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tea_and_reading's review
- 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
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Blood, and War
Minor: Suicide, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
dakotahreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Medical content
simoneg'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: Death and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
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
alex_olive'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
4.5
The romance is touching, and its grip kept me invested in the narrative from beginning to end. There was angst, emotion and challenges to the relationship that felt raw and real. But what really struck me were the horrifying, grounding depictions of the war. Winn tugs at the heart strings as she thrusts a cast of supporting characters into an uncertain future. I teared up a few times, and sobbed when I read the final page.
I was close to rating this five stars, but I will admit I struggled with the writing style to begin with. I appreciate Winn takes inspiration from writing of the war era, which was apparent in her prose. But I can also see how this might deter some readers, which is a shame.
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Suicide
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
gemloukay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
But their secret love for one another blossoms in the trenches and we’re left wondering whether they’ll survive to discover it for themselves. And if they do, what will happen since homosexuality was still illegal in England at that time?
It’s a stunning debut that made me root for both of the main characters alongside their ever dwindling group of friends. It’s horrifying to hear about life in the trenches and the major battles of the Great War but I realised in reading it that I don’t know much about it despite having family members that died in Gallipoli and the Somme. The numbers of dead is just staggering to think about.
Such a good book, and although it’s never going to be a cheery topic, it leaves you wanting them to survive and be able to celebrate their love for each other after the war has ended.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
sha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, War, and Injury/Injury detail
milliefitz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism