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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
Beautifully written, but just waaaay too long and drawn out for me. Loved learning more about WWII history in Malta, but otherwise found the book tedious and long-winded.
It felt scattered. Or maybe that's the way of war. My least favorite of Chris Cleave's books, but still a good read.
I think this book should be called Everyone Brave is Either Killed or Maimed. I've read a lot of books in this genre lately and the story line goes a bit too dramatic and it ends oddly. When the fifth character was killed or maimed, I just about had it. The author is almost trying too hard to make us want to continue read this book. If you want to read a good recent book in this genre, I suggest All the Light We Cannot See by Anthony Doerr.
This book started out great, I really enjoyed this perspective of World War II. The characters were believable, the setting beautiful and often sad, the writing was wonderful but something was missing for me. While it was nice to read a story of London from the view of those left in the city including children who were unwanted in the country, Cleve left so many questions unanswered. Why show the lives of some of these characters only to completely leave off any kind of wrap up for them. I don't know if I would have read it if I had realized he didn't even take the story to the end of the war. I feel like I may have missed the point.
I wanted very much to like this, and at times I did. The writing is really beautiful and the setting of London during the Blitz lends itself to novels so well. But it's so LONG and drawn out and very depressing. I'm under no illusions that war is anything BUT depressing, but sad things just kept happening and it wasn't the right read for me at this time.
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Everyone Brave is Forgiven is utterly magnificent and Mary is completely unstoppable.
Based on the lives of his grandparents, Chris Cleave's book with its gentle writing style is understated in the best and most beautiful way possible. Nothing is overdone, though so much happens in this book that it's hard to talk about any of it without giving something away, because of this, Everyone Brave is a book that you will relish reading again as you spot something that you didn't the first (or even second) time around.
If you only read one book in 2016, it should be this one.
Based on the lives of his grandparents, Chris Cleave's book with its gentle writing style is understated in the best and most beautiful way possible. Nothing is overdone, though so much happens in this book that it's hard to talk about any of it without giving something away, because of this, Everyone Brave is a book that you will relish reading again as you spot something that you didn't the first (or even second) time around.
If you only read one book in 2016, it should be this one.
Another book from the Genealogy Gems bookclub, this one did a great job of portraying the losses and destruction of war. It definitely kept me guessing - just when I thought it would go in a predictable directions, it would shift gears. The parallel stories moved the action around and along. Not all of the characters seemed real to me - but I could find something to care about with each one. Each chapter title is a month of the war. I was stunned to realize how much Britain, and especially London, had suffered before the Americans joined the effort. The Blitz has always seemed more of a lark to me. But it must have terrifying and more destructive than my modern view of London shows. I will be forever grateful to the British people for fighting on alone against hopeless odds. I had no idea...
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were well drawn. But it is sad. Cleve doesn't pretty up WW2 and I learned a bit about what it might have been like to be in London during the blitz.
I really enjoyed listening to the audiobook. Fascinating story