Reviews tagging 'Grief'

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

150 reviews

jenniferyellowhat's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

whatannikareads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

you read a lotta mid books to get to books like this, and it feels all the worthwhile :')

literally 'the song of achilles' but set during world war i. it was so gruesome and sad but i couldn't look away. the yearning was palpable. to me, the ending felt a little rushed and anticlimactic after Going Through It (capital G) with these characters, but the rest of the book is so heavy i won't fault the author too much. it was still an incredible reading experience.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail

hmatt's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Starting off 2025 strong with this incredibly powerful read. I won't say I "enjoyed" it as such, because... war novel... graphic, gore-y violence and PTSD, but if you are alright to read on these themes I strongly recommend.

The characters' perspectives and emotions are conveyed in that just-right balance where they are (probably?) historically accurate - some level of repressed, some level of entitled public school boy, etc. Even though the narrative focuses on two privileged men, I thought the author did an alright job of incorporating other diverse voices into the story. The incredible class privilege of the two MCs is definitely consistently acknowledged.

I could "leave" some of the quotations from ancient epics and old poets I haven't read, but I don't feel alienated by their inclusion. In the context of the MCs and their upbringings and personalities, they make sense.

Format note: I really enjoyed this audiobook. The production is exceptionally well thought-through and the narrator does the different character voices impeccably.

I feel that the author did an excellent job acknowledging the not-happy parts of the "happy" ending, e.g. all of Ellwood's friends died, they ended up "in exile" of a sort, PTSD doesn't just disappear, etc.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Sexual content and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Antisemitism, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent

mbesq's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

A beautifully written book about love, brutality, heartbreak, friendship, bravery. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying

xeroxi's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War

Moderate: Antisemitism and Alcohol

Minor: Death of parent

elies's review against another edition

dark emotional tense

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

4.0

Hard to overstate how clearly this book signposts Things Will Get Bad, or to overstate how much it made me feel kind of ill and desperate and sad even with all the warnings. Kind of enjoyed it? Very well-written and research seemed very thorough, but also I wish I'd never read certain passages because those images will never leave me. Took a while to click but once the action moves to the Western Front I found I had to keep reading. There's a particular plot reveal that falls exactly halfway through which I liked very much as a structural choice! I liked it a lot but it might not be one I come back to very much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail

fermin's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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 wanted to give it some time to organize my thoughts before I rated this novel, but thing is, it's clinging to me, it's got awesome staying power. I think this book is a lot more than the sum of its parts, it's sadder, blunter, more tragic, more vicious than I was expecting. But it's also happier, warmer, more hopeful than I could've imagined. Alice does an amazing job weaving amazingly thorough research of historical facts with a queer love story that is neither tragic nor pure wish-fulfillment. I can only commend her, not only does she manage to find a way out of this thorny maze, but she does so gracefully, with beautifully written prose.

I'm not sure it's a spoiler to say there is a happy ending awaiting the reader, but if I try to find a reason why it's still rolling around in my head, making me sentimental at unexpected moments, I'd venture it is because while that's incredibly hopeful and nothing short of revolutionary, it's near impossible to come away from this book not realizing it was also incredibly painful and sad to earn it. Perhaps the most bittersweet book I've ever read? I wish I could be mad at Alice, you know, blame her of writing a misery porn novel in the vein of A little life and contributing to the ever growing pile of queer romances all implicitly sharing the lesson that true everlasting happiness is not for the queers. Yet I can't say that's what she did, she gave us a happy ending, one that she laboured immensely to inject with verisimilitude, I'm just wishing we could bask in that happiness a little longer, but then again, that's not the story the novel is about. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Grief

lanamae's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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: Body horror, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Grief

natalielcheung's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful inspiring reflective tense slow-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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, and Death of parent

martina96's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and War