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The Great Days: A Novel
In this semi-autobiographical novel, an American named Roland Lancaster has a doomed affair with a younger woman, Elsa, in Cuba during World War II. The love story, in its happiest moments, parallels the idyllic life that author John Dos Passos had with his first wife, Katy.
The Great Days plots a key concern of the author’s in the 1950s—America’s rise to global prominence during World War II, and its loss of power in the years following the peace. In preparing the novel, Dos Passos studied James V. Forrestal, Secretary of Defense from 1947 to 1949. In his notes on the novel, he quotes “to achieve accommodation between the power we now possess, our reluctance to use it positively, the realistic necessity for such use, and our national ideals.”
The Great Days plots a key concern of the author’s in the 1950s—America’s rise to global prominence during World War II, and its loss of power in the years following the peace. In preparing the novel, Dos Passos studied James V. Forrestal, Secretary of Defense from 1947 to 1949. In his notes on the novel, he quotes “to achieve accommodation between the power we now possess, our reluctance to use it positively, the realistic necessity for such use, and our national ideals.”
318 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1958
2 people are currently reading
30 people want to read
About the author
John Dos Passos
214 books589 followersJohn Dos Passos was a prominent American novelist, artist, and political thinker best known for his U.S.A. trilogy—The 42nd Parallel, 1919, and The Big Money—a groundbreaking work of modernist fiction that employed experimental narrative techniques to depict the complexities of early 20th-century American life. Born in Chicago in 1896, he was educated at Harvard and served as an ambulance driver during World War I, experiences that deeply influenced his early literary themes. His first novel, One Man’s Initiation: 1917, and the antiwar Three Soldiers drew on his wartime observations and marked him as a major voice among the Lost Generation.
Dos Passos’s 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer brought him widespread recognition and introduced stylistic innovations that would define his later work. His U.S.A. trilogy fused fiction, biography, newsreel-style reportage, and autobiographical “Camera Eye” sections to explore the impact of capitalism, war, and political disillusionment on the American psyche. Once aligned with leftist politics, Dos Passos grew increasingly disillusioned with Communism, especially after the murder of his friend José Robles during the Spanish Civil War—a turning point that led to a break with Ernest Hemingway and a sharp turn toward conservatism.
Throughout his career, Dos Passos remained politically engaged, writing essays, journalism, and historical studies while also campaigning for right-leaning figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s. He contributed to publications such as American Heritage, National Review, and The Freeman, and published over forty books including biographies and historical reflections. Despite political shifts, his commitment to liberty and skepticism of authoritarianism remained central themes.
Also a visual artist, Dos Passos created cover art and illustrations for many of his own books, exhibiting a style influenced by modernist European art. Though less acclaimed for his painting, he remained artistically active throughout his life. His multidisciplinary approach and innovations in narrative structure influenced numerous writers and filmmakers, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Norman Mailer and Adam Curtis.
Later recognized with the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for literature in 1967, Dos Passos’s legacy endures through his literary innovations and sharp commentary on American identity. He died in 1970, leaving behind a vast and diverse body of work that continues to shape the landscape of American fiction.
Dos Passos’s 1925 novel Manhattan Transfer brought him widespread recognition and introduced stylistic innovations that would define his later work. His U.S.A. trilogy fused fiction, biography, newsreel-style reportage, and autobiographical “Camera Eye” sections to explore the impact of capitalism, war, and political disillusionment on the American psyche. Once aligned with leftist politics, Dos Passos grew increasingly disillusioned with Communism, especially after the murder of his friend José Robles during the Spanish Civil War—a turning point that led to a break with Ernest Hemingway and a sharp turn toward conservatism.
Throughout his career, Dos Passos remained politically engaged, writing essays, journalism, and historical studies while also campaigning for right-leaning figures like Barry Goldwater and Richard Nixon in the 1960s. He contributed to publications such as American Heritage, National Review, and The Freeman, and published over forty books including biographies and historical reflections. Despite political shifts, his commitment to liberty and skepticism of authoritarianism remained central themes.
Also a visual artist, Dos Passos created cover art and illustrations for many of his own books, exhibiting a style influenced by modernist European art. Though less acclaimed for his painting, he remained artistically active throughout his life. His multidisciplinary approach and innovations in narrative structure influenced numerous writers and filmmakers, from Jean-Paul Sartre to Norman Mailer and Adam Curtis.
Later recognized with the Antonio Feltrinelli Prize for literature in 1967, Dos Passos’s legacy endures through his literary innovations and sharp commentary on American identity. He died in 1970, leaving behind a vast and diverse body of work that continues to shape the landscape of American fiction.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 17, 2010
Dos Passos writes with authority and clarity. "The Great Days" is an exceptional story and alive!
January 2, 2025
This is my second dos Passos novel this year. I wonder why I had not discovered dos Passos before this. He has a unique writing style, not quite stream of consciousness, but his sentences tend to be long and packed with meaning. At the same time his narrative structure is more conventional and accessible.
Books about World War II and early post WW2 have been a pre-occupation for me. Writers include Hersey, Nevil Shute, Herman Wouk and then, various movies and shows over the years.
'The Great Days' is concerned with Roland Lancaster, an acclaimed correspondent during the war itself, and well connected both with an affluent American community and highly placed politicians. His story from before the war and through the war period is told in a series of flashbacks, against the apparent present of Roland Lancaster, no longer in the game, trying to connect in Havana, Cuba, still respected by the public, but not finding an outlet for his work, having lost his wife to cancer, and cavorting with a much younger woman. He is indefatigable, but losing out.
There are different approaches to telling the WW2 story. Most common is to take aim at the arc and sweep of the war, the generals, the heroes, the big troop movements and battles. Another is to provide a thread through the war experience - that of one soldier, one concentration camp survivor, a member of the underground, a tank commander, or someone who saved Jews. Less common is a narrative of a more ordinary person, or someone in a minor role. This book does this and also takes an uneasy view of American war actions. At the far end of that continuum lies Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" and this has a similar take, but stays clear of the outright madness and mad men and women that people that novel. They certainly exist in Dos Passos's book, but the central characters try to keep an even keel. But the overall impact is a bleak one as far as individuals are concerned. The tone is not unlike a Graham Greene's Quiet American or Woolf's To The Lighthouse.
This book is a singularity from a unique voice in a unique style. It was engrossing, well told and I am looking forward to my next Dos Passos read.
Books about World War II and early post WW2 have been a pre-occupation for me. Writers include Hersey, Nevil Shute, Herman Wouk and then, various movies and shows over the years.
'The Great Days' is concerned with Roland Lancaster, an acclaimed correspondent during the war itself, and well connected both with an affluent American community and highly placed politicians. His story from before the war and through the war period is told in a series of flashbacks, against the apparent present of Roland Lancaster, no longer in the game, trying to connect in Havana, Cuba, still respected by the public, but not finding an outlet for his work, having lost his wife to cancer, and cavorting with a much younger woman. He is indefatigable, but losing out.
There are different approaches to telling the WW2 story. Most common is to take aim at the arc and sweep of the war, the generals, the heroes, the big troop movements and battles. Another is to provide a thread through the war experience - that of one soldier, one concentration camp survivor, a member of the underground, a tank commander, or someone who saved Jews. Less common is a narrative of a more ordinary person, or someone in a minor role. This book does this and also takes an uneasy view of American war actions. At the far end of that continuum lies Thomas Pynchon's "Gravity's Rainbow" and this has a similar take, but stays clear of the outright madness and mad men and women that people that novel. They certainly exist in Dos Passos's book, but the central characters try to keep an even keel. But the overall impact is a bleak one as far as individuals are concerned. The tone is not unlike a Graham Greene's Quiet American or Woolf's To The Lighthouse.
This book is a singularity from a unique voice in a unique style. It was engrossing, well told and I am looking forward to my next Dos Passos read.
August 16, 2024
Τρίτο βιβλίο του Τζον Ντος Πάσος που διαβάζω μέσα σε διάστημα ενός χρόνου, μετά το υπέροχο "Manhattan Transfer" που διάβασα πέρυσι τον Αύγουστο και το καταπληκτικό "Περιπέτειες ενός νεαρού άνδρα" που διάβασα φέτος τον Μάιο, και δηλώνω ξανά ιδιαίτερα ικανοποιημένος, τόσο από την ποιότητα της γραφής όσο και από την πλοκή, την ατμόσφαιρα, τις πολιτικές προεκτάσεις, όλα αυτά τέλος πάντως που χαρακτηρίζουν εν πολλοίς τον Ντος Πάσος. Βέβαια, οφείλω να πω ότι το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο στα μάτια μου είναι ένα κλικ πιο κάτω από τα προηγούμενα δυο, ίσως λίγο πιο αποσπασματικό, όχι τόσο σφιχτοδεμένο από άποψη πλοκής, ενώ νομίζω ότι του λείπει το βάθος στη σκιαγράφηση του βασικού πρωταγωνιστή, όμως δεν παύει να είναι ένα πολύ καλογραμμένο και οξυδερκές μυθιστόρημα, αρκετά πολιτικοποιημένο και κυνικό, σίγουρα ο συγγραφέας έχει κάποια πράγματα να πει για την Αμερική της εποχής του, αν και είναι φανερό ότι φαίνονται οι αλλαγές, τρόπον τινά, στις πολιτικές του πεποιθήσεις, μιας και ξεκίνησε από τα αριστερά για να καταλήξει κάποια στιγμή προς τα δεξιά, ειδικά μέσα στη δεκαετία του '50, κατά την οποία γράφτηκε και το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο. Όπως και να 'χει, εδώ έχουμε να κάνουμε με μια πανοραμική άποψη των ετών που ακολούθησαν το τέλος του Β' Παγκοσμίου Πολέμου, ο συγγραφέας μας μεταφέρει από την Αβάνα στις Δίκες της Νυρεμβέργης και από την Ίβο Τζίμα στον πυρετώδη και σκοτεινό κόσμο της πολιτικής στην Ουάσινγκτον, με τον πρωταγωνιστή να μπαίνει σε ένα τρυπάκι ενδοσκόπησης και θύμησης των περασμένων εμπειριών. Απ' όσο έχω διαβάσει, το βιβλίο αυτό έχει μπόλικα αυτοβιογραφικά στοιχεία, μιας και η ζωή του πρωταγωνιστή θυμίζει πολύ τη ζωή του ίδιου του Ντος Πάσος. Γενικά, είναι ένα πολύ καλογραμμένο και οξυδερκές μυθιστόρημα, με χαρακτηριστικές σκηνές και στιγμές, με ενδιαφέρουσες σκέψεις, και εξαιρετική ατμόσφαιρα. Αλλά δεν μπορώ να του βάλω πέντε αστεράκια, γιατί θα αδικούσα τα άλλα δυο βιβλία του που μου άρεσαν λιγάκι παραπάνω.
August 10, 2018
After focusing on current books over the past several months, I enjoyed taking a break to read this offering from one of the old masters. The Great Days is one of Dos Passos' minor novels as he is best celebrated for his trilogy U.S.A. capturing the time frame from the late 1920's to the mid 1950's. The book is somewhat autobiographical in that the main character, newspaper reporter and writer, Roland "Ro" Lancaster has a happy marriage and a satisying career. The book captures the mood and feelings of the 1940's as Ro travels to war theaters and deals with the political intrigue of FDR's and Truman's Washington.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews