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paulawind's review
dark
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
To be perfectly honest, I expected more of a kill your gays type of a situation , especially considering time period, but I’m so happy I was wrong! The more I think about it, it was the happiest ending that would be realistic in this situation. We’ll always have Brazil, fuck the Old World.
This book was harrowing. I thought I was ready for the horrors of war after reading All Quiet on the Western Front, but this book only awoke my memories. Why do leaders decide to go to war when it is universally acknowledged that it is only bringing pain and suffering? And we do it all over again, for millennia. Maybe the Greeks got it more, when the war was more about man vs man rather than automated machines against civilians.
Coming to characters, side from them dropping like flies every other chapter, I think the author made us care about every (or almost every) death. The character development for both MCs was absolutely breaking my heart butI’m so glad they found each other back in the end and are learning to love each other again An almost complete emotional flip Gaunt and Ellwood did throughout the book hit me like a whiplash, but it was done in a way that it made sense. After all Gaunt’s prisoners of war camp chapters were the most peaceful and cheerful of the entire book, whereas Elwood was facing bloodbath every day, seeing an orchestrated massacre on a daily basis
One of my favourite moments is when Elwood is screaming poetry at Gaunt, very blatantly professing his love in all meaning but the straightforward one, and Gaunt is so deep in denial that even thought he loved him desperately too, he can’t believe it’s really happening. Those characters in a nutshell. At least for the first part of the book. Later it would be Gaunt being gentle and endlessly patient with Elwood when he struggles to say anything at all and bursting in anger, fighting his ptsd. Gosh, I love those boys so much. Going to pretend that the book ended with “And they lived happily ever after”
This book was harrowing. I thought I was ready for the horrors of war after reading All Quiet on the Western Front, but this book only awoke my memories. Why do leaders decide to go to war when it is universally acknowledged that it is only bringing pain and suffering? And we do it all over again, for millennia. Maybe the Greeks got it more, when the war was more about man vs man rather than automated machines against civilians.
Coming to characters, side from them dropping like flies every other chapter, I think the author made us care about every (or almost every) death. The character development for both MCs was absolutely breaking my heart but
One of my favourite moments is when Elwood is screaming poetry at Gaunt, very blatantly professing his love in all meaning but the straightforward one, and Gaunt is so deep in denial that even thought he loved him desperately too, he can’t believe it’s really happening. Those characters in a nutshell. At least for the first part of the book. Later it would be Gaunt being gentle and endlessly patient with Elwood when he struggles to say anything at all and bursting in anger, fighting his ptsd. Gosh, I love those boys so much. Going to pretend that the book ended with “And they lived happily ever after”
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Colonisation, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Rape, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Murder, Misogyny, Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Medical content, War, Vomit, Sexual content, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, and Racism
simixfe's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Well, let's just say I expected or at least hoped for a bit more.
I loved the beginning, liked the middle and hated the end.
I mean I should have anticipated that it would not end with Henry and Sidney moving into the british countryside, going on long walks, reciting poetry and growing old together.
Still, I at least hoped for a conversation about their true feelings. I wanted Gaunt to let his guard down and tell Ellwood that he is scared that Ellwood will grow bored of him eventually and I wanted Elly to be finally able to voice his feelings in his own words and not the words of other poets. In my Imagination, Gaunt would have stopped calling Ellwood Ellwood and finally would have used his christian name and then they would have grown old together (happily). Sadly, none of that happend, except that Gaunt called Ellwood Sidney, bjt only after Ellwood basically pressured him.
It really was not a bad book by any means. I just went into it with the wrong expectations.
To end this on a more positive note: Even though it was all quite sad, there were parts where i laughed out loud. Some scenes were absolutely hilarious and Devi was the sweetest soul. And the book had great writing and beautiful quotes. The quote that touched me most was: "You'll write more poems. They are not lost. You are the poetry."
I loved the beginning, liked the middle and hated the end.
I mean I should have anticipated that it would not end with
Still, I at least hoped for a conversation about their true feelings. I wanted Gaunt to let his guard down and tell Ellwood that he is scared that Ellwood will grow bored of him eventually and I wanted Elly to be finally able to voice his feelings in his own words and not the words of other poets. In my Imagination, Gaunt would have stopped calling Ellwood Ellwood and finally would have used his christian name and then they would have grown old together (happily). Sadly, none of that happend, except that Gaunt called Ellwood Sidney, bjt only after Ellwood basically pressured him.
It really was not a bad book by any means. I just went into it with the wrong expectations.
To end this on a more positive note: Even though it was all quite sad, there were parts where i laughed out loud. Some scenes were absolutely hilarious and Devi was the sweetest soul. And the book had great writing and beautiful quotes. The quote that touched me most was: "You'll write more poems. They are not lost. You are the poetry."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Medical content, War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Gun violence, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
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