The Soldier's Art

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The Soldier's Art is the eighth novel in Anthony Powell's twelve-volume masterpiece A Dance to the Music of Time, and the second in the war trilogy. It was published in 1966, and touches on themes of separation and unanticipated loss.
The language, always exact, sometimes sardonic, also takes on the quality of blank verse in dealing with episodes that echo classical mythology. Memorable new characters like Finn are introduced with spare precision, but kept separate from the original participants in the Dance for several of whom this proves to be the last turn upon the floor.
Considerable fun is had with the juxtaposition of disparate characters, shorn of their peacetime identities and struggling to conform to their notion of military stereotype. Their confrontation with regular soldiers is acutely observed, as is the politicking within divisional HQ. The mess dialogue between two senior staff officers presents a classic - and revealing - sketch of military life that has struck chords with admirers of Evelyn Waugh's Sword of Honour trilogy.