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arayo's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Suicide, Medical content, Homophobia, Bullying, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Gore, War, Mental illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Classism, Outing, Cursing, Antisemitism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Xenophobia, and Sexism
bethlouise30's review
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
5.0
This book was absolutely beautiful, in prose, characters and story. I cannot recommend it enough.
Don’t let the fact it is about war put you off, as the character relationships in this novel are sublime.
Don’t let the fact it is about war put you off, as the character relationships in this novel are sublime.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Violence, War, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide
mmccombs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.5
A deeply moving narrative that didn’t necessarily feel new or added anything to the pantheon of WW1 novels, but it was deeply impactful nonetheless. I really enjoyed these characters and the way in which we saw them change over the course of the war. What is poetry and beauty in the face of so much brutality and senseless violence? I’m currently unable to give this a full 5 stars because I found that the structure was a little bit all over the place. The flashbacks, particularly in the beginning, were not always in the same format or were just thrown in, so I think I would have preferred if this was told chronologically. I also felt like Gaunt’s return from the dead was like an emotional fake-out, something to make the audience gasp and feel very sad for 50 pages or so, and then his return almost felt like a let down (obviously happy for a reunion, but still, it felt like emotional whiplash!) On the whole, this was well written, very emotional, and such a compelling story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Homophobia
starglitters's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Alcohol, and Bullying
Minor: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Antisemitism
bjlinard's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Violence, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide
oliverlang's review against another edition
dark
emotional
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It took me a minute to get into this book and connect with the characters but now I'm certain I'll be rereading this.
(I was thinking about the rating of this as I went and it only kept climbing so I'm defaulting to 5 stars for the minute. We shall see if my eventual reread upholds this.)
This was stunning and incredibly managed to capture the guts and brutality of the front lines of war while also providing moments of light and warmth.
I'm on a constant quest for stories with "old-timey queers" and this delivered exactly what I wanted.
Not really a spoiler, could potentially be described as an anti-content warning but just incase you like to go in knowing nothing about what to expect:
Although this was set in 1914, a time where homosexuality was against the law, this book had a distinctive lack of homophobia woven through it. It seemed that a great deal of the characters were queer themselves or just really cool calm and collected about the whole affair. Slurs are present but not with malicious intent.
I also really like when multiple languages come together and this book gave me French, German and Greek so that was very nice.
(I was thinking about the rating of this as I went and it only kept climbing so I'm defaulting to 5 stars for the minute. We shall see if my eventual reread upholds this.)
This was stunning and incredibly managed to capture the guts and brutality of the front lines of war while also providing moments of light and warmth.
I'm on a constant quest for stories with "old-timey queers" and this delivered exactly what I wanted.
Not really a spoiler, could potentially be described as an anti-content warning but just incase you like to go in knowing nothing about what to expect:
I also really like when multiple languages come together and this book gave me French, German and Greek so that was very nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, War, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
writingcaia's review against another edition
challenging
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? It's complicated
5.0
Boys should be boys, boys that love boys, that hate boys, that dream of poetry and bravery, and that live in a world where epopees and the old generation glorifies war and giving life for God, King and Country.
What many dream of does come, a war, but little did they know it would be called the War to End all Wars.
One by one, reaching adulthood and even before seeing 18 they depart to the front and butchery.
In a boys school two friends feel differently, but inevitably, one because he doesn’t want to be called a coward or a traitor (being of German descent and eighteen), and the other because he cannot conceive of his best friend, his loved one, dying without seeing him again, enlist.
All the courage and bravado they felt while reading the In Memoriam with the list of the brave boys before them will soon die, along with thousands. It’s not glory they will face but a world of sickness and death, of loss and grief, of trauma and despair. A world they could not in their wildest dreams ever conceive.
Focused on our beautiful love bird boys on a relationship of miscommunication, this book still tells much of the tragedy of WWI especially among the younger boys, their disillusionment with God and Country, their loss of limbs, of face, of mind, of life. It also gives a peek at a world where boys full around with boys when it’s seen as a young boys “thing” but in war it’s a crime to love one another and act upon it.Another of the themes approached is the different ways in which aristocratic kids like these were treated and promoted compared to civil workers.
The love story drives the plot but it is so much more than that, and that depth of feeling, the poetry of love for country, than hate for it, the love for their friends and the grief for the lost ones.
This was one of my favourite books of 2023, and one I won’t forget!
Totally recommend for historical fiction fans, romantic historic fiction, WWI fiction fans, and lgbtqia+ romance fans.
What many dream of does come, a war, but little did they know it would be called the War to End all Wars.
One by one, reaching adulthood and even before seeing 18 they depart to the front and butchery.
In a boys school two friends feel differently, but inevitably, one because he doesn’t want to be called a coward or a traitor (being of German descent and eighteen), and the other because he cannot conceive of his best friend, his loved one, dying without seeing him again, enlist.
All the courage and bravado they felt while reading the In Memoriam with the list of the brave boys before them will soon die, along with thousands. It’s not glory they will face but a world of sickness and death, of loss and grief, of trauma and despair. A world they could not in their wildest dreams ever conceive.
Focused on our beautiful love bird boys on a relationship of miscommunication, this book still tells much of the tragedy of WWI especially among the younger boys, their disillusionment with God and Country, their loss of limbs, of face, of mind, of life. It also gives a peek at a world where boys full around with boys when it’s seen as a young boys “thing” but in war it’s a crime to love one another and act upon it.Another of the themes approached is the different ways in which aristocratic kids like these were treated and promoted compared to civil workers.
The love story drives the plot but it is so much more than that, and that depth of feeling, the poetry of love for country, than hate for it, the love for their friends and the grief for the lost ones.
This was one of my favourite books of 2023, and one I won’t forget!
Totally recommend for historical fiction fans, romantic historic fiction, WWI fiction fans, and lgbtqia+ romance fans.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, War, and Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Suicide, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
Minor: Antisemitism
kimmag92's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
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
In Memoriam may be the best book I've read in 2023 and it makes me sad that it's not getting the same traction in North America as it is in the UK as it was absolutely phenomenal. Winn paints a heart wrenching picture of what the First World War was like for those who fought in the trenches as well as what life was like for gay men at the time. I spent the whole book worried about what would happen to Ellwood and Gaunt and if they would survive the war. Besides her depiction of young gay men in the 1910s, she also reminds us how young many of the boys who fought in the conflict were and how it impacted their lives both through what they witnessed as well as through those they lost.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Outing, Self harm, Vomit, War, Excrement, Colonisation, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
lcg527's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt
beanie_bob's review against another edition
emotional
funny
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Reading Around The World (5/199): England
I don’t want to make this the only value of the novel, but if you like Song of Achilles you must read this. War, loss of youth, love, beautiful writing - it’s all here.
I’m completely stunned by the fact that this is a debut novel. It’s so good. (To be fair, Alice Winn apparently wrote three unpublished novels before this, so we see that practice really does make perfect). I wish I had a physical copy to annotate. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Alice Winn.
I really love the the first third of this novel (even the first half). So much is brewing in this stage - we meet many of the main players, we witness and toil over unrequited love, we go to war, we experience tension and terror, and begin to accumulate death.
I love yearning. I love two people who believe they can’t be together, or that the other is uninterested, or who regret not being brave enough to say something, or who regret saying something and losing everything. Now do all of that under the pressure of a world war. Awful. Exquisite.
The last third of third works a little less for me, but I never lost my desire to follow the story to the end.
Gaunt: Thoroughly my type. Tall, broad, wide, quiet, serious but completely smitten on the inside. War changes everyone and by the end he’s no longer a closed fist.
Ellwood: His soul is eviscerated at some point. If Gaunt becomes who he’s meant to be (a leader, a kind man, an open man) Ellwood becomes what he never should have been, and then claws his way back from that.
They’re just boys. They’ll be in their 40s when WW2 starts. War is hell.
I don’t want to make this the only value of the novel, but if you like Song of Achilles you must read this. War, loss of youth, love, beautiful writing - it’s all here.
I’m completely stunned by the fact that this is a debut novel. It’s so good. (To be fair, Alice Winn apparently wrote three unpublished novels before this, so we see that practice really does make perfect). I wish I had a physical copy to annotate. I can’t wait to see what comes next from Alice Winn.
I really love the the first third of this novel (even the first half). So much is brewing in this stage - we meet many of the main players, we witness and toil over unrequited love, we go to war, we experience tension and terror, and begin to accumulate death.
I love yearning. I love two people who believe they can’t be together, or that the other is uninterested, or who regret not being brave enough to say something, or who regret saying something and losing everything. Now do all of that under the pressure of a world war. Awful. Exquisite.
The last third of third works a little less for me, but I never lost my desire to follow the story to the end.
Gaunt: Thoroughly my type. Tall, broad, wide, quiet, serious but completely smitten on the inside. War changes everyone and by the end he’s no longer a closed fist.
Ellwood: His soul is eviscerated at some point. If Gaunt becomes who he’s meant to be (a leader, a kind man, an open man) Ellwood becomes what he never should have been, and then claws his way back from that.
They’re just boys. They’ll be in their 40s when WW2 starts. War is hell.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, War, and Death
Moderate: Antisemitism, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Suicide