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4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
This may tip over into a five star once I've had time to ponder some more!
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
An excellent novel! I don't normally read authors who don't make being funny one of their main goals, and I generally am not a fan of depressing novels, I actually really enjoyed this one. Even though it's set in WWII and the main character is a war vet who is recovering from Dunkirk injuries and is thus constantly in chronic pain, plus being gay was illegal so he's stressed and angsty about it, since the subject of the book is love (the main character's favourite book is Plato's Phaedrus, there are lots of allusions, it was a good chance for me to reread it as I went), the book is not focused on misery but on love and people, which brings a lot of happiness. It was also just a super well written romance, all the more so for being very differently executed from a lot of the modern day or fantasy stuff I usually read.
I quite loved this book. Its portrayal of humanity and love was beautiful. The setting (World War 2) was ever present and tangible, with air raids constantly getting in the way of interpersonal affairs, the asynchronicity of writing letters to communicate and the persistence of the characters' battle injuries. The thing I found most impressed by was how timeless the story is, especially the dynamics seen within the gay community, regardless of how small and covert the one in this book was. This had me rooting for the main characters all the way til the end.
August 2023 re-read: I was able to appreciate the prose more on this read because I wasn't anxious and rushing to find out what happens.
I read via audio and the narrator's emphasis helped me to understand some of the more oblique passages.
Oct 2021: Oof that ending devastated me
I read via audio and the narrator's emphasis helped me to understand some of the more oblique passages.
Oct 2021: Oof that ending devastated me
reflective
slow-paced
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
This book is excellent. I don't think I've ever read a book so thoroughly in my life (not even at university); there are so many little details that are easy to miss, and so much happens in the spaces and ellipses. I know that I will read this again and I know that I will notice things I didn't in these first two times through.
I initially picked this book up to do a buddy read on the romancelandia subreddit, though this book really isn't romance. It is sort of romance adjacent, and there is a lot of romance in it, but overall I don't think it fits within the romance genre. It was also originally published in 1953, a time when censorship was a big concern for any non-hetero books, and I think that Mary Renault did an amazing job of writing this story about a British soldier injured during WWII who falls in love with 2 men that he then has to choose between. As I said, there is a lot of romance and love in this book, but there is absolutely nothing explicit whatsoever (there are several m/f kisses and one chaste m/m kiss), it's all allusions and inference and honestly, I think that almost makes it more powerful? After reading this, I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to hear "come here, then" or "and his heart was in it" without blushing...
In addition to Renault's amazing ability to write this incredibly romantic, yet entirely SFW, book, her writing is absolutely gorgeous. I have so many tabs stuck throughout the book, marking my favourite lines. It was so fun during the discussions on reddit to see folks using these lines as their flare. Some of my favourites: "he was timelessly, cozily bored", "the blackberries tasted of frost and faint sun and smoke and purple leaves: sweet, childish, and sad", "he felt rather less like a citizen of nowhere".
While this certainly isn't an easy book to read, I think that if you have the time and inclination, it is well worth it.
I initially picked this book up to do a buddy read on the romancelandia subreddit, though this book really isn't romance. It is sort of romance adjacent, and there is a lot of romance in it, but overall I don't think it fits within the romance genre. It was also originally published in 1953, a time when censorship was a big concern for any non-hetero books, and I think that Mary Renault did an amazing job of writing this story about a British soldier injured during WWII who falls in love with 2 men that he then has to choose between. As I said, there is a lot of romance and love in this book, but there is absolutely nothing explicit whatsoever (there are several m/f kisses and one chaste m/m kiss), it's all allusions and inference and honestly, I think that almost makes it more powerful? After reading this, I'm not sure that I'll ever be able to hear "come here, then" or "and his heart was in it" without blushing...
In addition to Renault's amazing ability to write this incredibly romantic, yet entirely SFW, book, her writing is absolutely gorgeous. I have so many tabs stuck throughout the book, marking my favourite lines. It was so fun during the discussions on reddit to see folks using these lines as their flare. Some of my favourites: "he was timelessly, cozily bored", "the blackberries tasted of frost and faint sun and smoke and purple leaves: sweet, childish, and sad", "he felt rather less like a citizen of nowhere".
While this certainly isn't an easy book to read, I think that if you have the time and inclination, it is well worth it.
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes