There are some books that are so intense I can't tear myself away; I flip through pages hungrily. Instead, this book was so overwhelmingly powerful that I had to sip it rather than devour it. The grief, love and youth in this story are gorgeously, shared by a lyrical author. This book is often more about what emotions cannot be shared, and what is impossible to convey (”They waited rather than watched as the sun set”), but then, how did this author tear my heart into pieces? I would imagine there is no creature less in touch with their emotions than a 19-year-old British boy from the early 20th century and so watching them act in the name of propriety while having access to their emotions from the narration made this novel. (”The truth was that Hayes had answered Gaunt’s letters, but not Ellwood’s, and Ellwood had pretended to be angry, rather than admit he was hurt”). The way love is conveyed as something that is both constant and shifting is beautiful (”To look at Maude and feel nothing was one thing; for it to happen with Gaunt was unbearable.”). I think it was especially well done that the approach to fear, both in relationships and war was so tied to the disillusionment of youth (”Elwood wanted to punch him. He wanted to make him bleed, and then tend to the wounds.” and ”Gaunt forced down his fear. It was amazing all the different textures fear could have. He thought he would prefer to face machine guns, then look at the papers and find Ellwood’s name there permanent as a tombstone.” ). I hope this book continues to rise in popularity. It's unusual for novelty in the historical fiction world, but Alice Winn has really done it here.
EDIT: thank you very much to Willow for the recommendation ;)