The Complete McAuslan

The fictionalized vignettes, based on some of some of the escapades and/or memories of the young George Martin Fraser, kept me hanging on every word and laughing out loud. Mr. Fraser saw active duty during WWII as a young officer but the settings for the events in the books are, for the most part, various sites where his Highland regiment was stationed post-WWII. The episode where the bagpipe loving General had scores of solders and resident native civilians– and, indeed any other participants he could coerce into joining -- dancing in a gigantic and ever-expanding Scottish reel was hilarious. The comical situations that the luckless Pvt. McAuslan – the dirtiest soldier in the British Army – got himself into and the way the author so often extracted him from those follies were beyond merely humorous. I defy anyone to try reading these books without laughing out loud. My husband kept getting curious as I laughed out loud while reading them and I’d have to read snippets to him. But when it came to the hilarious golf game in “McAuslan in the Rough” in which the hapless McAuslan had to caddy, I gave up and told my husband, an avid golfer, “Here. You’ll just have to read this yourself!” Which he did -- and also laughed out loud. If you enjoy reading mirthful situations told with droll British humor and wit, then these books are for you and I wish you happy reading.

Barring the fact that these are all short stories with only the thin thread of the (sometimes nearly invisible) McAuslan holding them together, this is a delightful, rueful, humorous look at what appears to be the author's thinly-veiled experiences in the British colonial forces in the immediate post WWII period. It is, as are Fraser's "Flashman" books, NOT nostalgic in a soppy way for the heroics of anyone. But there is a quiet love and respect for the dignity and uniqueness of his characters and the situations they are in. In its way, very Chekhovian human comedy - albeit a lot more raucous. Highly, highly enjoyable reading.

"The Complete McAuslan" is an omnibus collection of the short stories originally published in the collections "The General Danced at Dawn", "McAuslan in the Rough" and "The Sheik and the Dustbin". George MacDonald Fraser based these stories on his experience as a young officer in a Highland regiment just after World War II in North Africa and Scotland (he had fought as an enlisted infantryman in Burma during the war, see his memoir "Quartered Safe Out Here"). His stories beautifully blend humor, nostalgia and insight. He describes such military milestones as facing a Selection Board ("But the thing that was universally agreed was that there was no known way of ensuring success before a Selection Board. There were no standard right answers to their questions, because their methods were all supposed to be deeply psychological. The general view throughout the Army was that they weren't fit to select bus conductors, let alone officers, but that is by the way." "Monsoon Selection Board"), facing for the first time the platoon he is to command ("Silence in the Ranks") and being dispatched to hold and defend an independent outpost ("Bo Geesty").

He recounts such varied challenges to the young officer as striving to uphold the regimental honor in an interbattalion quiz competition ("Scotsmen, of course, if they feel that national prestige is in any way at stake, tend to go out of their minds, tell them there was to be a knitting bee against England and they would be on the touch-line shouting 'Purl, Wullie! See's the chain-stich, but!" "General Knowledge, Private Information"), being put in charge of a troop train from Cairo to Jerusalem ("Night Run to Palestine") and finding himself and his platoon set with fixed bayonets and fifty rounds apiece to hold a bridge while a murderous mob advances on them ("Captain Errol").

Interestingly, the title character of this collection, Private McAuslan (AKA "The Dirtest Soldier in the World", "Private Piltdown" or "The Tartan Caliban") only appears in some of the stories. He is a great example of the secondary character who barges into center stage. McAuslan is the central character in about a third of the stories and a major character in another five. In the rest he is a minor character or does not appear at all. To the author's credit, McAuslan is not a mere clown figure. The narrator regards him with a mixture of horrified fascination, exasperated affection and reluctant respect.

In the last piece in this collection ("Extraduction"), George MacDonald Fraser tells us directly why he came to write these stories:
"I had done it out of affection and pride, and to preserve memories that I loved. Not strict fact, of course, but by no means fiction, either-many true incidents and characters, as well as adaptations and shapings and amalgams and inventions and disquises, but always doing my best to keep the background detail as accurate as I could, and to be faithful to the spirit of that time and those people."

In sum, an excellent collection of fine stories told by a master story teller.

These classic stories are always funny and often very moving. They are also important for their historical insight into an army and a way of life which have now passed from the world. They take place after WWII and describe peacekeeping, police missions and daily routine in a Highland regiment--a regiment blessed with such great characters as Pipey, the Colonel, and the immortal McAuslan. Fraser describes the complex and delicate personal relationships in a traditional Scots regiment, and in the last story also in daily life in the Highlands, just at the last moment before those worlds started to fade away. Not always politically correct, but more touching for it. I also recommend Fraser's memoir of the Burma campaign "Quartered Safe out Here"; less funny but worth reading.

I do not write book reviews, but I have to say something about this George MacDonald Fraser. Why had I never heard of him before? He's wonderful! His Steel Bonnets holds one's attention with its historical view of the Marches, and The Complete McAuslan almost has one rolling on the floor laughing. His Candlemass Road was way too short. Sorry he's dead and can't expand it. Now I can't wait to read the Flashman books, but don't think anything can beat The Complete McAuslan. It'll be well-worth reading every few years. Anyone who likes a hearty laugh should give this book a read!

Fraser talks about how everyone who lead troops had a MCAuslan, mine was Tipton. I first read these in the late 70's and early 80's as an ROTC cadet and junior officer in a light infantry battalion. The resemblance to the Highland unit-apart from the accents and kilts-was eerie. I've reread the set at least three times since and they are still laugh-out-loud funny and real enough to make me misty in spots. Enjoy.

I like the author a lot - have read most of his books. This bunch of short pieces is a delight.

I am reading this as it is written by a master, this is not a Flashman book, but shows life in a Highland Reg, and after WWII life in the mid east and Africa.

You do NOT have to be a veteran of the British military forces - or even British for that matter - to enjoy these wonderful stories. Fraser is a wonderful story teller. Pathos, chagrin and humor play equal parts in his stories. While some may be a little "amped up" for the enjoyment of the reader, I am sure there are more grains of truth in this wonderfully entertaining selection. By all means, enjoy - I certainly did.

I have been a fan of George MacDonald Fraser's novels and his nonfiction account of his World War II experiences in Burma, Quartered Safe Out Here so when I learned about Fraser's McAuslan stories I eagerly sought them out. I was not disappointed. Fraser, writing as Dand MacNeil, a young subaltern (that's lieutenant in U.S. parlance) in a Scottish Highland regiment, draws many colorful characters that range in rank from the hapless private McAuslan to the Colonel, commander of the regiment. Fraser's use of language, that is his skill in invoking the Highland dialect, and his depiction of life in a post World War II Highland regiment had led me to read and reread the McAuslan stories.