Upper Middlebrow

Upper Middlebrow


Episode 35: “DON’T Save the Cat!” or Joe Haldeman’s The Forever War, Part II

November 06, 2023

The UMBs have ANOTHER thorough conversation about the novel’s sexual politics, and Mandella’s low key homophobia, asking whether the protagonist’s biases serve some narrative purposes, or simply reveal the author’s own biases. We marvel at the sparse internality, and Haldeman’s ability to poetically reveal just enough about Mandella’s emotional state. And, we decide that Larry Niven is good.