George Ilsley's Reviews > In Memoriam

For quite a while, despite the smooth prose, I dreaded picking up this novel. I was not in the mood to endure the industrial slaughter of World War I. Also, I am past the point in my life where the inchoate longings of boys and men are worthy of entire wistful chapters. I found the whole thing dreary.

There is a trope in romance fiction, where the plot must always veer towards "the next worst thing." Romance you see depends on obstacles. This novel is romance, and also, in particular m/m romance. So much was focussed on yearning, suffering, and unspoken feelings.

I put the book aside for a couple days at about the midpoint. I wasn't sure I would continue. And then what happened? I gave it another go and finished the second half in one long sweeping gulp. Somehow I got caught up and swept along. The energy of the second half is more engaging. The male relationships, I felt, were also more realistic.

So I can see why people love this book. I can also see why some readers will avoid it. And I can also see where the movie is going to be particularly awful, because the worst sentimental aspects of the book will be selected and magnified.