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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It’s a cheeky thing to call this Call Me By Your Name: WW2 edition but I’ll go ahead and do it and get that outta the way for the easy joke.
This book was a slow burn (it was in the 1940s give the boys a break) but when it hit its stride it broke me into tiny pieces over and over.
I found the book when looking for historical fiction that took place in Ancient Greece (mostly what Mary Renault wrote) and I found this gem instead. It was well worth the six dollars I paid.
Very recommended.
This book was a slow burn (it was in the 1940s give the boys a break) but when it hit its stride it broke me into tiny pieces over and over.
I found the book when looking for historical fiction that took place in Ancient Greece (mostly what Mary Renault wrote) and I found this gem instead. It was well worth the six dollars I paid.
Very recommended.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
The Charioteer is the definition for a piece of media being decades ahead of its time. Mary Renault transcends me into a journey so evocative to my own experiences on what it means to be queer. From this simple passage alone Renault won my heart, “It can be good to be given what you want; it can be better, in the end, never to have it proved to you that this was what you wanted”. Perfectly encompassing the novels depiction of yearning so empathetically tied to the queer experience. I admired Renaults incorporation of human nature as the novels main conflict. Though the ignorance of society was a prominent limitation to the characters external self expression, but the prime barrier to overcome was their own trepidations to ‘what if’.
What a complex fully realized book. All the characters are flawed and because of it all relationships are flawed. It is really hard not to love Laurie Odell a war hero wounded at Dunkirk who knows who he is though at twenty-three he still retains the innocence that we lose through experience. Laurie as a pure love for Andrew, a conscientious objector who is working in the hospital where Laurie is recuperating. The other part of Laurie's life is the love he has for Ralph, a sailor who knew Laurie from when they were are school together. Ralph wants a real relationship with Laurie, but he is confronted by the love Laurie has for Andrew. Laurie has too choose... .
This was beautifully written, the characters felt real; the ending is very affecting and I love how in the end our last image of them is through the metaphor of the charioteer. I was kinda scared by the fact this book is so well known and loved for what it represented at the time of publishing (and thereafter), one does sometimes find the books that are renown to be sometimes rather dry; but this after all the years it has been out there (no pun intended) is still very vibrant and the human frailties expressed here are still as true today as they were when the story was set or written.
Spoiler
though in the end it is life who chooses for LaurieThis was beautifully written, the characters felt real; the ending is very affecting and I love how in the end our last image of them is through the metaphor of the charioteer. I was kinda scared by the fact this book is so well known and loved for what it represented at the time of publishing (and thereafter), one does sometimes find the books that are renown to be sometimes rather dry; but this after all the years it has been out there (no pun intended) is still very vibrant and the human frailties expressed here are still as true today as they were when the story was set or written.
reflective
slow-paced
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Recent readers - I NEED to talk to you about this book.
The understatements are strong here, not just because it was written in 1953. What is hinted or even NOT seen/said, is quite important. I highly question items late in the book as there are ulterior motives that might be at play. This book really made me think!
The conversation scenes are so real. A large queer party is an early great seen in the book. But there is also: isolated room-gatherings, clandestine meetings in the kitchen or on walks or car drives or telephone or letters. This could make a great movie! The voices of the multiple characters in this book are so clear, the actors would love these clearly defined roles. The director would enjoy working the subtleties into the unspoken elements - eye glances, head nods, hesitations in speech.
All these delicate pieces come together in this highly-British WWII vernacular that references 'the classics' and society class hierarchy and military command structure. I would have loved to have read this book on my kindle, so I could click on the many references (poem quotes, stray time-period wordings, military initials), but I was already reading slower than usual per both this banter and understatements. By reading-through the passages I could assimilate the meanings necessary.
We see this story from Laurie's pov. He is 23 and has more college remaining after he gets through the war. It is early in the war with Laurie getting his knee badly injured getting out of Dunkirk (early June, 1940). He meets a pacifist/Quaker Andrew (age 19) working as a nurse during his rehabilitation. And Laurie also stumbles into meeting his chum Ralph (age 26) from high school (Laurie was a freshman when Ralph left during his senior year). Ralph (a naval captain) lost half his hand in the Dunkirk evacuation, as his ship (and command) were lost to a bomb. This love triangle is complicated, since there are yet other ex-partners or love-interests of these characters.
The war-stress has hit everyone hard, and differently. So you feel a non-romanticized side of war during this novel that revolves around romantic elements. There are different empathy from the nurses, per their discipline values, that allow meetings to occur 'overlooked/unseen'.
The book seems to start slow, but in retrospect I appreciate the realism of how everyone was introduced as they each came into the story line. Nothing sexually explicit occurs in this text, with a kiss being the most overt written. There is implied action. e.g. "Afterwards, ..." ;)
The speed of the ending requires close attention to detail. As I write this review, I am still inquiring to any other readers for help discussing how I interpreted what I read. I do not want to put any spoilers here.
Since you've read this far in my review, you can surely tell that your pure-rational and emotional sides of your reading-brain will be highly engaged in this book. I highly recommend doing a buddy-read of some type with this book to discuss the nuances.
I like seeing this book on these Goodreads Lists (as of 1/31/2022)
4th Best Gay Historical Fiction
4th Best Gay Romance in Times of War
5th Smart LGBTQ Literature
5th Literary Gay Romantic Novels
10th Classic Gay Male Literature
19th Best Gay Fiction
35th Best Gay Romances That Are Not Part Of A Series
45th Best LGBTQIA literature
52nd Best Gay Romance with Strong Characters
75th Best Gay Historical Romance
121st Best Gay Soldiers
The understatements are strong here, not just because it was written in 1953. What is hinted or even NOT seen/said, is quite important. I highly question items late in the book as there are ulterior motives that might be at play. This book really made me think!
The conversation scenes are so real. A large queer party is an early great seen in the book. But there is also: isolated room-gatherings, clandestine meetings in the kitchen or on walks or car drives or telephone or letters. This could make a great movie! The voices of the multiple characters in this book are so clear, the actors would love these clearly defined roles. The director would enjoy working the subtleties into the unspoken elements - eye glances, head nods, hesitations in speech.
All these delicate pieces come together in this highly-British WWII vernacular that references 'the classics' and society class hierarchy and military command structure. I would have loved to have read this book on my kindle, so I could click on the many references (poem quotes, stray time-period wordings, military initials), but I was already reading slower than usual per both this banter and understatements. By reading-through the passages I could assimilate the meanings necessary.
We see this story from Laurie's pov. He is 23 and has more college remaining after he gets through the war. It is early in the war with Laurie getting his knee badly injured getting out of Dunkirk (early June, 1940). He meets a pacifist/Quaker Andrew (age 19) working as a nurse during his rehabilitation. And Laurie also stumbles into meeting his chum Ralph (age 26) from high school (Laurie was a freshman when Ralph left during his senior year). Ralph (a naval captain) lost half his hand in the Dunkirk evacuation, as his ship (and command) were lost to a bomb. This love triangle is complicated, since there are yet other ex-partners or love-interests of these characters.
The war-stress has hit everyone hard, and differently. So you feel a non-romanticized side of war during this novel that revolves around romantic elements. There are different empathy from the nurses, per their discipline values, that allow meetings to occur 'overlooked/unseen'.
The book seems to start slow, but in retrospect I appreciate the realism of how everyone was introduced as they each came into the story line. Nothing sexually explicit occurs in this text, with a kiss being the most overt written. There is implied action. e.g. "Afterwards, ..." ;)
The speed of the ending requires close attention to detail. As I write this review, I am still inquiring to any other readers for help discussing how I interpreted what I read. I do not want to put any spoilers here.
Since you've read this far in my review, you can surely tell that your pure-rational and emotional sides of your reading-brain will be highly engaged in this book. I highly recommend doing a buddy-read of some type with this book to discuss the nuances.
I like seeing this book on these Goodreads Lists (as of 1/31/2022)
4th Best Gay Historical Fiction
4th Best Gay Romance in Times of War
5th Smart LGBTQ Literature
5th Literary Gay Romantic Novels
10th Classic Gay Male Literature
19th Best Gay Fiction
35th Best Gay Romances That Are Not Part Of A Series
45th Best LGBTQIA literature
52nd Best Gay Romance with Strong Characters
75th Best Gay Historical Romance
121st Best Gay Soldiers
each time I pick up a new Mary Renault novel I think to myself, "Where have you been all my life and why have I been so busy eating and sleeping instead of reading you!" And then I put the book aside so I don't devour it all in one sitting because there are a finite number of Mary Renault novels in the world and only so many times I will be able to read a new one. So it was with this, and I love love loved it, but now I feel as though all I can do is reread it. BOO.