Date: 2023/09/25-2023/09/27

Genre: Historical, Fiction, War

Rating: ★★★★.75

Spice rating: —

Age rating (I think): 17+

Publication date: 2023/09/25

· 3rd person POV (sometimes 1st person)

· Medium-paced

· Found family

· Bonds of friendship

· Emotional & tragic end

· Horror of the world war

· Loss of indentity

· Mental Illnesses 

· Strong Comradeship

· Character-driven

· Survivor's guilt & grief

· Desensitization to violence

SPOILER FREE REVIEW

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First of all, it was a huge journey for me - for which I am extremely grateful to the writer - that ripped me out of the shell of calm and threw me straight into hell, into its deepest pits.

The characters have grown extremely close to my heart, I loved each one because of their own unique personalities and now it's so hard to say goodbye to them. 

This classic work takes you back in time and depicts, from the perspective of British soldiers, the horrors and cruelties of war they had to experience. It is both a warning and a value of life that has yet to be appreciated. This book really screams that; Pay attention and live as long as you can, because you can't know when it would end.

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Oh my Peter. He was brave for so long and strong for so long - that he could hold his life together - that it was superhuman.

It's incredible how full the young man at the beginning of the war was with the enthusiasm and energy to fight. Like all his companions, he believes that the war will end soon and that it will be nothing more than a getaway, but over time he loses all innocence and begins to see what war is really like. 

There is an extraordinary character development in him throughout the book, in which the two extremes contrast so strongly, as if they do not belong to the same soul.

I especially liked that no matter how much horror he saw, he was ready to fight even when he had nothing left. Throughout the novel, not only he but everyone else constantly questions the necessity and importance of war, but we don't get a real answer -  neither do we in real life - because there is simply no right answer.

Peter wasn't evil, he wasn't good, but nobody is it, he's on the broad as anyone else, he's done morally questionable things, but we all would have done the same if our lives depended on it. He had the same nightmares of death as anyone else, and that didn't make him a monster. 

His character is extremely inspiring and full of perseverance, which is exemplary. A true role model for everyone - adult, old or young - because we need to remember the past, to

prevent this from happening again in the future.

My darling boy, I love you with all my soul. You are my light in the darkest times, my obligation in the troubled sea. He deserves so much, so much better. How could a teacher full of dreams (or at least he wanted to be) be sent to the front and so rudely ripped out every spark of hope?  

He is the definition of the better deserved. He was an artist, an innocent soul, and war destroyed him. And i'll never forget that. 

Miller was their leader—or something—their beacon. He is an extremely intelligent and strategic man for whom soul matters more than fighting. He did everything in his power to keep those he loved safe when they needed a helping hand, he was there, when they needed a word, he spoke.

I can't tell you how sorry I am for what this war has done to him. He was a healer, not a warrior. My heart bleeds from knowing that he could have done anything for his daughter and wife, even if it meant plunging him into dangerous waters that would not have happened had it not been for war.

They were the bricks, the ones who lifted others up even in the darkest of times, who encouraged them to believe even when the situation was hopeless. They brought happiness and joy to a heartless war. 

He was their protector, their leader, and my only hope was that the worlds would move if he asked and everything would work out. But it didn't, even though I believed in him, if for no other reason than because he was just as soulful as anyone else.

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The plot was easy to follow, although the beginning started slowly, which is not surprising because we needed to get to know the characters, their dreams and hopes that we would get through everything ourselves.

I'm not saying I liked everything, because it wasn't; The time jumps bothered me a bit, especially since we did it daily at the beginning and months at the end.

The idea itself wasn't new, but I wasn't expecting anything else, maybe that's why I liked it so much; It was simple, yet to the point, quite familiar and real. It conveyed well all the aspects of the war I was curious about and the process of soul development.

It held me captive all the way, with so much action and desperation to find their way. I cried and worried about them as if they were my friends, celebrated with them when they won, and fell into nothingness with them when the situation became hopeless.

The wording was beautiful, really. I loved it, it was almost poethic. 

The ending was completely logical, almost necessary and predictable. It's not exactly happy, it's not sad, it's just a matter of perspective.

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In conclusion, I really liked it and I think I will try to read more books like this in the future. 

Thank you dear author for your trust, support and help in everything, I am extremely grateful to you. I'm happy to be part of your dreams.

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