel kinda guilty laughing, cuz in the back of your mind, you're wondering which and how many of these kids are going to die. Then they realize there are 6-8 Germans nearby, and their fear is palpable - until it becomes clear that the Germans are just as young and scared as they are, just as sick of war, and even more importantly, the Germans know they're about to lose the war, and they want to surrender. The denouement, when it comes, occupies no more than perhaps one single page, maybe just a couple of paragraphs, and the rest of the book becomes a weird, tragic, very believable mythic, religious, mystery play/metaphor sort of thing with the kind of events and writing that keep you riveted to the last sentence. Highest possible recommendation. I swear it'll eventually become a classic.

19 Year Olds at War- Far from Home-Freezing and Scared

A handful of young GI's are stuck in a snowy wilderness somewhere in northern France at the end of the Battle of the Bulge. Christmas time is approaching,and they are hoping and praying for salvation from this truly unpleasant situation. Perhaps holing up somewhere will keep them from from freezing to death, and hopefully the enemy is nowhere near. This strategy backfires when they realize that Germans have found them. Even worse, some monstrous German tanks make a very alarming appearance.Possibly, the German soldiers are as scared and sick of this war as they are...Maybe there's even a way to communicate all this to the enemy, especially as the holiday gets nearer by the day. The rest is a story that should be among the classics, one that Mr. Wharton tells perfectly. Simply, it can't be beat, and the movie was just as good. Both underrated,little known gems.

One of the most thought provoking books I have ever read.

A book is unlike any other, a mandatory read for those interested in a deep thought provoking novel about the second world war. Unlike a Hollywood novel, this one demands you think and assess the situation at every turn and never hesitates to remind you war no matter how much Hollywood likes to glorify it, it is hell. If you like the book the movie is almost as good.