Book Synopsis:
In 1914, war feels far away to Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood. They’re too young to enlist, and anyway, Gaunt is fighting his own private battle – an all-consuming infatuation with the dreamy, poetic Ellwood – not having a clue that his best friend is in love with him, always has been.
When Gaunt’s mother asks him to enlist in the British army to protect the family from anti-German attacks, he signs up immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings. But Ellwood and their classmates soon follow him into the horrors of trenches. Though Ellwood and Gaunt find fleeting moments of solace in one another, their friends are dying in front of them, and at any moment they could be next.
An epic tale of the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut.
My Review:
In Memoriam is a gripping, emotional read that is one of the best books I’ve ever read. The story follows Gaunt and Ellwood from their idyllic time as public school boys to the horror of the trenches in World War 1.
Firstly this author has clearly done her research as I often felt that I was experiencing the horror and fear of the trenches alongside the characters. The author definitely doesn’t hold back in her vivid descriptions of trench life which were quite hard to read at times. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book that lays bare the full horror of what the soldiers must have experienced. It broke my heart to realise that most of the soldiers were ordinary men with no military experience thrown into this nightmare situation.
This book is a truly emotional read, not just because of the conditions of the trenches and what was experienced there but also because of the beautiful relationship between the two characters. It was lovely to be able to watch it grow and change through the different places, though heartbreaking too at times. I found that I had quickly grown closer to them and was fully invested in their relationship, hoping that they would have a happy ending. When I say this book was emotional, however, I don’t just mean it was sad as I also felt a lot of anger whist reading. Anger at the continuation of going over the top when it obviously wasn’t working, anger at seeing the effect the fighting was having on the men, anger at the stupid class system still mattering whist in the trenches and that you could pull rank to help settle childhood squabbles. I honestly can’t believe this was allowed to happen and felt numb with disbelief as I read.
I found this book very gripping and I soon found the book hard to put down as I was so invested in the characters. I had to keep reading to find out if Gaunt, Ellwood and their friends were ok. The tension in the book was cleverly increased at times by events during the fighting or by the mention of a place where I knew a battle had taken place. There were lots of unexpected twists in this book as you can probably guess in a book about a war, which seemed to happen naturally and often made me cry when I realised what they meant. The inclusion of the In Memoriam pages was also a clever inclusion and I had a lump in my throat as I scanned the pages, hoping that none of the friends had been hurt.
The ending was brilliantly done and while I had hoped it would end slightly differently maybe that wouldn’t have been realistic. It was definitely a hopeful ending and I closed the book sad to leave all the characters behind.
If you are a fan of historical fiction then you need to read this book. It is just brilliant and I have continued to think about it long after reading.
About The Author:
Alice Winn is the author of In Memoriam. She grew up in Paris and was educated in the UK. She has a degree in English literature from Oxford University. She lives in Brooklyn.
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