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katcass'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, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
ambersoda'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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Classism
gentlemanjack'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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and War
redheadorganist'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Blood, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content and Suicide
bellsdixon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
isabelcostamurray'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Outing, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
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
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 I felt they didn't feel like real people, they, themselves, felt real---how they moved in this story's changing world reflecting something so...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
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
rebeccaquinton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail