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rachel101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Body horror, and Blood
Moderate: Gore, Bullying, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, and War
Minor: Classism, Grief, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Alcohol, Mental illness, Blood, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Bullying, and Death
basil_touche's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
But this is also a story about love. Gaunt and Ellwood's relationship throughout is touching as you see them pinning for them in their youth, to their optimism for the war being destroyed once they reach the trenches and then how they slowly start to pick up the pieces after. It's interesting to see how each of their traumas display differently, and surprising too.
I listened to the audiobook and Christian Coulson does a wonderful job throughout. He gives each character a distinct voice, along with pretty accurate accents. I think it truly adds something to the book.
A haunting and beautiful debut for Winn.
Graphic: Blood, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, Grief, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Homophobia, Bullying, Ableism, Alcoholism, Suicide, Alcohol, and Kidnapping
Minor: Classism, Sexism, Pandemic/Epidemic, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Rape
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
The passages describing the war are brutal, visceral, and full of horror, as are the psychological torments inflicted on the men by the inhumanity they are forced to endure.
My only (minor) critique of this book is that occasionally the 21st century sensibilities of anti-colonial sentiment felt a little too on the nose coming out of the mouths of British public school boys, but that really is a minor nitpick.
Despite its heavy themes, this book was readable and engrossing.
Graphic: Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Violence, Bullying, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Blood, Forced institutionalization, and Gore
brynpemery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Classism, and Homophobia
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Bullying, Child death, Suicide, War, Blood, Homophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, and Sexual content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Classism, Colonisation, Miscarriage, and Antisemitism
botanicpanic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gore, War, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism and Classism
gemin1reader's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Blood, Gun violence, War, Violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Suicide, Xenophobia, Homophobia, and Classism
Minor: Sexual violence
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, War, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Ableism, Racism, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Antisemitism, Confinement, Homophobia, Bullying, and Sexism
Minor: Suicide, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
skylar_cr_wolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
“In this war he’s a god, Ellwood.” He put his face into his hands. “You’ve brought the anger of gods upon us.”
First of all, I need to thank two people kindly for recommending this book to me: Kieran and Harvey.
Thank you two for being part of this journey and being okay with me sharing my inner thoughts about this novel while I read and cried about it.
And now to the novel:
It is more than I can express. And I mean it. The entire topic of world wars is something which usually keeps me away from reading a novel, however, I am glad that it didn’t scare me away this time. Because while WWI is a major point in this book, it is not the central part. The main focus is on friendships and complicated romance, especially as a queer person in the 1910s to early 1920s. It is about how you change through being tormented by the ongoing war and how it changes also the connections you have to people. It is about the loss of them as well.
Another point which I liked but also surprised me a bit is the accuracy of languages. At least for the German part I can say that it is incredibly accurate. It was astonishing to see a novel which is mostly written in English to depict a fair share of languages in such an accurate form. As someone who is a bit of a lingual nerd (not as big as I used to) find this extremely marvellous.
I could say so much more. How much I love Gaunt and Ellwood. How much my heart still aches because of Sandys and how much I enjoyed the friendships between Gideon and Gaunt too. How much I will miss their journey and look forward to read it again at some other time.
And maybe this time I will be better prepared with enough tissues for farewells.
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Gun violence, Animal death, and War
Moderate: Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Suicide, Confinement, and Bullying
zara89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Violence, and War
Moderate: Gun violence, Death of parent, Confinement, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Cursing, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Torture, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Death, Bullying, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Forced institutionalization