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.
We all know World War I, but Winn takes us into the war in a way I've never explored it before. It's clear that the novel is incredibly well-researched, and I enjoyed how the boys' penchant for poetry and philosophy was contrasted so sharply with the horrors of war. Winn leans into the power of detail—the smell of mud and reused brown-stained rags, and the horrors committed against bodies all give a deeper texture to the novel. Winn's writing is propulsive. Even when sharing the goriest detail, you won't be able to look away and learn more about what comes next and who will survive. I was horrified and moved simultaneously, a true feat in WWI(I) fiction, Winn reminding us that we shouldn't be desensitized to this history, and to the actions that still happen today.
Ellwood's and Gaunt's story is romantic despite the amount of horror that colors their coming-of-age years. Having met in boarding school, loving one another in the comforts of the English countryside looks vastly different than loving one another in the throes of violence. Winn expertly builds their characters, having readers believing in Ellwood's and Gaunt's humanity, motivations, fears—and then just as masterfully Winn extrapolates the effect the war has on each of those things for the two main characters. And still, the novel comes to a very satisfying close, and a hopeful one at that. I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say much more. But truly following Ellwood's and Gaunt's journey from schoolboy days to a war zone is one that I won't soon forget.
Winn and the publishing team do a fantastic job incorporating newspaper and multimedia into the novel, giving In Memoriam a layer of authenticity. More than just fantastic character development, we see the characters interacting with one another through letters, seeing what they do and do not reveal through the written word. Newspapers describe the deaths at the front, listing name after name, recreating for the reader the anticipation and fear families and friends must have felt scanning those papers for the names of their loves ones. Readers are plunged into Ellwood's and Gaunt's world through this newspaper, and tracking how the world changes each time a newspaper appears on page is heart-wrenching, and makes it feel impossible that this war really, truly happened, and that such atrocities were committed against other people. I always love a book that incorporates elements like newspaper and letters, and I loved how it is done in In Memoriam.
This book was absolutely beautiful and devastating, and I hope that Alice Winn writes more novels. Until then, you can find her online at AliceWinn.com or on Instagram @alicewinnauthor.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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