A review by readsbyklng
In Memoriam by Alice Winn

challenging dark emotional 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

How alive it all seemed, and how gracious—to die in an era where your death bought you a brief moment at the centre of something. To be important, rather than one of millions

Sometimes, when I briefly pause to take in what’s happening within the story, my mind flashes briefly back to the snippets of their life before war. The warm laughter of friends, sneaky glances, and hidden declarations of affection. How everything came tumbling down due to a war that never really benefitted anyone despite how the state paints them to be in memoriam. 

This book ripped my heart out and placed it at the center of the battlefield. The story was violent, raw, harrowing but at the same time you can’t look away from all the carnage. Winn’s writing swept me off my feet with her prose. The use of non-linear timeline and point of view switch made the story engaging and all the more human.

I love how the story painfully reminds you how devastating war is for everyone. From our main characters, Gaunt, and Ellwood, all the way through the unseen characters written in memoriam. War never takes any prisoners. Reading through the effects of war (physically and mentally) was painful to read. You can’t look away feel the weight of their responsibilities and the weight of what they bargained for every time they go out to attack. War was violent and quick. It left me gripping up until the last chapter, fearing that something may have happened to separate the two of them again. I treasured the bonds that grew between boys and men united and forged from the throes of war—of deep friendships and short-term camaraderies. 

The love. God, the love between Gaunt and Ellwood went through so much. From juvenile prejudice at their boarding school, internalized homophobia, to licking each other’s wound at the end of it all. It was beautiful having something ike that through war and death.

The book made me cry, laugh, angry, and ache for characters no matter how small their page time is. It was truly a gripping read. I hope other people will also get to enjoy and relish the love shared by Ellwood and Gaunt and all the characters in the story 
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