Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

36 reviews

aiyonna's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• 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

I will never forget this book. It’s devastating, it’s beautiful, it’s romantic, it's horrifying and I will never stop turning it in my head. This book knocked my socks off and stole my breath and broke my heart. To quote AsToldByKenya holding this book is like holding magic in your hands. This is a DEBUT NOVEL I'm afraid of you Alice Winn. What’s your ao3 username I know u were in the Stucky mines. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism and Antisemitism

breanneporter's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This is stunning. I generally stay away from anything to do with war, and I only picked this up due to a glowing review by a bookseller I trust, not really believing I would be able to finish it, but boy did it hook me and engage me and devastate me and teach me until the very end… I’m so so glad I gave it a shot. In Memoriam follows two high school best friends, Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood, attending a wealthy public school in England when WW1 breaks out in 1914. Both boys are  secretly in love with the other, but believe it’s unrequited. They each end up at the front of the war and confront the horrifying realities of trench warfare, losing friends and parts of themselves along the way. 

This novel is not for the faint of heart: it is heart wrenching and painful and describes in visceral detail the terrible gore and tragedy of war, as well as the  long term effects, both physical and mental, on those who manage to survive. I listened on audio, which was excellent, but at times very difficult to picture. 

As many other reviewers note, however, there is levity and humor and romance interspersed in the horror. There are triumphs, big and small, and there are beautiful depictions of acceptance and found family. One of my favorite parts of the novel was

the friendship between Gaunt, Pritchett and Devi, the latter two of which demonstrate unflinching devotion and acceptance of Gaunt, despite how criminalized and stigmatized homosexuality was at the time.

Throughout the novel I kept googling WWI history based on Winn’s writing, and I feel like I re-learned so much from this novel that I’d long forgotten, and I’m so grateful for that. I would highly recommend to all historical fiction and LGBTQ fiction fans (even if you’re war-wary like me)!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Xenophobia, Gun violence, Grief, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Racism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, and Homophobia

lealula's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, War, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Colonisation, Blood, and Death

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Suicide

bryony_'s review against another edition

dark emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

This was one hell of a novel. It evoked such visceral emotions and masterfully explores some intense and brutal themes. I’m just in awe at such a work.  

I found it deeply moving and really quite profound at times. Winn paints such a vivid portrait of these young men and their relationship, set against this backdrop of a bloody and senseless war. 

What I think also demonstrates her talent as an author is also being able to bring some moments of humour into her writing- the humour of the men, having endless copies of the same book to read over and over. To go from that and the tenderness of their burgeoning love, to the horrors of trench warfare and the brutal PTSD and mental trauma experienced with such finesse is inspiring. 
I have so many thoughts about this book and I suspect one I’ll keep thinking about for some time. It probably goes without saying it made me cry. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Grief, and Gun violence

laurennicole98's review against another edition

dark emotional informative sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Gore, Death, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Confinement, Alcoholism, Suicide, Homophobia, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Xenophobia

msouth's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexism, War, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Genocide, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, and Classism

maritzasolo's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Homophobia, War, Gore, and Sexual content

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

arayo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Violence, Suicide, Medical content, Homophobia, Bullying, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Gore, War, Mental illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Classism, Outing, Cursing, Antisemitism, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Xenophobia, and Sexism

zarahzoe's review against another edition

challenging emotional sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I CANNOT HEAVE THE WORDS INTO MY MOUTH

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Gore, and Grief

beanie_bob's review against another edition

emotional funny informative sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Reading Around The World (5/199): England

I don’t want to make this the only value of the novel, but if you like Song of Achilles you must read this. War, loss of youth, love, beautiful writing - it’s all here.

I’m completely stunned by the fact that this is a debut novel. It’s so good. (To be fair, Alice Winn apparently wrote three unpublished novels before this, so we see that practice really does make perfect). I wish I had a physical copy to annotate. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Alice Winn.

I really love the the first third of this novel (even the first half). So much is brewing in this stage - we meet many of the main players, we witness and toil over unrequited love, we go to war, we experience tension and terror, and begin to accumulate death.

I love yearning. I love two people who believe they can’t be together, or that the other is uninterested, or who regret not being brave enough to say something, or who regret saying something and losing everything. Now do all of that under the pressure of a world war. Awful. Exquisite.

The last third of third works a little less for me, but I never lost my desire to follow the story to the end. 

Gaunt: Thoroughly my type. Tall, broad, wide, quiet, serious but completely smitten on the inside. War changes everyone and by the end he’s no longer a closed fist. 

Ellwood: His soul is eviscerated at some point. If Gaunt becomes who he’s meant to be (a leader, a kind man, an open man) Ellwood becomes what he never should have been, and then claws his way back from that. 

They’re just boys. They’ll be in their 40s when WW2 starts. War is hell.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, War, and Death

Moderate: Antisemitism, Alcoholism, and Violence

Minor: Suicide