In Memoriam

 

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

Fiction

2023

Finished on December 13, 2024

Rating: 5/5 (Excellent)

Publisher's Blurb:

It’s 1914, and World War I is ceaselessly churning through thousands of young men on both sides of the fight. The violence of the front feels far away to Henry Gaunt, Sidney Ellwood and the rest of their classmates, safely ensconced in their idyllic boarding school in the English countryside. News of the heroic deaths of their friends only makes the war more exciting.

Gaunt, half German, is busy fighting his own private battle–an all-consuming infatuation with his best friend, the glamorous, charming Ellwood–without a clue that Ellwood is pining for him in return. When Gaunt’s family asks him to enlist to forestall the anti-German sentiment they face, Gaunt does so immediately, relieved to escape his overwhelming feelings for Ellwood. To Gaunt’s horror, Ellwood rushes to join him at the front, and the rest of their classmates soon follow. Now death surrounds them in all its grim reality, often inches away, and no one knows who will be next.

An epic tale of both the devastating tragedies of war and the forbidden romance that blooms in its grip, In Memoriam is a breathtaking debut.

Impressive debut! I've read numerous books about World War II, but only a few set during the Great War. In Memoriam took my breath away, and I'm astonished that this gorgeous novel is the work of such a young author; she writes with the skill of a seasoned novelist.

“Don't be ridiculous. It (gas) was outlawed at the Hague Convention," I said.

I actually said that. I actually believed that the principles of our civilisation, our civilisation that has developed further than any other in the history of the world, giving us telephones and trains and flying, for God's sake, we can fly. I thought, surely such a civilisation, that prides itself on conquering the beast in man and seeks only to bend towards beauty and prosperity, surely, surely, surely, it would not shatter in such a vile and disgusting way. 

The Hague Convention sought to make war more humane. We had reached a point in history where we believed it was possible to make war humane.”

As I read Winn's war saga, I was reminded of John Boyne's tale of two soldiers in his remarkable novel, The Absolutist. Both stories examine not only the horrific effects of war on young men (many still in their early teens), but also of forbidden love during a period in history in which a soldier could not only be court-marshalled, but possibly executed for an illicit affair with another man. In addition to the budding romance between Gaunt and Ellwood, Winn draws her readers into the trenches at the front lines (including Loos and the Battle of the Somme, the latter of which was one of the bloodiest battles of the war), at times so brutally graphic that I'm sure I would turn my head if viewing the scenes on the big screen. And yet, the violence isn't gratuitous, and I came to care for all the boys, heartbroken with each new posting of death in The Preshutian Roll of Honour.

"Over the top, you cowardly bastards!” I cried, my voice breaking, because I did not want to do it, I didn’t, Elly, I knew those men, but what other choice had I? They were stupid with fear, and only more fear would move them.

and

It was dusk, on a Friday. The battered skeletons of trees tapered against the fresh starlight in No Man's Land. The sky offered curious glimpses of beauty, from time to time. The men wrote about it in their letters, describing sunsets in painstaking detail to their families, as if there was nothing to see at the front but crimson clouds and dusted rays of golden light.

With great tension, superb dialogue, and an unpredictable finale, Alice Winn has crafted an outstanding work of historical fiction that held me enthralled from beginning to end. My only disappointment is that there is no backlist of earlier novels to add to my TBR list. This is an author to watch for! 

I couldn't put it down. Highly recommend!