My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You

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I could completely empathize with Riley Purefoy, the protagonist, and I understand why he made the choices he did. Youthful passion is on their side, but then their loyalty is tested by terrible injury, and even more so by the necessarily imperfect rehabilitation that follows. Riley is taken back to the Waveney home and is soon taken under their wing, making friends with the children, Noel and Nadine, and working as an artist's model and assistant for a family friend, painter Sir Alfred Pleasant. Well, what did happen to the traditionally brought-up women who lost all hope of marriage, because all the young men are dead? He begins to have trouble communicating with Nadine, afraid to tell her real things, but he builds strong loyalties and friendship with comrades, especially his Captain, Peter Locke.

I found the chapters depiciting Riley's time on the battlefield to be particularly difficult to get through.The novel was told in third person but shifts to different points-of-view, oftentimes mixing in narrative with actual first-person like narrative. However, this was an eye-opener to me, about the war itself, societal changes during the war, ethics and mores, and an introduction to Major Harold Gillies, who made outstanding progress in maxillo-facial and plastic surgery during World War I, and later, mostly at Queen's Hospital in Sidcup, England. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.

I ripped through the last 200 pages or so at lightning speed, unable to wait and discover what would happen next.It's interesting to see how different people react and how others must realize a monster on the outside does not necessarily mean a monster inside. The atmosphere she creates is often appalling, always compelling and her narrative drive is powerful enough to keep you up all night. Le storie intrecciate di Rose e di Julia e Peter sono indispensabili a rendere pieno un romanzo altrimenti scialbo e da leggere in spiaggia senza troppo impegno. Since in the book we only really get to see what the couples are like once they've fallen in love, I felt like I didn't really get to connect with them.

Voor de liefhebbers van Oorlog en terpentijn 'Als je één boek over de gevolgen van de Eerste Wereldoorlog leest, laat het dan dit zijn. A real energy and lyricism to Young's writing, the "men" come to life, especially her hero, Riley, caught between two worlds, but the little sketched portraits of the troops and other minor characters are memorable as well. Her 2011 bestseller My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You, which was shortlisted for the Costa Novel Award 2011 and the Wellcome Book Prize, was a Richard and Judy Book Club choice, and the first ever winner of the Galaxy Audiobook of the Year.What really grabbed me at the beginning of the book was the spiky character of the boy Riley, when he falls in the Round Pound in Kensington, and ends up being linked or connected to a 'well-to-do' family which takes him out of his own class background to some extent.