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A review by brittaniethekid
The Larks Still Bravely Singing by Aster Glenn Gray
4.0
I'm a sucker for a post-World War hurt/comfort story and this is right up that alley.
The narrative goes back and forth from Robert and David's time as private school boys in the English country to after WWI where they have both been injured and hospitalized. David grew up in the Dakotas in America but when his parents die in an accident, he's sent back to England to be with his remaining family and for schooling. Because of this unique background, he doesn't quite fit in but finds comfort in a fellow book lover Robert, who is ever the stereotypical posh English boy. They develop a friendship - with each boy wanting more but not making the move - until the day they're both shipped off to fight in The Great War.
Later in time, Robert's family home has been turned into a hospital for soldiers returned to England, with Robert himself being a patient after losing a leg, and he's shocked to see his old school friend (and crush) David - sans one hand. They eventually rekindle their old friendship over books and just enjoying each other's company, while also learning that they still want more.
This shows the typical trope of complete lack of communication between men but it keeps the story going. A lot of time passes throughout the novel, with letters written between the men but never saying what they actually want. David inherits a home from the aunts he returned to England for and invites Robert to stay. It's right on the beach in an idyllic English village and, since returning from the trauma of war and injury, both need the respite. But now they also have the privacy and connection to finally make something more of their friendship.
This has the typical historical romance MM tropes of homophobia and the fear in a time when it's still very illegal, self-loathing, lack of communication, and English stiff upper lip but I enjoyed the slow melancholy tone of it and the descriptions of a beautiful seaside village and David's cats.
The narrative goes back and forth from Robert and David's time as private school boys in the English country to after WWI where they have both been injured and hospitalized. David grew up in the Dakotas in America but when his parents die in an accident, he's sent back to England to be with his remaining family and for schooling. Because of this unique background, he doesn't quite fit in but finds comfort in a fellow book lover Robert, who is ever the stereotypical posh English boy. They develop a friendship - with each boy wanting more but not making the move - until the day they're both shipped off to fight in The Great War.
Later in time, Robert's family home has been turned into a hospital for soldiers returned to England, with Robert himself being a patient after losing a leg, and he's shocked to see his old school friend (and crush) David - sans one hand. They eventually rekindle their old friendship over books and just enjoying each other's company, while also learning that they still want more.
This shows the typical trope of complete lack of communication between men but it keeps the story going. A lot of time passes throughout the novel, with letters written between the men but never saying what they actually want. David inherits a home from the aunts he returned to England for and invites Robert to stay. It's right on the beach in an idyllic English village and, since returning from the trauma of war and injury, both need the respite. But now they also have the privacy and connection to finally make something more of their friendship.
This has the typical historical romance MM tropes of homophobia and the fear in a time when it's still very illegal, self-loathing, lack of communication, and English stiff upper lip but I enjoyed the slow melancholy tone of it and the descriptions of a beautiful seaside village and David's cats.