Rules for old men waiting : a novel /
Retired to his home of Cape Cod, Robert MacIver, a Scottish former professor of history and rugby player who had commanded a destroyer in the British Navy during World War II, creates a list of rules by which he will live out his final days
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Book |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
New York :
Random House,
[2005], ©2005
New York : c2005 New York : ©2005 New York : [2005] |
| Edition: | 1st ed |
| Subjects: |
| Summary: | Retired to his home of Cape Cod, Robert MacIver, a Scottish former professor of history and rugby player who had commanded a destroyer in the British Navy during World War II, creates a list of rules by which he will live out his final days Robert MacIver is a tough old highland Scot, a retired professor of history, who played rugby for Scotland, and commanded a destroyer in the Royal Navy in World War II. As Rules for Old Men Waiting opens, MacIver, holed up in a house on Cape Cod, creates a list of rules by which to live out his last days, the most important being to "tell a story to its end." And so, playing to his expertise in the Great War, a strange and gripping tale of men in the trenches is born. His characters' actions in turn compel him to confront his memory with passages of his own life. Before the end of his story, MacIver has made his last reckoning with his own innate violence, the great gift of his marriage to Margaret, and his greatest grief, the loss of his son "In a house on the Cape "older than the Republic," Robert MacIver, a historian who long ago played rugby for Scotland, creates a list of rules by which to live out his last days. The most important rule, to "tell a story to its end," spurs the old Scot to invent a strange and gripping tale of men in the trenches of the First World War. From a depth of knowledge and imagination, MacIver conjures the implacable, clear-sighted artist Private Callum; the private's nemesis, Sergeant Braddis, with his pincerlike nails; Lieutenant Simon Dodds, who takes on Braddis; and Private Charlie Alston, who is ensnared in this story of inhumanity and betrayal but brings it to a close." "This invented tale of the Great War prompts MacIver's memories of his own role in World War II and of Vietnam, where his son David served; and both stories and memories alike are lit by the presence of Margaret, his wife."--BOOK JACKET |
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| Item Description: | This WorldCat-derived record is shareable under Open Data Commons ODC-BY, with attribution to OCLC |
| Physical Description: | 210 p. ; 22 cm 210 pages ; 22 cm |
| ISBN: | 1400063701 (acid-free paper) 1400063701 9781400063703 |