Lezersrecensie
Devastating and breathtakingly beautiful
This book is both devastating and breathtakingly beautiful. It explores the intense love between two 17-year-old boys at a boarding school – they both think it’s unrequited – and how the atrocities of war affect and change people. They and their friends go to the front of WWI one by one.
From the first page I fell in love and got completely sucked into the story. The characters were all so distinct, felt real and had depth. I grew attached to them and felt all their struggles and emotions so much that I cried a lot during the book (and I rarely cry from a book!). Therefore the reading experience was also quite tense, as I was constantly worried about what might happen to the characters. The bond between Gaunt and Ellwood was so special, unlike anything I’ve ever read. Intense and beautiful and it ranged from fierceness to tenderness.
The writing style was perfect. Not only did I enjoy the story, but the language itself as well. Still it read very easily. It made every emotional tangible and paints vivid and haunting pictures in your mind. It made me feel like I was there.
All was well balanced with tenderness, beauty, terror, sadness and also a lot of humour, which was a delight. I particularly enjoyed the humour in the dialogues, which I found overall strong and entertaining.
Oh, and the pacing was also on point. Fast, but definitely not too fast. I was constantly compelled to keep reading.
I am deeply impressed. Honestly, I had forgotten it was even possible for a book to make you feel this way. It will stay with me for a long time and is definitely a new all-time favourite. I can’t wait to re-read it and I’m looking forward to future work of Alice Winn.
In case I wasn’t clear enough already: GO READ THIS BOOK, IT’S AMAZING!!!
From the first page I fell in love and got completely sucked into the story. The characters were all so distinct, felt real and had depth. I grew attached to them and felt all their struggles and emotions so much that I cried a lot during the book (and I rarely cry from a book!). Therefore the reading experience was also quite tense, as I was constantly worried about what might happen to the characters. The bond between Gaunt and Ellwood was so special, unlike anything I’ve ever read. Intense and beautiful and it ranged from fierceness to tenderness.
The writing style was perfect. Not only did I enjoy the story, but the language itself as well. Still it read very easily. It made every emotional tangible and paints vivid and haunting pictures in your mind. It made me feel like I was there.
All was well balanced with tenderness, beauty, terror, sadness and also a lot of humour, which was a delight. I particularly enjoyed the humour in the dialogues, which I found overall strong and entertaining.
Oh, and the pacing was also on point. Fast, but definitely not too fast. I was constantly compelled to keep reading.
I am deeply impressed. Honestly, I had forgotten it was even possible for a book to make you feel this way. It will stay with me for a long time and is definitely a new all-time favourite. I can’t wait to re-read it and I’m looking forward to future work of Alice Winn.
In case I wasn’t clear enough already: GO READ THIS BOOK, IT’S AMAZING!!!
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