The Merry Month of May
Encyclopedia
The Merry Month Of May is author James Jones
's 1971 novel concerning the events of the 1968 student revolutions in Paris. It is centered around a rich American family, the Gallaghers, living as expatriate
s in Paris
.
The Merry Month Of May is only superficially concerned with the student revolution
. The real subject of the novel is the sexual maladjustment of Americans. While the novel is as concerned with the sexual revolution
which destroys screenwriter Harry Gallagher and his family as it is with the student revolution, the relationship between the two is unfortunately never clearly defined.
Reviews of the book were typically uneven, though never in Jones's career would the gulf between the most favorable and the least favorable reviews be so wide. At one pole were reviewers who claimed Merry Month was Jones's best novel since From Here To Eternity
, while at the other pole were reviewers who claimed that Merry Month was such a bad novel that it should never have been published.
James Jones (author)
James Jones was an American author known for his explorations of World War II and its aftermath.-Life and work:...
's 1971 novel concerning the events of the 1968 student revolutions in Paris. It is centered around a rich American family, the Gallaghers, living as expatriate
Expatriate
An expatriate is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country and culture other than that of the person's upbringing...
s in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
The Merry Month Of May is only superficially concerned with the student revolution
Revolution
A revolution is a fundamental change in power or organizational structures that takes place in a relatively short period of time.Aristotle described two types of political revolution:...
. The real subject of the novel is the sexual maladjustment of Americans. While the novel is as concerned with the sexual revolution
Sexual revolution
The sexual revolution was a social movement that challenged traditional codes of behavior related to sexuality and interpersonal relationships throughout the Western world from the 1960s into the 1980s...
which destroys screenwriter Harry Gallagher and his family as it is with the student revolution, the relationship between the two is unfortunately never clearly defined.
Reviews of the book were typically uneven, though never in Jones's career would the gulf between the most favorable and the least favorable reviews be so wide. At one pole were reviewers who claimed Merry Month was Jones's best novel since From Here To Eternity
From Here to Eternity (novel)
From Here to Eternity is the debut novel by James Jones, winner of the National Book Award for fiction in 1952. It was ranked 62 on Modern Library's list of the 100 Best Novels. It is loosely based on Jones' experiences in the pre-World War II Hawaiian Division's 27th Infantry and the unit in which...
, while at the other pole were reviewers who claimed that Merry Month was such a bad novel that it should never have been published.