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klopnis's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This is one of the greatest literary representations of war I’ve ever read, but what pushed it into greatness for me was the fact Faulks manages to combine the truly harrowing ordeals of the trenches with moments of otherworldly bliss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Violence, Death, Gore, and War
Moderate: Pregnancy, Child death, and Domestic abuse
spirocealus54's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Amazing book- 16 and upwards tho as quite mature content
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: War and Sexual content
cthornhill's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Audiobook review
I found this book to be beautifully written, horrifyingly realistic, intensely painful, stupefying in the scope of suffering it conveys and at times a little weird. I liked the first section of the affair but found I couldn’t really get into the characters. In the second and most important section in the trenches my heart bled for Stephen and his companions, I found them “going over the top” intensely powerful and I don’t think you can come out of reading it without pacifist thoughts about the futility of war. Images from that section will stay with me for a long time. The third section in the seventies I found compelling but it missed the mark for me. Why Elizabeth go to all that trouble to get the notebooks decoded for us to skip over them in a paragraph or so? <\spoiler>. I just didn’t connect with the women in the book. They felt thinly drawn, stereotypical and illogical. And please can we ban men from writing childbirth scenes? <\spoiler>. Even some of the minor characters in the trenches felt much more real to me than the lead women. Finally, I found the ending disappointing but the final sentence very beautiful.
For a horrifying beautiful and realistic portrayal of the war I would recommend this completely. For a love story I would give it a miss.
I found this book to be beautifully written, horrifyingly realistic, intensely painful, stupefying in the scope of suffering it conveys and at times a little weird. I liked the first section of the affair but found I couldn’t really get into the characters. In the second and most important section in the trenches my heart bled for Stephen and his companions, I found them “going over the top” intensely powerful and I don’t think you can come out of reading it without pacifist thoughts about the futility of war. Images from that section will stay with me for a long time. The third section in the seventies I found compelling but it missed the mark for me.
For a horrifying beautiful and realistic portrayal of the war I would recommend this completely. For a love story I would give it a miss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Gore, and Death
sophiemundy13's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, War, and Gore
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Infidelity
sabrielsbell's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The beginning of this book really threw me for a loop. It was straight up romance and I actually went back to the Goodreads synopsis to make sure I was reading the right book. Part 2 starts the war portion of this book which is the focus throughout the rest of the story and is so incredibly well done. I couldn't believe how in-depth and strong the descriptions of life during war were. I could have done without the granddaughter's point of view and the ending seemed superfluous but the middle section make this book more than worth a read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Death, Gore, Grief, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
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