Men Die A Novel

Just before World War II, Lieutenant Everett Sulgrave is stationed at a Navy ammunitions base in the Caribbean, along with Commander Hake—an anguished, intimidating leader nicknamed “Admiral God”—and Hake’s right-hand man, the enigmatic Lieutenant Dolfus. Dolfus has dark premonitions that soon come true when a massive explosion destroys the island. Sulgrave and five black enlistees with scores to settle are the only survivors. Now Sulgrave must contend with his memories and his reality, with the aftermath of the tragedy and the beginning of his volatile affair with Hake’s widow, and with his disturbing past and the abyss that is his future.

Infused with intrigue, symbolism, and mounting drama, Men Die, back in print after more than forty years, showcases H. L. Humes’s astounding versatility, proving itself a timelessly intense and exciting read.

Praise for Men Die

“Humes’s novel is tersely and convincingly composed, and while it echoes other works [it] never seems derivative, the result perhaps of its powerfully made scenes . . . and the essentially clear and direct nature of Humes’s prose.”—Alan Cheuse, from the Introduction

“Clean writing, crisp description . . . Every page of Men Die implies an underlying sense of doom for mankind; yet every page is also immensely readable.”—Time

“Hume [was] sublimely confident and alarmingly talented.”—The New York Times

“[An] achievement of dazzling virtuosity.”—Partisan Review

H. L. “Doc” Humes (1926–1992) was one of the originators of The Paris Review and the author of two novels, The Underground City and Men Die. His third novel, The Memoirs of Dorsey Slade, was never completed. He lived in Paris and Greenwich Village. Doc is also the subject of a documentary produced by the Academy Award–nominated filmmaker Immy Humes, his daughter.