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loveclairebearx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I haven’t read many (any?) other WWI books to compare this to, but Winn paints a vivid portrait of the day to day atrocities of the warfront. I expected a bit more gay and a lot less gore, but that’s a personal problem. The real problem here? In a time where homosexuality was criminalized, it feels like some serious revisionist history to not have worked the immense threat and unique challenges of that into the storyline.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
emquartz15's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-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? It's complicated
5.0
He thought perhaps all the pain would sour the love, but instead it drew him further in, as if he were Marc Antony, falling on his own sword. And it was a magical thing, to love someone so much; it was a feeling so strange and slippery, like a sheath of fabric cut from the sky. (115)
I’m still struggling to collect my thoughts about this book. I’ll start by saying this: I ugly cried at least three solid times in the twelve days it took me to read it. I completely fell for the characters and their story. I felt, and feel, utterly broken thinking about my queer ancestors and what they had to go through. I feel like I know Gaunt and Ellwood on a deeply personal level after reading this book. I was in awe of their arcs, the way they both complemented and opposed each other so beautifully and painfully.
The language and attitudes around war injuries/disability was a bit discouraging (examples: the word “disfiguring” used in a very negative context, the “how will anyone find them attractive again” trope), but I understand these are most truthfully the attitudes of the real life versions of the characters at the time, and there was some positivity interwoven. So I’ll take it. But if this bothers you, take note.
The last thing I’ll say is this: although I don’t regret reading this book, I think it taught me that books set during times of war are not for me. It was extremely graphic and extremely heartbreaking. I'm properly haunted, and thoroughly wrecked, especially because I'm made of 1000% pure emotion. I appreciate it for what it taught me and made me feel so deeply, but man, maybe I can only handle, like, one a year. I savored the moments it made me laugh out loud. In Memoriam is understandably likened to The Song of Achilles, but because of the realness of the setting, it was much much harder for me to stomach, and moved me in a more heavy, painstaking way (especially being queer in this world myself). So again, proceed with caution there.
Breathtaking writing from Winn, and I’ll add that she is a pleasure to talk to. I got to meet her and see her talk at the Montclair State Literary Festival last year. She was very funny and kind, and offered encouraging words, writer to writer. Definitely will be staying tuned to her future works.
I’m still struggling to collect my thoughts about this book. I’ll start by saying this: I ugly cried at least three solid times in the twelve days it took me to read it. I completely fell for the characters and their story. I felt, and feel, utterly broken thinking about my queer ancestors and what they had to go through. I feel like I know Gaunt and Ellwood on a deeply personal level after reading this book. I was in awe of their arcs, the way they both complemented and opposed each other so beautifully and painfully.
The language and attitudes around war injuries/disability was a bit discouraging (examples: the word “disfiguring” used in a very negative context, the “how will anyone find them attractive again” trope), but I understand these are most truthfully the attitudes of the real life versions of the characters at the time, and there was some positivity interwoven. So I’ll take it. But if this bothers you, take note.
The last thing I’ll say is this: although I don’t regret reading this book, I think it taught me that books set during times of war are not for me. It was extremely graphic and extremely heartbreaking. I'm properly haunted, and thoroughly wrecked, especially because I'm made of 1000% pure emotion. I appreciate it for what it taught me and made me feel so deeply, but man, maybe I can only handle, like, one a year. I savored the moments it made me laugh out loud. In Memoriam is understandably likened to The Song of Achilles, but because of the realness of the setting, it was much much harder for me to stomach, and moved me in a more heavy, painstaking way (especially being queer in this world myself). So again, proceed with caution there.
Breathtaking writing from Winn, and I’ll add that she is a pleasure to talk to. I got to meet her and see her talk at the Montclair State Literary Festival last year. She was very funny and kind, and offered encouraging words, writer to writer. Definitely will be staying tuned to her future works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Violence, and War
megelizabeth's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
"Gaunt wished the War had been what Ellwood wanted it to be. He wished they could have ridden across a battlefield on horseback, brandishing a sword alongside their gallant king."
This was SO good. It was a bleak, painful read much of the time, but also filled with so much love and so many beautiful friendships and relationships. It paints a brilliantly vivid picture of life at war and also does such a good job of doing what is often omitted in war-based fiction - exploring the long-lasting mental effects of experiencing war.
This is a story that's devastating but also just hopeful enough to completely capture your heart. The ending is so clever, bittersweet, and not at all what I was expecting. I just loved this (and both Gaunt and Ellwood <3) so, so much, and I cannot wait to see what else Alice Winn writes in the future.
I think the main reason this wasn't quite a 5* read for me is that I didn't connect with the characters quite as much as I might have done if the cast wasn't so predominantly made up of private-school boys. That's not a criticism of the book as those are simply the experiences it explores, and it does touch on their privileges within the setting of a war frontline - it just meant that, whilst I loved this and loved many of the characters, I wasn't quite as connected as I have been with absolute top-tier books.
This was SO good. It was a bleak, painful read much of the time, but also filled with so much love and so many beautiful friendships and relationships. It paints a brilliantly vivid picture of life at war and also does such a good job of doing what is often omitted in war-based fiction - exploring the long-lasting mental effects of experiencing war.
This is a story that's devastating but also just hopeful enough to completely capture your heart. The ending is so clever, bittersweet, and not at all what I was expecting. I just loved this (and both Gaunt and Ellwood <3) so, so much, and I cannot wait to see what else Alice Winn writes in the future.
I think the main reason this wasn't quite a 5* read for me is that I didn't connect with the characters quite as much as I might have done if the cast wasn't so predominantly made up of private-school boys. That's not a criticism of the book as those are simply the experiences it explores, and it does touch on their privileges within the setting of a war frontline - it just meant that, whilst I loved this and loved many of the characters, I wasn't quite as connected as I have been with absolute top-tier books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Murder, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Racism, and Antisemitism
Minor: Death of parent
melanija's review against another edition
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Colonisation
sunsetsyd's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
Speechless. I almost cried at three different points. I completely understand why this book received the praise it did when it debuted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, and War
Moderate: Sexual content, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, and Classism
Minor: Homophobia
el90's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
abi_dutton's review against another edition
challenging
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
marmaladereads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Beautiful. Literary. Utterly devastating account of war. Winn wove an absolutely gorgeous tale of how the naive and poetic Ellwood and the angry and stoic Gaunt are transformed by the trauma and brutality of war.
This book makes you feel a lot of things. It's filled with love and hope and poetry amid some of the most terrible destruction and gore and the constant drumming of death. Winn manages to strike an incredibly delicate balance of never sugarcoating the brutality, with no character being safe or protected from it, and at the same time giving us just enough of a hopeful undertone that it never feels like trauma porn.
The character development, war accounts, and love story are all masterfully woven throughout. This is definitely a book I'll be coming back to again and again.
Seeing Gaunt find true clarity and friendship during the war at the same time as Elly is utterly broken by it is possibly as devastating as the constant and rather gory accounts of deaths. It feels incredibly honest that no one comes out unscathed from this book, both physically and mentally, even the characters we come to care for the most.
I love that Winn found a way for Elly and Gaunt to be together in the end in a way where they didn't have to hide, despite the time period. After all they'd been through, I think they deserved at least that, though I would call their ending bittersweet at best.
This book makes you feel a lot of things. It's filled with love and hope and poetry amid some of the most terrible destruction and gore and the constant drumming of death. Winn manages to strike an incredibly delicate balance of never sugarcoating the brutality, with no character being safe or protected from it, and at the same time giving us just enough of a hopeful undertone that it never feels like trauma porn.
The character development, war accounts, and love story are all masterfully woven throughout. This is definitely a book I'll be coming back to again and again.
I love that Winn found a way for Elly and Gaunt to be together in the end in a way where they didn't have to hide, despite the time period. After all they'd been through, I think they deserved at least that, though I would call their ending bittersweet at best.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
emlibe's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Antisemitism, Medical content, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Homophobia, and Outing
pitsikakku's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Antisemitism, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent