Welcome to Litsy!

I do love a book that‘s been in print for so long that it‘s cycled through a lot of different covers…

Published in 1918 this was an interesting peek into the early 20th century - into the lives of 3 women and how they intersect with the titular solider - a well to do, country gentlemen who was called to serve in WW1.

Equally fascinating was the introduction by Michelle Dean and the glimpse into the authors life and experiences.

I really liked it!
I'll admit that the prose was very dense and l had difficulties following it in places, but the story was very involving. Emotions were so strong.
The three women who are at the core of the story are absolutely fantastic... Whether you like them or not. With their actions, they speak loudly of how society tends to handle mental health.

What I'm reading now.
I didn't mean to, but l found myself on the train, with my book finished. Emergency!!!
I chose a story for m Serial Reader... And I'm hooked!

Do you know this story or this author?

Brilliant novella about class and trauma in WWI. Capt Chris Baldry‘s amnesia makes him forget the last 15 years of his life, including his marriage. Instead he remembers a woman he used to know. https://cannonballread.com/2022/10/the-return-of-the-soldier-elcicco/

read in one sitting. very heart breaking. loved it.

Published in 1918, a soldier returns from war shell shocked causing him to forget the last 15 years of his life. The women who love him- his wife, cousin, and first love each try to deal with what the changes in his reality mean for their own. This book may be short but it does not lack impact, especially in its strong ending. Very much enjoyed this one.
#under150pages #booked2021

Before I can buy the next volumes of the Cazalet Chronicles (which I'm dying to read!), I have to read 4 books off my shelf. Starting with this one. Bonus, it's short 😉 & there's an episode of Backlisted (my current podcast obsession) about it.

Starting another book, #BOTM, because Austerlitz is a bit slow. This one started off great!! #Reading1001 #1001books

Update 9/11: ROTS was an excellent read!

This was a short listen at just under 3 hours, but it had a powerful emotional impact. It describes the relationships of three women with a soldier returning from WWI with amnesia caused by shell shock and addresses classist ideas at the same time. One of the things that struck me most was the multiple and conflicting meanings of some phrases, especially in the end scene.

#audiobook #Hoopla
#1001books #Reading1001 July 2020 BotM

These are my #BookSpin and #DoubleSpin for July. Can‘t wait to start reading.

A classic off of my TBR list. And I loved it. West would have known many that were changed irrevocably by World War I and this story features a soldier with PTSD as well as the effects his condition has on the family he has left behind. Highly recommended.

I finally finished this one. It is a short book that I actually a quick read, but for some reason I got pulled away from it for a long time. #1001books #reading1001books

Unsurprisingly, this novella broke my heart. A bit melodramatic at the beginning, the story quickly evolves into the tragedy of difficult choices, of sefishness and true love, and ultimately, of the terrible realities that some people carry with them for the rest of their lives. I also liked the way the main focus is on the three women and how they deal with and perceive the return of the soldier.

This is a slim novel but I was genuinely invested in what was going to happen! I dang near finished this in one sitting. Chris comes home from the war (WWI), but he is shell-shocked and has no memory of the last 15 years. He thinks he is still 20 and still in love with Margaret. Margaret, along with Chris‘ wife, Kitty, and his cousin, Jenny, must try and cure him...right?... 157/1,001 #1001Books

“I thought, as I have often thought before, that the childless have the greatest joy in children, for to us they are just slips of immaturity lovelier than the flowers and with a power over the heart, but to mothers they are fleshly cables binding one down to such profundities of feeling as the awful agony that now possessed her.”

I don‘t even know what they are talking about here. 😂 Circles around the neck? 🤷🏻‍♀️ But I‘m guessing that Kitty Baldry has an extra long neck. Unless we‘re talking double chins here. #differentbeautystandards

#Reading1001

#modernlibraryclassics #litsyclassics #prettycover

I first saw these on #bookstagram and then yesterday I went to check them out at the bookstore. The new 40th Anniversary Virago Modern Classics are GORGEOUS and I want them all..

Check ALL of them out here --> https://www.virago.co.uk/books/virago-modern-classics/

My tentative stack for #4in48Readathon. I‘m halfway through the top two books, so I‘m including five total books in my weekend plan.

Look what arrived today, @Kristelh! #BookMail #1001BookSwap

Now, I need to actually get my book in the mail. 🙈

In the mail this morning .#1001bookswap #groupA

#1001Bookswap, #GroupA, Greetings. Here is a picture of my book.

A novella with a definite impact. Not sure how I feel about it.

#30daysofreadathon, #shortbook, I haven't read this one yet but it would be one of my shortest at 99 pages (and not a small font). #1001Books

A soldier returns home from WWI, suffering from shell-shock. He has forgotten the last 15 years and therefore doesn't remember his marriage and his wife. Instead, he dreams of his first love.
It is a short story. For me it could have lasted longer, I really liked the writing. The choice of Jenny as the narrator, while she actually plays hardly a role in the story, gives the story a special twist. #1001books

2/3 essay outlines done, 0/3 actually written 🙈 on the bright side, this essay is actually about books 😊

This was a roller coaster of emotion -a soldier returns from war with shell shock, only to find that the life and the people he left behind aren't quite as he remembers them. Short, but the end is still emotionally devastating. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ #LitsyAtoZ @BookishMarginalia #litsyreadingchallenge #basedonanhistoricalevent #wwi @jessica

This is a slim, quiet little novella set during WWI England. Chris, the titular soldier, has just returned from the war suffering from shell shock and memory loss of the last 15 years of his life. He doesn't recognize his wife and sees his adult cousin as his childhood playmate of years past. He pines for the love of his youth, the only person he truly remembers. This Modernist work examines the difficult choice between reality and the past.