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This British novel by a veteran is an excellent account of life in & near the trenches of WWI. Manning gives an unsentimental description of all aspects of a Private‘s life: its tedium, small pleasures, intensity to nerve-shattering proportions, & stoic camaraderie. Bourne is the focus with his two pals Shem & Martlow. I felt the rhythm of their lives more than in other WWI books, & it breaks my heart. I‘m grateful he found a way to write it.

This one may be unpopular but I HATE Birdsong. It's the only book I've ever bailed on twice and never finished. I just can't stand Faulks' writing. Yes, Sebastian, the bird metaphor, I GET IT! I know there's more to the story than the First World War but it's generally lauded as a great war novel (and love story, I think?). There are so many better novels and accounts out there #readthisnotthat #maybookflowers