Simon & Schuster, May 3, 2016.
Five Stars
Cleave has a major talent for language – he showed it
off in his first novel Incendiary,
and again in Little Bee. His talent
is here again in full force, but in this new novel it is more traditional, in a
British war time stiff-upper-lip kind of way. His writing is still clever,
smart and fresh, and laugh out loud funny. I love a good British turn of phrase,
silly as they sometimes seem, and they are sprinkled throughout this novel in a
wonderfully fun way. Cleave is once again playing with language, but this time
in a more subtle way.
In 1939, Mary is a young socialite, determined to
participate in the war effort. Her naivety is difficult to read, as it is representative
of all the young people who wanted to “do their part” during the war, seeing
the whole thing as an adventure, and unaware of how bad it will really be. She volunteers
to work as a teacher for children who have been evacuated to the English countryside,
but she ends up remaining in London with the kids who were left behind, seen as
unfit for evacuation because of illness, disability, or, like her favourite
student Zachary, because of the colour of their skin. Mary begins the novel as
a thoughtless, upper class snob, but you can’t help but admire her as she
develops into a strong, unique woman.
Mary begins dating Tom, an education administrator
who did not enlist as a soldier because his job is deemed to be a necessary
service. At first he is glad, but later he becomes depressed because he is not
contributing to the war effort. His best friend Alastair has just enlisted,
thinking he is off to a great adventure – but he too soon becomes disillusioned
with his role in the war, as he watches his friends become injured or simply
disappear after stepping on a mine. When Alastair has a brief visit home, he
becomes involved in a love triangle with Mary and Tom – he doesn’t want to hurt
his best friend, but Alastair cannot deny his feelings for Mary.
The relationship between Mary and Alastair is loosely
based on letters written between Cleave’s own grandparents during the war,
although he admits that the story evolved beyond his original concept. Everyone Brave is Forgiven is different
from Cleave’s earlier novels due to the historical setting, but he once again
confronts important political issues. He addresses social injustices that are not
always considered in the shadow of World War II, including the poor treatment
towards the disenfranchised British people – the poor, the black, and the
disabled. Mary’s tossing aside of the prejudices of her social class make her
the real hero of this story.
Alastair is probably the most deeply developed character
in the novel. Before the war, he was an art restorer – when he finds himself
stationed on a small island during a reprieve from battle, he ends up restoring
a painting from the local church that was damaged by bombs. He is desperate to
hold onto his former self and the symbols of civilization, amidst the horrors
of war. This is especially shown during the scene in which Alastair steps in to
save a German pilot who has crash-landed on the island. He is trying to do a
small bit of good, humanizing the enemy – but the scene ends violently, and the
consequences of his actions are disturbing, even as they propel the action of
the novel forward to its inevitable conclusion.
Cleave manages to put a human face to the war, through
the drastically different experiences of Tom, Alastair, Mary and Zachary. None
of the characters has a truly happy ending, because simplistic happiness is not
possible after their wartime experiences. More importantly, the ending is
authentic, and they manage to forge a new kind of life for themselves. It is
bittersweet – predictable overall, but surprising in the details. My only
complaint is that there is another potential novel to be found in Zachary’s
story, and I hope to read it someday.
I received this novel from Simon & Schuster and
NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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