Take a photo of a barcode or cover
jonfaith's review against another edition
4.0
The old man's smile continues to be lewd and benevolent; he is still not more interested in me than in the bare-armed woman. Chris is wholly enclosed in his intentness on his chosen crystal. No one weeps for this shattering of our world.
This was a wonderful first novel, one written before the Armistice and yet it exhibited some carelessness. This otherwise ebullient story of a shell shocked story unable to remember his wife or the last fifteen years instead longs for an earlier entanglement -- with a prole. How much description is applied (read wasted) to working class woman, her lack of fashion, her dingy home, her inability to maintain a youthful freshness. How ghastly!. Why do such people have to spoil everything? Can't they stay in their tenements?
This was a wonderful first novel, one written before the Armistice and yet it exhibited some carelessness. This otherwise ebullient story of a shell shocked story unable to remember his wife or the last fifteen years instead longs for an earlier entanglement -- with a prole. How much description is applied (read wasted) to working class woman, her lack of fashion, her dingy home, her inability to maintain a youthful freshness. How ghastly!. Why do such people have to spoil everything? Can't they stay in their tenements?
elmvaughan's review against another edition
4.0
Very enthralling take on war ptsd and shell shock and an interesting look into feminism, masculinity, grief & trauma and relationships.
mayacydney's review against another edition
I don’t care about these people, I’m sorry
paranoya6's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
felixbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Grew on me- beautiful character development and reflections on love and loss
emmastens's review against another edition
5.0
Reread to kick myself out of this reading slump. Still a delightfully strange, queer little book with so much bubbling just underneath the surface, like the repressed trauma its characters seek to "cure" in the titular soldier.
selaslavo's review against another edition
4.0
A uniquely personal take on how deeply war effects the minds of not just those who see combat, but their loved ones as well. It's easy to get lost in West's prose.
3.75/5 Hoopla
3.75/5 Hoopla
lannah_reads's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An almost bitterly ironic, psychological and philosophical exploration of the traumas (mainly) women but men as well experience during war, specifically WWI. This novel takes place away from the fighting, but it’s relevant to mention that this was the first time in history those left behind were able to actually see photographs and films from the front lines. With this in mind, West depicts this new sort of turmoil at home, exacerbated by the fact that their soldier, Chris, “returns” with the last 15 years erased from his memory. I normally do not enjoy an amnesia trope in any media, but this is done extremely well. West’s lyrical prose, and the way she depicts Chris’ condition as a sort of refuge not only from war but of the pains of “normal” life is ingenious. I spent more than half the novel feeling sorry for Kitty and wishing for Chris to be “cured”, only to then cry for his loss of happiness when he is jerked back into reality. That really, the option to either remain as he is or be “healed” all have undesirable consequences. How absolutely heart-wrenching. It raised so many remarkable questions about what it means to exist within our society, what is normal or acceptable to it.
On top of all of this, West also provides astute commentary on classism. The juxtaposition of Margaret against Kitty and Jenny, their disgust for her poverty. As well as contrasting Margaret’s intellectualism with Kitty’s shallowness and the way Jenny turns to the lavishness of Baldry Court to cope with unrest for the situation. To pack so much so beautifully into 90 pages is just astounding — even with the title itself. How when Chris first comes home it’s not really him, and then when he is finally healed it most likely means he’ll actually have to return to war. This was just phenomenal all around.
On top of all of this, West also provides astute commentary on classism. The juxtaposition of Margaret against Kitty and Jenny, their disgust for her poverty. As well as contrasting Margaret’s intellectualism with Kitty’s shallowness and the way Jenny turns to the lavishness of Baldry Court to cope with unrest for the situation. To pack so much so beautifully into 90 pages is just astounding — even with the title itself. How when Chris first comes home it’s not really him, and then when he is finally healed it most likely means he’ll actually have to return to war. This was just phenomenal all around.