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A review by thisotherbookaccount
Das Boot by Lothar-Günther Buchheim
4.0
I am having a hard time figuring out if the events in Das Boot actually happened. If it did, then this is one of the most riveting war books that I have ever read. If it didn't, and that Buchheim made it all up "based on his personal experiences in the war", then this book should be critiqued on a different scale altogether -- but more on that later.
The first time I saw a submarine-based warfare on screen, it was 2000's U-571. It had a lot of big-name actors in it, such as Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton, and even Jon Bon Jovi has a role in it (he dies about 20 minutes in though). But nobody remembers it these days for whatever reason. I suppose it didn't exactly do well at the box office, or it didn't win a lot of awards, who knows? Movies are ignored for a dozen different reasons -- just ask Guillermo del Toro!
Anyhow, my first exposure to submarine-based warfare was super intense. I remember enjoying that movie immensely because of the edge-of-your-seat tension throughout the movie. Being in a submarine is, in itself, terrifying. Aside from the claustrophobia, you are sitting under a huge column of water that is more than happy to squash the tin can that you are in. Then there are the destroyers floating around above, trying to find you with sonar and blast you into itty-bitty pieces with depth charges. You can't even dive deeper into the ocean because the technicians told you that your submarine can only go as far as 300 feet, and anything more than that it out of coverage on the warranty card.
In short, submarine-warfare is arguably the scariest form of naval warfare out there, which makes for high intensity and drama.
Of course, at that time, I hadn't heard of Wolfgang Peterson's Das Boot. Forgive my ignorance, but I thought U-571 was the best thing ever. Even people who's seen Peterson's masterpiece, however, don't usually know that it was, in fact, adapted from a non-fiction book (or is it?) written in the 1970s.
Lothar-Gunther Buchheim wrote Das Boot based on his own experiences onboard a U-boat as a war correspondent. Stuffed into a metal cylinder for months with 50 other men is not exactly fun, but these men take their jobs very seriously -- and with pride. That's because submarines occupy a curious corner of naval warfare, and they consider it high honour to be part of this exclusive club -- despite the fact that, according to him, 3/4 of the submarines didn't make it out of World War II. That's a 75% kill rate every time you sail out of your port of call. Not exactly the kind of odds you want on your side, but these men do it anyway.
Perhaps it is the leadership of the Captain, whom the author refers to as "The Old Man". The Old Man is an enigmatic figure, in a way, who reveals little about his own past. Yet, being on his last patron, this is the kind of man you want at the helm of your ship. The Old Man handles almost every situation with calm, assertive leadership that exudes confidence. But there is another side of the Captain that the author and readers find fascinating.
And the action is, as you would expect, the kind that grabs hold of you by the throat. As the men are huddled in the ship beneath the raining depth charges, you are right there with them, smelling the water, urine and fear in the air. Every time a depth charge explodes, your heart skips right alongside the crew. Even with 300 pages left to go, you wonder if they are going to make it out alive. That is when you know that the book has your utmost attention.
Buchheim also employs the technique of expressing boredom by making the reader feel bored. Some may complain such as writing technique (I am sure there is some technical term out there), but I personally enjoy it. There is a long section of the book, for example, where the crew is stuck in the middle of a two-week-long storm. Aside from being completely shut in within the submarine, the crew has to deal with the boredom, the lack of food and, worst of all, the motion sickness. Buchheim details every second of those two weeks to make you feel like you are riding the waves together with everybody onboard. By the end of the two weeks, when the crew sees the sun for the very first time, you cannot help but feel a sigh of relief along with them.
Speaking of details, Buchheim held nothing back with the technical aspects of submarining. Now, I cannot say that I caught everything that he tried to explain. There are also many nautical/naval terms that he threw around without explanation. But if you are a fan of finding out how things work, Das Boot will let you know everything there is to know about U-boats -- how it floats, how it sinks, how many torpedoes it carries, how many diesel engines it has, where they store their torpedoes, etc. Having knowledge of these may help to explain certain parts of the book, such as when The Old Man is figuring out how to make a heavily damaged submarine float back to the surface of the Mediterranean (the most intense part of the book). However, it isn't entirely necessary, you will still enjoy it.
Now, the criticisms.
Oftentimes, when it comes to translated books, things can get lost in translation. And, since different publishers/editions have different translators sometimes, it is a real hit-or-miss situation with translations.
This book is no different. I'm not sure if it is Buccheim's own style of writing or the translation, but the writing seems very flat throughout the book. Many non-fiction works are like that, but that is mostly because the writers are writing from an objective point of view, like a reporter's narration of a situation. I love that tone when he is describing the everyday lives of the crew, because his attention to detail is almost unmatched (which makes sense, since he was there), but he applies the same matter-of-fact writing to action-based sequences. Even with the submarine sinking rapidly to the bottom of the ocean, the author seldom breaks out of the flatness. He does attempt to spice things up a bit by talking about his own life, such as when he was trapped in the submarine, he recounts his past lovers and escapades. It does bring the readers closer to the author's life, but this sudden change in tone is a little jarring to say the least.
That is the main reason why I knocked one star off the rating. The flatness of the writing can get at you sometimes, and it certainly did for me. Otherwise, if you can get by the writing style, this will be an immensely rewarding read for you. Not for the faint-hearted.
The first time I saw a submarine-based warfare on screen, it was 2000's U-571. It had a lot of big-name actors in it, such as Matthew McConaughey, Harvey Keitel, Bill Paxton, and even Jon Bon Jovi has a role in it (he dies about 20 minutes in though). But nobody remembers it these days for whatever reason. I suppose it didn't exactly do well at the box office, or it didn't win a lot of awards, who knows? Movies are ignored for a dozen different reasons -- just ask Guillermo del Toro!
Anyhow, my first exposure to submarine-based warfare was super intense. I remember enjoying that movie immensely because of the edge-of-your-seat tension throughout the movie. Being in a submarine is, in itself, terrifying. Aside from the claustrophobia, you are sitting under a huge column of water that is more than happy to squash the tin can that you are in. Then there are the destroyers floating around above, trying to find you with sonar and blast you into itty-bitty pieces with depth charges. You can't even dive deeper into the ocean because the technicians told you that your submarine can only go as far as 300 feet, and anything more than that it out of coverage on the warranty card.
In short, submarine-warfare is arguably the scariest form of naval warfare out there, which makes for high intensity and drama.
Of course, at that time, I hadn't heard of Wolfgang Peterson's Das Boot. Forgive my ignorance, but I thought U-571 was the best thing ever. Even people who's seen Peterson's masterpiece, however, don't usually know that it was, in fact, adapted from a non-fiction book (or is it?) written in the 1970s.
Lothar-Gunther Buchheim wrote Das Boot based on his own experiences onboard a U-boat as a war correspondent. Stuffed into a metal cylinder for months with 50 other men is not exactly fun, but these men take their jobs very seriously -- and with pride. That's because submarines occupy a curious corner of naval warfare, and they consider it high honour to be part of this exclusive club -- despite the fact that, according to him, 3/4 of the submarines didn't make it out of World War II. That's a 75% kill rate every time you sail out of your port of call. Not exactly the kind of odds you want on your side, but these men do it anyway.
Perhaps it is the leadership of the Captain, whom the author refers to as "The Old Man". The Old Man is an enigmatic figure, in a way, who reveals little about his own past. Yet, being on his last patron, this is the kind of man you want at the helm of your ship. The Old Man handles almost every situation with calm, assertive leadership that exudes confidence. But there is another side of the Captain that the author and readers find fascinating.
And the action is, as you would expect, the kind that grabs hold of you by the throat. As the men are huddled in the ship beneath the raining depth charges, you are right there with them, smelling the water, urine and fear in the air. Every time a depth charge explodes, your heart skips right alongside the crew. Even with 300 pages left to go, you wonder if they are going to make it out alive. That is when you know that the book has your utmost attention.
Buchheim also employs the technique of expressing boredom by making the reader feel bored. Some may complain such as writing technique (I am sure there is some technical term out there), but I personally enjoy it. There is a long section of the book, for example, where the crew is stuck in the middle of a two-week-long storm. Aside from being completely shut in within the submarine, the crew has to deal with the boredom, the lack of food and, worst of all, the motion sickness. Buchheim details every second of those two weeks to make you feel like you are riding the waves together with everybody onboard. By the end of the two weeks, when the crew sees the sun for the very first time, you cannot help but feel a sigh of relief along with them.
Speaking of details, Buchheim held nothing back with the technical aspects of submarining. Now, I cannot say that I caught everything that he tried to explain. There are also many nautical/naval terms that he threw around without explanation. But if you are a fan of finding out how things work, Das Boot will let you know everything there is to know about U-boats -- how it floats, how it sinks, how many torpedoes it carries, how many diesel engines it has, where they store their torpedoes, etc. Having knowledge of these may help to explain certain parts of the book, such as when The Old Man is figuring out how to make a heavily damaged submarine float back to the surface of the Mediterranean (the most intense part of the book). However, it isn't entirely necessary, you will still enjoy it.
Now, the criticisms.
Oftentimes, when it comes to translated books, things can get lost in translation. And, since different publishers/editions have different translators sometimes, it is a real hit-or-miss situation with translations.
This book is no different. I'm not sure if it is Buccheim's own style of writing or the translation, but the writing seems very flat throughout the book. Many non-fiction works are like that, but that is mostly because the writers are writing from an objective point of view, like a reporter's narration of a situation. I love that tone when he is describing the everyday lives of the crew, because his attention to detail is almost unmatched (which makes sense, since he was there), but he applies the same matter-of-fact writing to action-based sequences. Even with the submarine sinking rapidly to the bottom of the ocean, the author seldom breaks out of the flatness. He does attempt to spice things up a bit by talking about his own life, such as when he was trapped in the submarine, he recounts his past lovers and escapades. It does bring the readers closer to the author's life, but this sudden change in tone is a little jarring to say the least.
That is the main reason why I knocked one star off the rating. The flatness of the writing can get at you sometimes, and it certainly did for me. Otherwise, if you can get by the writing style, this will be an immensely rewarding read for you. Not for the faint-hearted.