Reviews with content warning for Death - In Memoriam

Poignant and beautiful
Gaunt and Ellwood’s love story is beautiful but also heartbreaking.
When we first meet them they are young and carefree but as the story progresses their lives and the world around them becomes scary and turbulent.
The whole way through you are willing both of them to keep safe and return to one another.
When they do they are both changed and traumatised by their experiences of war but their love for one another is still strong
The use of poetry throughout the book makes it all the more poignant tying real life soldiers experiences into those of Gaunt and Ellwoods
The depiction of the front are hard to read at some points but really highlight the reality of the First World War.

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echolli's review against another edition

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4.5

Read this if you love to deeeeeply understand and empathise with characters. Alice Winn takes you through every thought and experience and relationship that forms them, from their privileged upbringing and class ignorance to the harrowing things they learn in the trenches. You understand every decision they make and thing they say, because you’ve been there with them. If injury detail and death isn’t your thing, I would give this one a miss mind.

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jbbooks's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Graphic and tragic account of WW1 and the damage it inflicted on a generation of young men, centred on two 18 year old public school boys discovering their mutual love for each other and exploring its chimneys and changes across those war years. Written with almost nonchalant clinical accuracy of the horrors of the trenches, an incredibly effective style. Devastatingly good.

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m3sch's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Diesen Roman zu lesen, war sehr intensiv. Die bildhaften Beschreibungen von der Front im ersten Weltkrieg haben mir die Grausamkeit dieses Krieges nochmal mehr vor Augen geführt. Ich fand es sehr besonders, die Entwicklung der beiden Hauptfiguren über die Jahre mitzubekommen und dabei eine sehr emotionale Seite des Krieges mitzubekommen, im Bezug auf Figuren, die ich im Laufe des Romans immer weiter kennengelernt habe. Somit haben die schrecklichen Erlebnisse der Menschen in der dargestellten Zeit nochmal mehr ein Gesicht bekommen.
Sowohl die historische Perspektive, als auch die persönliche der Figuren, hat den Roman zu einem sehr tollen Buch gemacht, über das ich auch nach dem Lesen noch viel nachdenke.

Content Warnings

mneex05's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad 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

Content Warnings

mmwiseheart's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I read this book for book group and was forwarded that it was a bit graphic with the description of war. Even with that warning, I still wasn’t fully prepared for it. I wanted to finish it for book group so I stuck with it, it it was really difficult for me. I also wasn’t really rooting for the main characters, so there wasn’t anything for me to look forward to exactly. I did start to root for Gaunt’s sister, Maud, as she pursued a job and academia. I also rooted for Hayes and hoped he’d get the promotion he wanted.

The book is split into three parts and the first part was slow-paced, which probably didn’t help me very much. Once I got to the second part, the pacing picked up and I was able to read faster. This is probably a very good book for people who like military history. That has never been a subject that I enjoyed. Even though I didn’t particularly enjoy reading it, I did learn some things and it did give me some food for thought. I often struggle to express my thoughts and feelings. Ellwood uses poetry to express his. I take notes as I read and one of the quotes I wrote down is “You are the poetry.”

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acs28's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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 didn't know books could be like this. I've been missing out. What have i beeb wasting my time on?
Historical, queer romance is my thing. And this is the thingest of the thing. Deep exploration of the historical context, really portraying accurate, complex, terrifying history. Alongside immense depth of character exploration, emotion, fears and hopes, in a setting where such things would usually have been brushed under the carpet.
Made my cry a LOT and that's a compliment.
Alice Winn is frankly a genius and I'm gonna need more from her. Stat.

Content Warnings

jenniferyellowhat's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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