elementarymydear's review
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This was such a frustrating read for me because it had so much potential!
Some elements of this book were done brilliantly. The relationship between Gaunt and Ellwood, the two main characters, was electric, and the tensions between them felt very tangible. This book also had one of the most brutal descriptions of trench warfare I’ve read, and it was extremely effective. The way the ‘In Memoriam’ pages were included throughout helped to emphasise the extent of the devastation, and give a sense of what it would have been like to live through the First World War.
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This book didn’t have the best start with me, as I really didn’t like the first chapter! I found the two main characters, particularly Ellwood, very childish to begin with, written more like primary school than sixth form students. After the first couple of chapters though I did warm to them. The writing style was generally enjoyable, and there were a few passages in particular that were stunningly written.
I did have my issues with this book though. The first is that we twice (twice!!) had a character be killed off, only for it to be revealed much later on that they were a prisoner of war. The first time, it felt a bit gimmicky but it didn’t both me too much; the second time, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. There is also a scene where the only character of colour sacrifices himself for his white friends, which should have at least been picked up in editing.
At about the 60% mark, we are introduced to a whole host of new characters, some of whom the main character is lifelong friends with and is very fond of. I would much rather have had that backstory planted earlier on in the book, rather than suddenly feel like I’m in a whole other book with another exposition.
I’ve mentioned this before in a couple of other reviews, but one of the big challenges with historical LGBTQ fiction is how to land that happy ending (and whether to include one at all). The ending felt too neat and convenient for me, and more importantly, didn’t fit with the rest of the book tonally. The convenient appearance of a grand opportunity for both of them on another continent from a knowing friend felt at odds with the struggle and darkness in the rest of the book, and a different (still happy and hopeful!) ending might have fitted slightly better.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed by this book. While some of it was a very good read, it was let down a few too many times at other points.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
Some elements of this book were done brilliantly. The relationship between Gaunt and Ellwood, the two main characters, was electric, and the tensions between them felt very tangible. This book also had one of the most brutal descriptions of trench warfare I’ve read, and it was extremely effective. The way the ‘In Memoriam’ pages were included throughout helped to emphasise the extent of the devastation, and give a sense of what it would have been like to live through the First World War.
📚Blog📖YouTube📖Instagram📚
This book didn’t have the best start with me, as I really didn’t like the first chapter! I found the two main characters, particularly Ellwood, very childish to begin with, written more like primary school than sixth form students. After the first couple of chapters though I did warm to them. The writing style was generally enjoyable, and there were a few passages in particular that were stunningly written.
I did have my issues with this book though. The first is that we twice (twice!!) had a character be killed off, only for it to be revealed much later on that they were a prisoner of war. The first time, it felt a bit gimmicky but it didn’t both me too much; the second time, I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. There is also a scene where the only character of colour sacrifices himself for his white friends, which should have at least been picked up in editing.
At about the 60% mark, we are introduced to a whole host of new characters, some of whom the main character is lifelong friends with and is very fond of. I would much rather have had that backstory planted earlier on in the book, rather than suddenly feel like I’m in a whole other book with another exposition.
I’ve mentioned this before in a couple of other reviews, but one of the big challenges with historical LGBTQ fiction is how to land that happy ending (and whether to include one at all). The ending felt too neat and convenient for me, and more importantly, didn’t fit with the rest of the book tonally. The convenient appearance of a grand opportunity for both of them on another continent from a knowing friend felt at odds with the struggle and darkness in the rest of the book, and a different (still happy and hopeful!) ending might have fitted slightly better.
Overall, I was a bit disappointed by this book. While some of it was a very good read, it was let down a few too many times at other points.
I received a free copy for review. All opinions are my own.
tesslw's review
emotional
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bellamayhoward's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
satellitesiken's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Winn managed to depict the senseless cruelty and brutality of the war in such a precise and pacifist manner, while simultaneously webbing the tender love story of two young public-school-boys-turned-soldiers pining for each other into the midst of it — with some gorgeous prose — and that is no small feat.
-
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher & author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Out on March 9th 2023.
Full review to come nearer to publication!
-
Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher & author for this ARC in exchange for an honest review! Out on March 9th 2023.
Full review to come nearer to publication!
joawright's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
mic_lina22's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
bookshelvesandtealeaves's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
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? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you to Penguin UK and Netgalley for allowing me to read a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Let me tell you, this book WRECKED me. I am obsessed and I shall never recover.
Alice Winn paints an achingly beautiful, vivid, horrific story with In Memoriam. It’s a story of love, of fear, of grief, and of human complexities. And obviously, it’s a story about war, one that doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities while still managing to feel hopeful at times and funny at others.
Gaunt and Ellwood are both such vibrant, realistic characters with so much depth to them that it feels more like a true story than fiction. Their lives together, then separate, then together again felt consistently like reading about close personal friends and all I could hope was that they would be reunited so the three of us could be together again. I felt so deeply connected to these characters that it was hard to want to put the book down, and hard to turn that final page.
I think what I’m most grateful for is the ending. Both these boys (and they really are only boys) come back from the war broken and damaged and changed almost beyond recognition, and yet they still get a hopeful ending, if not a happy one. That last line had me crying happy, hopeful, messy tears.
This is a beautiful piece of historical fiction and I can not recommend it enough. I’m sure this will remain one of my favourite reads of the year.
fran_mcbookface's review against another edition
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
mint_the_muffin's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-ARC for an honest review.
There's probably a poem for this feeling inside me out there somewhere but not in my head, which is utterly empty and numb.
This book. What a masterpiece.
I've read many fictions about wars. Depending on the author's prose and the theme of the story, the same war can be portrayed with different focuses and in different ways. But I've never read a version of WWI that is as bleak, gloomy, heart-wrenching, and horrific as this book. In this story, we follow a bunch of English boys in an elite boarding school. When we first met them, they were spoiled, annoying, boyishly gallant, and so, so full of life. They spent their days squandering money, hitting each other, writing bad poems, and their greatest agony in life was catching feeling for their friend. After all, homosexuality was still illegal in England at the time. Still, to the boys, England was the best nation in the world that should rightfully colonize everyone else, and these boys just can't wait to be in the front line, fighting for their country, becoming the heroes they only ever read about in classics and romantic poems.
And then, one-by-one, they eventually enlisted, and what followed was the kind of horror unlike anything they ever imagined. The story did not shy away from the most graphic depiction of any kinds of violence. The prose is at times very matter-of-fact and dry, which somehow makes the truth more truthful and hits that much harder. Alice Winn is a genius at using different types of proses and formats to construct the roller coaster of emotions in this story. The juxtaposition between the straightforward facts and the flowery poems gave me whiplash. The meaningful switches from standard narration to letters to newsletter managed to condition me to hold my breath in dread. It was frightfully immersive to look through the list of the deceased and wounded with one eye closed, praying that the characters you care for had not died.
Despite the immersive setting, this book is very character-driven. And it's a testament to the author's amazing skill when every character she crafted broke my heart one way or another. The protagonists, Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood, had been best friends and mutually pining after each other for so many years. Their relationship, like everything else, is affected by the war and their traumas. Their emotions are ugly, their yearning raw, and their love seemingly pointless. But theirs is a love story amidst hatred, of gentleness amidst violence. It is all the ugliness that makes their story beautiful. I love them both so, so much.
I don't know how to talk about the supporting characters without having a breakdown. This book didn't turn me into a sobbing mess, but it carved a total void in my heart where some characters - even those that only appears for a half chapter - had been alive and then gone. It's the first time I understand that, if I can still cry because of a book, then I'm quite alright, because when I'm truly devastated, there's only silence, which was what happened when I turned the last page of this book. The war and the characters have all felt so real, so close. I don't think I've fully come out of it yet. And I don't know if I ever will.
There's probably a poem for this feeling inside me out there somewhere but not in my head, which is utterly empty and numb.
This book. What a masterpiece.
I've read many fictions about wars. Depending on the author's prose and the theme of the story, the same war can be portrayed with different focuses and in different ways. But I've never read a version of WWI that is as bleak, gloomy, heart-wrenching, and horrific as this book. In this story, we follow a bunch of English boys in an elite boarding school. When we first met them, they were spoiled, annoying, boyishly gallant, and so, so full of life. They spent their days squandering money, hitting each other, writing bad poems, and their greatest agony in life was catching feeling for their friend. After all, homosexuality was still illegal in England at the time. Still, to the boys, England was the best nation in the world that should rightfully colonize everyone else, and these boys just can't wait to be in the front line, fighting for their country, becoming the heroes they only ever read about in classics and romantic poems.
And then, one-by-one, they eventually enlisted, and what followed was the kind of horror unlike anything they ever imagined. The story did not shy away from the most graphic depiction of any kinds of violence. The prose is at times very matter-of-fact and dry, which somehow makes the truth more truthful and hits that much harder. Alice Winn is a genius at using different types of proses and formats to construct the roller coaster of emotions in this story. The juxtaposition between the straightforward facts and the flowery poems gave me whiplash. The meaningful switches from standard narration to letters to newsletter managed to condition me to hold my breath in dread. It was frightfully immersive to look through the list of the deceased and wounded with one eye closed, praying that the characters you care for had not died.
Despite the immersive setting, this book is very character-driven. And it's a testament to the author's amazing skill when every character she crafted broke my heart one way or another. The protagonists, Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood, had been best friends and mutually pining after each other for so many years. Their relationship, like everything else, is affected by the war and their traumas. Their emotions are ugly, their yearning raw, and their love seemingly pointless. But theirs is a love story amidst hatred, of gentleness amidst violence. It is all the ugliness that makes their story beautiful. I love them both so, so much.
I don't know how to talk about the supporting characters without having a breakdown. This book didn't turn me into a sobbing mess, but it carved a total void in my heart where some characters - even those that only appears for a half chapter - had been alive and then gone. It's the first time I understand that, if I can still cry because of a book, then I'm quite alright, because when I'm truly devastated, there's only silence, which was what happened when I turned the last page of this book. The war and the characters have all felt so real, so close. I don't think I've fully come out of it yet. And I don't know if I ever will.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Injury/injury detail, Violence, War, Grief, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Antisemitism, Classism, Colonisation, and Racism