A review by damianwayne
In Memoriam by Alice Winn

dark emotional reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I hear the breaking bodies scream.
Thankful I have hit my mark, 
I slither through the trenching dark.
You bleed to death in all my dreams.

I knew I would love this the moment I began reading since two of my favourite books are Atonement and Maurice. I was right (I often painfully am). This book is harrowing (as was Atonement), but the effects of war itself and the damaging and corrupt nature of it are far more focused on than in Atonement, where the effects of the war are specific to Robbie, and are seen more as a fallout and focus on the impact Briony had on his life. War breaks Ellwood in every single way; war breaks Robbie Turner by killing him, but ultimately not his hope. It is not the war itself that drives him partially insane, but the thirst and pain and nightmares.

As for Maurice, I suppose In Memoriam’s ending is happy (hopeful) but not nearly to the level of Maurice and Alec. Maurice is an inherent tragedy as a contemporary piece of fiction that must be a fantasy for the sake of its ending and lack of the drafted monologue due to the impending threat of the First World War. In Memoriam seems like a logical follow up in that sense. Part of my adoration for Maurice led me to initially question their moving to Brazil (‘until my death or England’s’) but it has grown on me as the natural progression of Ellwood’s disgust with England and the need for them to avoid the fallout of World War Two.

There is a tragedy in the ending of this book despite all the hope it left me with. It is simply the notion that Ellwood loved Brazil, and his life he created whilst there, but simultaneously Gaunt was aware that Ellwood would never be able to love him again. Whilst that itself is tragic, I think about how much Ellwood grew to despise England and everything surrounding the country, which is why there is such a barrier preventing him from loving Gaunt. Henry spends so much of this novel shying away from his German heritage and instead consistently— and persistently— reminding everyone that he’s not only British first, but essentially exclusively British. And that is something that will never change, in the same way he ends up longing for both Ellwood’s love and Europe, meaning that he’s made himself content with a life with many imperfections. I can only hope a steep incline in progress occurs post-canon and their love is soon rectified.

The biggest personal tragedy is perhaps how I have been consistently searching for which song from Crying, Laughing, Loving, Lying would be most fitting (I decided upon ´Till Forever and Fool Me A Good Night) only for the title track to be the absolutely most applicable to Ellwood at the end: ‘That’s why I, I don’t cry’, ‘That’s why I can’t love you now’
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