#in memoriam alice winn spoilers

[henry-gaunts-diary]

There's so many parts of this book that destroyed me but this is one of them.

#in memoriam #alice winn #in memoriam spoilers #lgbt books #bookblr #mlm books

[spineless-lobster]

The fact that Havers and Ellwood have the same shrapnel scar makes me so fucking feral like I am fucking biting everything VIOLENTLY the BLOROS from my SHOW and my BOOK are THE SAME every piece of media I consume is the SAME and I LOVE IT

Also weird or think that Gaunt and Elly are 1. older than both of them and 2. alive during the same time as them like what do you mean they’ve interacted before that’s so silly haha what *shaking violently and starts foaming at the mouth*

#‘​I FUCKING LOVE YOUR SHRAPNEL WOUND YOU WHORE!’ I yell from the distance #<- trixie and katya reference btw #god this whole post is catered to me is annoying lmao #anyways my boyos are gay and scarred and sad and it makes me feel things #sorry I’m tired rn I’m going to bed lol #bbc ghosts #bbc ghosts spoilers #lieutenant havers #in memoriam alice winn #sidney ellwood

[fairer-tales]

rereading in memoriam is just like. huh. alice winn really went hard on foreshadowing that chest wound.

#THE AMOUNT OF TIMES IVE JUST ANNOTATED LINES AS 'foreshadowing' #AND ELLWOODS WOUND #FOAMING AT THE MOUTH #in memoriam spoilers #in memoriam #in memoriam by alice winn #henry gaunt #sidney ellwood #in memoriam alice winn

[howtobecomeadragon]

Parallels found in In Memoriam by Alice Winn

(no big spoilers!!! most quotes are from the first 100 pages of the book, and the others don't spoil any events from later on in the book)

#byler #in memoriam #alice winn

[westernfrontier]

In Memoriam

Yesterday, I bought Alice Winn's debut novel In Memoriam. I hadn't heard of her or the book and only happened upon it in Waterstones but let me tell you it was brilliant. I read the whole thing in one night and finally fell asleep after the sun had come up. In Memoriam takes place during WW1 and follows the stories of Henry Gaunt and Sidney Ellwood, from their English boarding school to the front lines of war. It is first and foremost a love story, but it also depicts the horrors of war and the friendships they forge. It's a rather sad read, as I'm sure you can imagine and Winn's writing makes it so vivid.

[SPOILERS AHEAD]

A fair portion of the opening chapters are written through letters between Ellwood and Gaunt, whilst Ellwood is still at school and Gaunt has joined up to the war effort. What marks the end of this correspondence and finally forces Ellwood to decide to leave the comfort of school to join the front lines is a letter from Gaunt where he tells Ellwood of the horrors of war. Prior to this he'd been keeping the letters quite sanitary and since we as the readers haven't seen much from Gaunt's side either, it comes as quite a shocking plunge from Ellwoods' school antics to the reality of the trenches. I would say it's the first turning point in the book and what he writes is both poignant and revealing. He describes how he saw men dying from gas (I won't go into too many gory details), the fear of going into No Man's Land and how when he stood amongst the fallen bodies of his comrades he writes 'I stood on the most God-forsaken patch of earth I ever hope exists and I thought: I wonder how Elly is.'. Whilst this is only the beginning, the letter was so memorable even by the end. Besides Gaunt and Ellwood, there were many great characters whom I came to love. Especially Gaunts friends from the Offizierslager (a type of German war camp specifically for commissioned officers) that he is sent to in the second half of the story. In particular, Gideon Devi and Archie Pritchard, with whom he attempts to escape. It's funny, there are so many names who get mentioned and then pop up later that make you go 'oh it's him!'. This section of the story also works to break up the intense front line action that the story has so far been packed with and gives you a welcome respite to relax and not worry about any of the characters you like dying horrifically. The story has a lot of dry wit comedy that makes you laugh at the most unexpected times, but this section is especially amusing in a way and knowing how things are going on Ellwoods end has you holding onto it. I also loved Hayes, whose friendship with both Gaunt and Ellwood (though he might not admit to the second one) was so important to the story. The way he supports Gaunt and goes on to look after Ellwood after he leaves. Which brings me onto the scene when Hayes gives Ellwood Gaunt's final letter, which was so perfectly written and heart-breaking (that Hayes even thinks to give it to him at all when it's only one line). And lastly, the ending. To be perfectly honest, the ending is my only point of contention with this book. Not because I think it's bad, more realistic in a way that makes me sad after everything they went through to get there. It ends on an uplifting note, suggests that things will get better but still, I feel sad for Gaunt even whilst I understand how everything has built up to make Ellwood the way that he is. I just wish they could've been a little happier, that Ellwood could've been a little less angry. And also maybe that the two could've discussed some things a bit more about the history of their relationship that I think needed to be said. But 10/10 would recommend.

#in memoriam #alice winn #sidney ellwood #henry gaunt

[wolfstarisswag]

I could go on and on about how they fit Champagne Problems so perfectly.

I could go on about how The Great War was written for them.

I could go on and on how they reminded me of Remus (Gaunt) and Sirius (Ellwood) and the utter tragedy that had befallen them.

I could also go on about how fucking depressing this book was.

*SPOILERS AHEAD ANOTHER MARKER WHEN SPOILERS ARE OVER*

They started in 1914, happy and optimistic, Ellwood recited poetry and Gaunt pretended to hate it.

They made do in 1916 and they’d lost so much of themselves, nothing like who they’d been at the start. Ellwood was unrecognizable and bitter and angry and Gaunt just gave up.

“‘I’ve decided it doesn’t matter whether you love me back,’ said Gaunt.

Some long-dead poet must have written the lines with which to answer, but Ellwood no longer knew them.”

<<I’ve put stickies on the pages with quotes I like or find horribly depressing>>

They ended in 1919 and it shattered me but not because they went separate ways but because of the uncertainty of it all. They were happy — or pretended to be for the others sake — but the war utterly destroyed them both.

“Gaunt knew Ellwood would probably never love him again. He’d accepted it long ago.”

*SPOILERS OVER*

There was so much fucking death. It was so fucking depressing all 374 pages.

Just, fuck, this book took a lot out of me.

It was a very good book, if you like historial fiction. It portrayed the war with the emotion and gore and felt so real.

It started out in boarding school and everyone was eager to enlist just like we’d learned in history class (they had no idea of the true horrors of the frontlines)

I highly recommend if you like depressing books and angst and adventure and lots and lots of death.

Like a LOT of death, people — friends they’d known for years — dying right in front of their eyes and they barely have enough emotion left to give any care to the corpse lying on the ground where their lively friend had been but moments before.

The name is ‘In Memoriam’ by Alice Winn.

Thank you for reading my rant if you did— I needed to get some of that shit off my chest after finishing the book not even fifteen minutes ago. (Half the time since then I’ve been sitting on the couch sulking)

#this book kinda fucked me up #lmao #I’m okay I swear #I love reading about that era even though it horribly depresses me every time #in memoriam #alice winn #henry gaunt #sidney ellwood #Spotify

[delightfullyatomicfest]

Spoilers for In Memoriam by Alice Winn

I really thought she was gonna make them both survive hell and then do something like get them caught together and court marshalled and shot.

I’m so glad it had a happyish ending.

#in memoriam

[allansbrainrot]

Ok so I'm reading this book rn, In Memoriam by Alice Winn, and I'm only a little more than halfway done but why is this book literally 91 whiskey but ww1 and bri'ish? (Spoilers from here) Like from both of them being officers to one of them getting lost and being an injured pow while the other thinks he's dead. I literally predicted every single major plottwist so far just from my memory of 91 whiskey. Also the distance at first when they first start fucking.

#need someone to join my conspiracy before i chew my way out of my enclosure

[henry-gaunts-diary]

Lovely (and pretty much spoiler-free) review of In Memoriam in the Guardian.

#in memoriam #alice winn #bookblr #lgbt books