louandlife's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars
Another book read for my dissertation. It was a decent book. I wouldn't have picked it up were if it were for fun, but it was an alright read. It took me a while to read it, because I didn't want to read it. I like it because it's got a slightly happier ending then the books/poetry I have read. Nobody dies, so I don't feel depressed!
Another book read for my dissertation. It was a decent book. I wouldn't have picked it up were if it were for fun, but it was an alright read. It took me a while to read it, because I didn't want to read it. I like it because it's got a slightly happier ending then the books/poetry I have read. Nobody dies, so I don't feel depressed!
the_s_lightacademic's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars
such an interesting look at different types of love, perspectives, and the struggle of figuring out what "the right thing to do" really is. this was very heartbreaking and I genuinely wasn't sure whose side to be on.
such an interesting look at different types of love, perspectives, and the struggle of figuring out what "the right thing to do" really is. this was very heartbreaking and I genuinely wasn't sure whose side to be on.
mimster's review against another edition
4.5
Extraordinarily powerful and complex despite its brevity
dimmie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
laura6891's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
katemc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Such a beautiful novella. West’s writing is GORGEOUS. I was highlighting so many sentences and paragraphs in the e-book. It’s definitely on the more flowery side but the words she uses feel so precise. She renders her settings and scenes so beautifully.
There are also so many subtle, powerful moments, especially in how Chris’ amnesiac self is juxtaposed with his “real” self/life. The final paragraph… “he wore a dreadful, decent smile… when we had lifted the yoke of our embraces from his shoulders he would go back to that flooded trench in Flanders, under that sky more full of flying death than clouds, to that No-Man’s-Land where bullets fall like rain on the rotting faces of the dead. … ‘He’s cured!’ She whispered slowly. ‘He’s cured!’”
This really makes me want to read more West!
There are also so many subtle, powerful moments, especially in how Chris’ amnesiac self is juxtaposed with his “real” self/life. The final paragraph… “he wore a dreadful, decent smile… when we had lifted the yoke of our embraces from his shoulders he would go back to that flooded trench in Flanders, under that sky more full of flying death than clouds, to that No-Man’s-Land where bullets fall like rain on the rotting faces of the dead. … ‘He’s cured!’ She whispered slowly. ‘He’s cured!’”
This really makes me want to read more West!
summerside's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kristinana's review against another edition
3.0
This is a very short, easy to read novella (I wouldn't call it a novel), Rebecca West's first. Having read (and loved) The Fountain Overflows, one of her later works, I was surprised by the melodramatic tone of this novel, as one of the strengths of The Fountain Overflows, in my opinion, is the way West conveys extraordinary events in realistic prose. I also prefer TFO for its spunky, funny heroine, so different from the narrator of this story, who seems primarily to observe rather than act. But The Return of the Soldier still makes for a good melodrama with some strong images, and given West was only 19 when she wrote it, I gotta hand it to her.
renie's review against another edition
4.0
The writing is sublime, even if the odious snobbery of the two main women characters seems outdated now.
lenavasilyeva's review against another edition
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0