FORGOTTEN BOOKS #309: SOME CAME RUNNING By James Jones

some came running book
Yes, Some Came Running is a 1,266-page book. It took James Jones six years to write it after the success of his first novel, From Here to Eternity. Sadly, Some Came Running was a financial flop. It’s lack of monetary success forced James Jones into writing a screenplay for The Longest Day in order to pay his bills. I didn’t know about Some Came Running until I read Lee Sandlin’s review in the Wall Street Journal. You can check it out here.

Dave Hirsh returns from World War II with what we know today is PTSD. Hirsh had some success as a writer before the war and tries to get back to writing. But he flies into rages, he chases women, and he drinks like a fish. Dave’s brother, Frank, is trying to build a financial empire. The brothers don’t get along and fight continually. The post-WWII world is changing and everyone is struggling to adapt. It’s been a long time since I’ve read a 1000+ page book, but I enjoyed this one. James Jones could have written another 5000 pages about these characters…and I would have read them. Jones has that kind of narrative power. I was able to find an unabridged copy of Some Came Running online for $12. The unabridged edition has never been reprinted. But it’s worth seeking out.

21 thoughts on “FORGOTTEN BOOKS #309: SOME CAME RUNNING By James Jones

    1. george Post author

      Steve, after reading SOME CAME RUNNING, I’m tempted to go back and read FROM HERE TO ETERNITY. I also have a copy of THE THIN RED LINE which I’ve yet to read.

      Reply
  1. Dan

    These days it’d probably come out as a 4-part series. A helpful editor would encourage Jones to re-write it so that Ginnie is a witch, Bama has returned from the dead and Dave has shape-shifting powers….

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Deb, the failure of SOME CAME RUNNING devastated James Jones both financially and psychologically. I have A SOLDIER’S DAUGHTER NEVER CRIES and now I need to read it. His daughter helped with the new (but abridged) edition of SOME CAME RUNNING.

      Reply
    1. george Post author

      Bill, SOME CAME RUNNING took a lot of time to read, but it never felt long. And, as I mentioned to Rick, if SOME CAME RUNNING was 5,000 pages I’d read every page. James Jones is a hell of a writer!

      Reply
  2. Richard R.

    I can’t imagine how it couldn’t have been 600 pages and still carried the narrative punch and character drive of this long novel, which I’ll undoubtedly never read.

    Reply
  3. Jeff Meyerson

    Definitely sounds worth reading – I remember liking the movie a lot – but like Bill and Rick I doubt I’ll ever do so. Still, you never know. For years I had my father’s edition of FROM HERE TO ETERNITY but lost it somewhere along the way. Jones was an interesting guy. I read his A TOUCH OF DANGER 40 years ago.

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    1. george Post author

      Jeff, SOME CAME RUNNING would be the perfect ebook. I was uncomfortable much of the time trying to hold this 1,266 page book. And the print was a bit too small, too.

      Reply
  4. Michael Padgett

    Having read all of his novels except “Whistle”, I’d recommend two more Jones novels that are mostly forgotten–“The Merry Month of May” and “Go to the Widow-Maker”. And “A Touch of Danger” is interesting as a crime novel by a literary writer.

    Reply
    1. george Post author

      Michael, thank you for your recommendations! I’m going to find copies of THE MERRY MONTH OF MAY, GO TO THE WIDOW-MAKER, and A TOUCH OF DANGER. You’ll be seeing reviews of these book on this blog later this year.

      Reply
  5. Pingback: » Reviewed by Dan Stumpf: JAMES JONES – Some Came Running (Book & Film).

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