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A review by luluwoohoo
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
In Memoriam by Alice Winn
☀️☀️☀️☀️⛅
Happy Pride Month!
Winn's deubt novel doesn't do much to shake up the formula of "gay men in war", but the heart and soul with which it's written ensured its place as a modern classic.
By taking something as impossibly large as the war and using it as the backdrop for a relationship so microcosmic and intimate, Winn balances these genres skillfully. She takes great care to describe the monotony and repetitiveness of the trenches, the horror and gore of No Man's Land, the surprising levity found in the prisoner-of-war camps. Each of these experiences deftly steer the main characters through inevitable highs and lows at different stages, and the structure throughout the second act works well to build tension in their separation as we wait for them to be reunited.
Both Sidney and Henry are delightfully complex and interesting characters to live inside of for a while. Their individual acknowledgement of loving each other so early on is beautifully reflected in the prose and contrasted by the dialogue, and we are hurried into the war with a pace that disappoints in the most appropriate way. With confessions left unsaid, each man changes under the stress and turmoil of war. I found myself consciously tracking their unbalanced personas throughout, hoping that they might level out in the end (if they both survived at all) I was rooting for this couple until the last page.
The explorations of grief, vanity and morality were handled well. I appreciated the conscious decision to acknowledge lesser known participants of the war through supporting characters (especially Devi) and the obvious care that was taken in researching them. My favourite juxtaposition was through the poetry - its glamorous and heroic portrayal of war, its uncompromising romanticism and its ease of communicating love. Mirroring the realities of life back against these verses added a layer of drama and poignancy that was gratifying.
This was undoubtedly a difficult read, but I'm so very glad I picked it up. It was emotional and powerful and horrible and wonderful and very much a powerhouse piece of literary fiction.
☀️☀️☀️☀️⛅
Happy Pride Month!
Winn's deubt novel doesn't do much to shake up the formula of "gay men in war", but the heart and soul with which it's written ensured its place as a modern classic.
By taking something as impossibly large as the war and using it as the backdrop for a relationship so microcosmic and intimate, Winn balances these genres skillfully. She takes great care to describe the monotony and repetitiveness of the trenches, the horror and gore of No Man's Land, the surprising levity found in the prisoner-of-war camps. Each of these experiences deftly steer the main characters through inevitable highs and lows at different stages, and the structure throughout the second act works well to build tension in their separation as we wait for them to be reunited.
Both Sidney and Henry are delightfully complex and interesting characters to live inside of for a while. Their individual acknowledgement of loving each other so early on is beautifully reflected in the prose and contrasted by the dialogue, and we are hurried into the war with a pace that disappoints in the most appropriate way. With confessions left unsaid, each man changes under the stress and turmoil of war. I found myself consciously tracking their unbalanced personas throughout, hoping that they might level out in the end (if they both survived at all) I was rooting for this couple until the last page.
The explorations of grief, vanity and morality were handled well. I appreciated the conscious decision to acknowledge lesser known participants of the war through supporting characters (especially Devi) and the obvious care that was taken in researching them. My favourite juxtaposition was through the poetry - its glamorous and heroic portrayal of war, its uncompromising romanticism and its ease of communicating love. Mirroring the realities of life back against these verses added a layer of drama and poignancy that was gratifying.
This was undoubtedly a difficult read, but I'm so very glad I picked it up. It was emotional and powerful and horrible and wonderful and very much a powerhouse piece of literary fiction.
"I'm sorry. This is not what I intended to say. What I meant to say is this: You'll write more poems. They are not lost. You are the poetry."
"The birds chattered merrily on the wet brown branches. Daffodils sunned out among the headstones. How alive it all seemed, and how gracious--to die in an era when your death brought you a brief moment at the centre of something. To be important, rather than one of millions."