fvrrest's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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? No
4.75
readerlas's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.5
rropeik's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
amelia_joan's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
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? Yes
4.25
giush's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
linbronkhorst's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
xxxladystardust's review against another edition
5.0
Firstly, this is a wonderful novel, I greatly admire the author and I cannot believe that this is truly the first book she has published.
As much as I would have loved for the whole story to be set in the boarding school and for every character to survive, the storyline is done so well and I think if everyone in the world would have to read this book there wouldn‘t be war anymore.
I truly fell in love with Gaunt and Ellwood, especially Ellwood and I must say, I wasn‘t completely satisfied with the ending, I‘d love to talk about that in the comments if sb want do!
As much as I would have loved for the whole story to be set in the boarding school and for every character to survive, the storyline is done so well and I think if everyone in the world would have to read this book there wouldn‘t be war anymore.
I truly fell in love with Gaunt and Ellwood, especially Ellwood and I must say, I wasn‘t completely satisfied with the ending, I‘d love to talk about that in the comments if sb want do!
carolinerd's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It's 1914 and Britain is at war with Germany. Public schoolboys, Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood, know that their schoolmates are being killed in action. Amidst all this uncertainty, the two boys struggle to deal with the powerful sexual feelings they have for each other.
An unusual wartime love story, which I found tender and moving. It was so heartbreaking to think that Gaunt and Ellwood were just 18 years old when they went to war. In some ways they seemed so much older than today's teenagers but in other ways so achingly young. We get to see them as playful, mischievous schoolboys and we get to see them leading men into battle. It's a striking and horrifying contrast.
It's a very well researched novel with great attention to detail. The descriptions of the horrors of war are not for the squeamish. I was particularly haunted by a graphic description of what it feels like to stick a bayonet into someone's chest and struggle to pull it out again, something that the mens' training, bayoneting sandbags, couldn't prepare them for because sandbags don't have ribs.
In another chapter, a German soldier watches an endless wave of men emerge from the enemy trenches on the first day of the Battle of the Somme and get cut down by gun fire. "It was laughable. Ernst couldn't comprehend the scale of it. He was reminded of the way his mother would wipe her finger along the window mullions, clearing away the dirt with her index finger. Sweep. A hundred men hit. Sweep. A hundred men hit. They just kept coming."
It's not an easy read nor is it a quick read. I found the pace very slow and a bit monotonous at times but I guess that was deliberate, to reflect the pace of trench life, long, dull stretches when nothing much happens.
The main characters are complex and fascinating and they really get under your skin. There are lots of minor characters to keep track of though and I admit I found some more memorable and distinguishable than others. I got a bit mixed up over who was who at times - so many names! But of course, it has to be a huge cast list really to reflect the enormity of lives lost on the battlefield, the horror of so many boys from the same public school being killed or wounded.
It is a novel that will certainly stay with me for a long time.
An unusual wartime love story, which I found tender and moving. It was so heartbreaking to think that Gaunt and Ellwood were just 18 years old when they went to war. In some ways they seemed so much older than today's teenagers but in other ways so achingly young. We get to see them as playful, mischievous schoolboys and we get to see them leading men into battle. It's a striking and horrifying contrast.
It's a very well researched novel with great attention to detail. The descriptions of the horrors of war are not for the squeamish. I was particularly haunted by a graphic description of what it feels like to stick a bayonet into someone's chest and struggle to pull it out again, something that the mens' training, bayoneting sandbags, couldn't prepare them for because sandbags don't have ribs.
In another chapter, a German soldier watches an endless wave of men emerge from the enemy trenches on the first day of the Battle of the Somme and get cut down by gun fire. "It was laughable. Ernst couldn't comprehend the scale of it. He was reminded of the way his mother would wipe her finger along the window mullions, clearing away the dirt with her index finger. Sweep. A hundred men hit. Sweep. A hundred men hit. They just kept coming."
It's not an easy read nor is it a quick read. I found the pace very slow and a bit monotonous at times but I guess that was deliberate, to reflect the pace of trench life, long, dull stretches when nothing much happens.
The main characters are complex and fascinating and they really get under your skin. There are lots of minor characters to keep track of though and I admit I found some more memorable and distinguishable than others. I got a bit mixed up over who was who at times - so many names! But of course, it has to be a huge cast list really to reflect the enormity of lives lost on the battlefield, the horror of so many boys from the same public school being killed or wounded.
It is a novel that will certainly stay with me for a long time.
ksaratom's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
5.0
what an undeniably grievous novel.
it was tender yet haunting. gruesome yet ruthless. the themes of love and masculinity contrasted with war and violence were powerful parallels.
there was just something in the way the characters and relationships were depicted. it was raw, emotional, and sincere. despite their flaws, I loved gaunt and ellwood so much.