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anj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Confinement and Death of parent
proudtobeabookaholic's review against another edition
- 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
Den här debutromanen hamnar definitivt på min lista över årets bästa böcker! Jag har läst många böcker om andra världskriget, som då oftast handlat om koncentrationslägren, men få böcker om första världskriget. Här tas vi med ned i skyttegravarna och får veta exakt hur eländigt och skrämmande det var. Den romantiska bilden många unga män hade om att ta värvning förändrades väldigt snabbt när de väl var på plats. Det är fullt begripligt att de som var med vid fronten förändrades som människor, konstigt vore det annars. Det är många gånger hjärtskärande läsning, men här finns också en hel del hopp. Kamratskapen bland soldaterna får stor betydelse och skildras på ett briljant sätt av Winn.
Det finns likheter med "Den hemliga historien" och "Döda poeters sällskap" och gillar man stämningen i de böckerna så är jag rätt säker på att man kommer att tycka om "In memoriam". Trots det till synes tunga ämnet så är boken lättläst och faktiskt svår att lägga ifrån sig. Texten "lättas upp" av dikter (Ellwood är poet), brev och tidningsurklipp med listor på döda och sårade. Relationen mellan Gaunt och Ellwood är fascinerande att följa, särskilt som homosexualitet var olagligt på den tiden. Ändå var det inte ovanligt att pojkar "fördrev tiden" med varandra och det var på något vis acceptabelt. Så länge man inte blev påkommen...
Det är oftast svårare att sätta ord på varför man älskar en bok, för hur man än försöker så hittar man sällan rätt resonemang. När jag läser igenom det jag skrivit så vet jag inte om jag kommer att övertyga någon om att det här är en bok som inte får missas. Jag får helt enkelt hoppas att många ändå väljer att plocka upp den!
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content and Suicide
my_weird_bookish_heart's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
cwg's review against another edition
WW1-era Britain, private school facing mid-war. Bunch of British school boys sign up and go through hell.
Pleasant prose. Loved reading it. Rendition of war was poignant, not so much focus on the technicalities but the experiences themselves.
Result is that I appreciated the rendered characters. How they quickly come in and out of the narrative can be overwhelming at times, (hard to keep up with names) but it’s fitting in the nature of a war-era narrative. I think it was done well, overall. Even the ones who only get a bit of spotlight I could feel for. There’s a lot of mini-narratives you get to witness from beginning to end, each tale providing another perspective to the war. I felt a great sense of authenticity from it all.
And of course the main characters were great. I wasn’t quite sold on them at first, but quickly turned around as the novel went on. While in some aspects I felt they lacking, in other aspects, they felt real, acted human. I ended up feeling a lot for these characters. They were wonderful.
I may come back to this novel someday. It was lovely.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism
megelizabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.5
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.
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
emlibe's review against another edition
- 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
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
rhi_'s review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
lexcellent's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
basil_touche's review against another edition
- 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
But this is also a story about love. Gaunt and Ellwood's relationship throughout is touching as you see them pinning for each other in their youth, to their optimism for the war being destroyed once they reach the trenches and then how they slowly start to pick up the pieces after. It's interesting to see how each of their traumas display differently, and surprising too.
I listened to the audiobook and Christian Coulson does a wonderful job throughout. He gives each character a distinct voice, along with pretty accurate accents. I think it truly adds something to the book.
A haunting and beautiful debut for Winn.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
lindasoderlundd's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic