Everyone Brave Is Forgiven
By Chris Cleave
Genre: Historical Fiction
Recommended Ages: 17+

It’s 1939 and Mary, a young socialite, is determined to shock her blueblood political family by volunteering for the war effort. She is assigned as a teacher to children who were evacuated from London and have been rejected by the countryside because they are infirm, mentally disabled, or—like Mary’s favorite student, Zachary—have colored skin.

Tom, an education administrator, is distraught when his best friend, Alastair, enlists. Alastair, an art restorer, has always seemed far removed from the violent life to which he has now condemned himself. But Tom finds distraction in Mary, first as her employer and then as their relationship quickly develops in the emotionally charged times. When Mary meets Alastair, the three are drawn into a tragic love triangle and—while war escalates and bombs begin falling around them—further into a new world unlike any they’ve ever known.

A sweeping epic with the kind of unforgettable characters, cultural insights, and indelible scenes that made Little Bee so incredible, Chris Cleave’s latest novel explores the disenfranchised, the bereaved, the elite, the embattled. Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is a heartbreakingly beautiful story of love, loss, and incredible courage.

The Gist:

This novel was unfortunately one that over-promised and under-delivered for me. Setting the story in England during World War 2 was intriguing and provided the most interesting parts of the story. However the characters and plot were lackluster and failed to engage my attention. By the end, the main reason I was still reading was because I have this annoying OCD-like quality where I can’t not finish a book.

What I Liked:

It was very eye-opening to see the world of England during WWII through this story. The racial tensions and pressures of the war on soldiers and civilians alike was done in a way that stressed its importance without being overbearing.

I adored the compassion of Mary’s character and the way she loved those no one else wanted to. Her passion for teaching kids others toss aside was inspiring and heartwarming to read about.

The title is the main thing that grabbed me. I think it’s a great name for a title. Maybe not the best book, but top notch name for the book.

What I Didn’t Like:

Most of the book.

Yes, Mary had her sweet moments, but everything else about her and the other characters seemed to be cloaked in gray. I never feel like I got to see their true personalities, just watered down versions of the same person. Maybe it’s because they were all British, but every seemed so calm and collected in the midst of the turmoils of war. Even Alistair was surprisingly relaxed and sane for all he went through.

Also, the book is about redemption, however we never really see the characters go through a significant transformative experience. They all have this assumption things will be fine and never doubt they’ll survive. Now, that can be inspiring and it’s an attitude we should all have. Yet at the same time it’s hard to believe Mary, Tom, or Alistair never once thought “Hey, what if crap hits the fan and the worst happens?” Plus, it makes for a boring story. I would have liked to see more bad thoughts and how the characters overcame them, chose to see the hope in the world.

The main reason I decided to read the book was because the description trumpeted an intense love triangle. I am all for a good love triangle. Know what I didn’t find in the story? A love triangle. I barely found evidence of love. There was maybe a possibility of a love triangle for about 10 minutes of the story, but that’s it. And it was entirely underdeveloped. I’m not saying that I can only enjoy stories with great romance, but if that’s what I’m promised on a back cover, then that’s what I’d like to see.

The writing in general felt like that time my dog had to be sedated for an x-ray.  It was sluggish and slow and didn’t have any vivacity to it. The descriptions of emotions and people felt generic and surface level.

I don’t normally read in this genre, so I could just be used to non-literary type fiction and so I wanted to at least acknowledge that and give it 2 Lunas for possible bias on my end. But simply put, I did not enjoy Everyone Brave Is Forgiven.

LunasLuckyRating: 2/5 Lunas