The Last Convertible

"The Last Convertible" is one of the best novels I've ever read (and I've read a lot); like at least one other reviewer, I'd give it ten stars if I could. But more than that, it is by far the best novel of the GI generation. That is the generation of American men and women born from 1901 through 1924, who were mostly children through the Jazz Age and the Great Depression, bore the brunt of the fighting in WW II, began to take positions of power in the postwar years, and are now rapidly dying off. (See Strauss and Howe, "Generations", a fascinating non-fiction study of generations in America.) This is the generation that Tom Brokaw calls "The Greatest Generation".There are other great novels, like James Jones' "From Here to Eternity" or Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead", that treat primarily of that generation's role in World War Two. But "The Last Convertible" takes its unforgettable characters, all of whom are beginning college in 1940, through that last year of peacetime (for America, though the war had already begun in Europe and China), and then through the war and the postwar era, through the 1960s and into the 1970s. I leave it to others to speak of such things as Myrer's style, his plots and subplots, and his development of the characters, all of which I find admirable. For me what makes this a great novel is how it brings the experiences of that generation to life.I first discovered "The Last Convertible" when it came out in paperback, in the 1980s I think, and have reread it several times since then, always with enormous pleasure. I myself began college just a year later than Russ, Chris, George, Nancy, Dal, Terry, and Jean-Jean, and on almost every page I find wonderful reminders of "how we were".In short, I can't recommend it highly enough to anyone who wants to know what it was like to live through those years.

This book haunts me for days after I finish it... every time I read it. I read it first in high school over 20 years ago. The characters were so vivid and engaging that I felt as if they were part of me. As another reviewer said, walking around in the "real world" after reading this book is like being away from a group of friends that you hold dear to your heart. You wonder what they're doing and you look forward to seeing them again.I have encouraged all my friends over the years to read this book and it has never failed to impress, no matter their general tastes in books. "The Last Convertible" has the power to cross genre boundaries and engage people who might not ordinarily enjoy a "romantic" novel. Everybody loves this book.I have read two of Myrer's other novels, and while his style is the same, he is unable to capture again the absolute magic he weaves in "The Last Convertible." This book is a masterpiece and very few artists manage more than one in a career. I think I'll go read it again.

Every so often, and not often enough, we find ourselves given a gift--a surprise gift. A gift of a novel, that changes the very way we look at ourselves and the world around us. Books alone seem to have that ability to transform us. The best of all are the books we don't expect to change things for us. The Last Convertible is one of those books. This book immediately takes it's place on my top ten list. I bought it because it was called "a coming of age" novel by one critic. Coming of age stories are among my favorite genres. I had just finished a nice coming of age story of the mid-90s, the Fundamentals of Play. A group of people who came of age in the times I had. It was good read. Myrer's Fusiliers (as the 5 men were called) were of the era of my grandparents, so I had no idea what to expect. What I found, pretty much from page one, was a story that would not let go. I finished the second half of the book in 2 days, refusing to put it down. I would read it, go out in "real world" and feel as though the characters and feelings were walking with me. These characters and times are no more--but the feelings are universal. Russ, Jean-Jean, Terry, Dal, Chris (the mysterious and ever deeping charm of Christabel), the infuriating Nancy, Ron, Peg, Irene, the sordid Kay Madden, the unforgettable Liz Payne, Amanda, and Teddy. Not to mention Dr. Mel, Opp, and the Countess. There are so many characters that flood through the years of this novel, yet they all touch you in surprising ways. And of course, the Empress--symbol and fact. Above them of all, is one of my all-time literary heroes, the seemingly ordinary George Virdon.Grog, Vird, George, call him what you will...keeper of the flame, the steady, old reliable, the loyal, the blindly loyal (?) and truly heroic George. Sarge. Dad. Husband. and Friend.George is what makes this story for me. As his friends fortunates rise and fall, as his marriage strains and soars, and his children grow, suffer, and live, he fights on. George is endlessly nostaglic, but as Chris tells us, he manages to grow up--somehow. George understands the importance of memory, the mystical power of letters and pictures and objects (even big ones like the Empress). He suffers enormously at times but always maintains his dignity. Nancy is no easy woman, but he endures. George does more than endure however, he maintains the eternal flame. While George is never rich, never quite poor...he is the wealthiest of all the Fusiliers of Fox Entry. He knows that what matters in this world is love. Love--with it's loyalty, pain, schisms, dreams--broken, borrowed, lost and sometimes won, losses, and profound moments...for George it is all about love, moments, and a bit o' stardust. George, as he tells several times, might take longer to understand, but he always knows the score. He denies himself, but he is really the glue of the novel and these men's (and women's lives). He saves lives. Literally and figuratively...if he is still with us, pushing

Every so often, and not often enough, we find ourselves given a gift--a surprise gift. A gift of a novel, that changes the very way we look at ourselves and the world around us. Books alone seem to have that ability to transform us. The best of all are the books we don't expect to change things for us. The Last Convertible is one of those books. This book immediately takes it's place on my top ten list. I bought it because it was called "a coming of age" novel by one critic. Coming of age stories are among my favorite genres. I had just finished a nice coming of age story of the mid-90s, the Fundamentals of Play (which interestingly has a loyal narrator named George, a Currier type in Chat, and vapid Chris, with it's Kate--but this probably only interests me). A group of people who came of age in the times I had. It was good read. Myrer's Fusiliers (as the 5 men were called) were of the era of my grandparents, so I had no idea what to expect. What I found, pretty much from page one, was a story that would not let go. I finished the second half of the book in 2 days, refusing to put it down. I would read it, go out in "real world" and feel as though the characters and feelings were walking with me. These characters and times are no more--but the feelings are universal. Russ, Jean-Jean, Terry, Dal, Chris (the mysterious and ever deeping charm of Christabel), the infuriating Nancy, Ron, Peg, Irene, the sordid Kay Madden, the unforgettable Liz Payne, Amanda, and Teddy. Not to mention Dr. Mel, Opp, and the Countess. There are so many characters that flood through the years of this novel, yet they all touch you in surprising ways. And of course, the Empress--symbol and fact. Above them of all, is one of my all-time literary heroes, the seemingly ordinary George Virdon.Grog, Vird, George, call him what you will...keeper of the flame, the steady, old reliable, the loyal, the blindly loyal (?) and truly heroic George. Sarge. Dad. Husband. and Friend.George is what makes this story for me. As his friends fortunates rise and fall, as his marriage strains and soars, and his children grow, suffer, and live, he fights on. George is endlessly nostaglic, but as Chris tells us, he manages to grow up--somehow. George understands the importance of memory, the mystical power of letters and pictures and objects (even big ones like the Empress). He suffers enormously at times but always maintains his dignity. Nancy is no easy woman, but he endures. George does more than endure however, he maintains the eternal flame. While George is never rich, never quite poor...he is the wealthiest of all the Fusiliers of Fox Entry. He knows that what matters in this world is love. Love--with it's loyalty, pain, schisms, dreams--broken, borrowed, lost and sometimes won, losses, and profound moments...for George it is all about love, moments, and a bit o' stardust. George, as he tells several times, might take longer to understand, but he always knows the score. He denies himself, bu

One of he more fascinating descriptions of the 40's through the 70's (WW2 through Vietnam). Five Harvard students and their lives all connected to "The Empress", a 1938 green Packard convertible, the ownership of which is transferred between them down through the years. Thriling and vivid descriptions of WW2 activity and it's inevitable injury and loss. Romance abounds with the pursuit of true love throughout. Particularly appealing to me were the numerous descriptions of the big bands of the 40's era including lyrical excerpts from the top tunes of the day. This is a book I would read again. Other than some extrodinarily long letters between the five main characters when they were separated during the war (I'm not sure anyone would write letters of that length, but maybe they could have), I found this onen hard to put down after it got under way. In my opinion, one of the most expressive paragraphs appears on page 30 as "George" describes the initial meeting of the five young men. He oberved: "There are only moments. They like to tell us that time runs along in even, ticking measures, minute to day to month to decade, but that isn't true. It's like a groping journey in the fog, hiking up Bootspur Trail on Mount Washngton in bad weather, nothing around you but the rock of the trail and the ghostly shadow of the firs....and all at once you reach the summit and it's blown clear and the sun is blazing down out of a vibrant, rain-washed sky and everything is new and full of clarity; and time does have a stop, just as the great man said. Moments like that, few and far between, clearings in the fog,, onn the high ground. One minute we were a group of awkward,ill at ease strangers thrown together by chance, the next we were a force...comrades, partners, band of brothers, call us what you will. In that one lightning moment I'd been included in this particular fraternity. I'd touched cups with the others and put my hand on theh convertible's gleaming green hood; and that was more than enough for me". Exceptional work by Anton Myrer, written as if he had lived the story. Perhaps he did.