Litsy

Im Westen Nichts Neues | Erich Maria Remarque

The life journey of a young soldier in World War I, based on the author's experiences.
The book chillingly portrays the contrast between youth and the horrors of war.
The blood, shock, complex trauma, and how it takes over one‘s worldview after the war (PTSD) are conveyed with such precision and simplicity.
A masterpiece!

24 likes

SilversReviews

As Bright as Heaven | Susan Meissner

Thanks to:

#25ALIVE
@Eggs
@AlwaysBeenALoverOfBooks

PROMPT: BRIGHT

The reader will learn about The Spanish Flu and its devastation of the population around the world. If you are like me, you will do research of your own about the Spanish Flu.

Ms. Meissner has written another touching book that teaches us some history as well as teaches us about the goodness of mankind and its generosity in times of a crisis.

https://tinyurl.com/2nrcfrr7

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks This one was heartbreaking 💔 1w

marleed I thought it particularly interesting since it was published prior to Covid-19. I think it would be hard to write that same novel today and not interject some of the mistakes from the later pandemic. 1w

Eggs A great choice 👏🏻👏🏻 6d

SilversReviews @marleed Yes. 6d

SilversReviews @Eggs Thanks. 6d

32 likes5 comments

LiseWorks

Bright's Passage: A Novel | Josh Ritter

January #25Alive Bright @Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Cupcake12 ❤️❤️ 1w

Eggs Brilliant 🩵💜🩵 1w

25 likes2 comments

Anna40

Soldiers Don't Go Mad: A Story of Brotherhood, Poetry, and Mental Illness During the First World War | Charles Glass

pick

This book about the hospital Craiglockhart & two of its most famous patients, Siegfried Sassoon & Wilfred Owen, tracks the effects of industrial warfare on soldiers & the origins of PTSD. Shell shock was seen by many commanding officers not as an illness but cowardice& thus punished. It was thanks to physicians such as Dr Rivers who treated the men with compassion that some lucky few found healing. The strongest parts of the book are the poems

Anna40 written by Sassoon & Owens. I also enjoyed learning about the pacifist movement in the UK & how the war was perceived by those not involved in combat. Overall, the men who received treatment all had very privileged backgrounds, the poor private was sent right back to the front without any compassion or treatment … 1w

Suet624 Ugh. So sad. 1w

CarolynM Stacked🙂 1w

See All 10 Comments

Anna40 @suet624 yes, it is. I think many more than we think still believe PTSD in soldiers = coward or is something to be ashamed of 😢 1w

Anna40 @CarolynM it‘s not an easy read but it really pulled me in. I‘m interested in reading Sassoon‘s and Owens poetry collections. Very powerful poems 1w

CarolynM I‘ve got a particular interest in First World War literature with particular reference to Owen and Sassoon. Owen is a tragic figure and his poems are really moving. Sassoon was such oddbod, he is endlessly fascinating. Have you read his Sheraton trilogy? 1w

Anna40 @CarolynM I had never heard of either of them before reading this book. Would you recommend starting off with Sheraton trilogy? 1w

CarolynM It‘s fictionalised autobiography so it‘s a good way to get to know him. The first volume, Memoirs of a Fox Hunting Man is pre war, the other 2 during the war and cover the Craiglockart experience. Sassoon also features in Robert Graves‘s memoir Goodbye to All That. 1w

Anna40 @CarolynM thanks! Sounds great 💕 1w

CarolynM And for a fictional take on Owen and Sassoon at Craiglockart

Regeneration (Regeneration, #1)

34 likes3 stack adds10 comments

staci.reads

The Bookbinder: A Novel | Pip Williams

pick

This was a lovely story of two British sisters who work in a book bindery and how their lives are affected during WWI. It's about family, obligation, ambitions, and class structure. I didn't love it quite as much as The Dictionary of Lost Words, but still a strong pick.

78 likes2 stack adds

CaitlinR

In Memoriam | Alice Winn

pick

Beautifully written, and thoroughly researched this novel, set in 1914 , is an engaging, and often horrifying read. Ms Winn tells the story of boys from an English boarding school as they encounter the horrors of WWI. Henry Gaunt, one of the primary characters welcomes enlistment to flee his growing feelings for Sydney Elwood, one his classmates who later also enlists. There love story is fraught, but ultimately beautiful. Don‘t miss this book.

CaitlinR Photo of the author by Jamie Tung 2w

30 likes1 stack add1 comment

Graywacke

A Month in the Country | J.L. Carr

pick

Short listed for the #Booker in 1980, and something of a cult classic. The story of a wwi vet with PTSD from London who goes to York, hired to restore a whitewashed medieval mural in a tiny town. It‘s endearing and quietly wonderful.

Suet624 I agree… this was lovely. 2w

Tamra It‘s a favorite. 2w

Graywacke @Suet624 @Tamra i‘m glad i finally got myself to read it. 1w

53 likes2 stack adds3 comments

shawnmooney

A Son at the Front: A Library of America eBook Classic | Edith Wharton

https://youtu.be/FQq8dO4UiHM?si=rK9UB75dqIkaHZd5

Introduction
Mystery guest
Week in Review
A Son at the Front by Edith Wharton
All Our Ordinary Stories: A Multigenerational Family Odyssey by Teresa Wong

22 likes