by Chris Cleave
The majority of our group enjoy Everyone Brave is Forgiven.
Mary is a polarizing character. Some
of us did not care for her while others love her moxie. A couple of our members
point out Mary is only 18 when the novel begins. For an 18-year-old Mary is
stubborn, strong-willed, and determined to help the war effort. Mary signs up
to help the day was is declared. Mary is disappointed she did not receive a more
important job as a spy. After meeting her kids and seeing the need to keep them
safe in such uncertain times, Mary is hooked. Despite the headmistress, Hilda,
and her mother telling her to leave teaching behind Mary gives teaching even
more energy. We all applaud her work with the children left in London when all
the other kids move to the countryside. Mary sees a need and does her best to
help.
Everyone loves Alistair because of his
humor and good nature. We had to keep reminding ourselves that Mary and
Alistair only met once and then only communicated by letter. The letters were
funny, endearing, and helped the novel. Most of us did not know much of the
blockade and hardship in Malta.
Most of us also enjoy Hilda because of
her flair and her ability to put up with Mary. Hilda and Mary’s bickering was
at times funny but almost always lead back to Mary stealing another man from
Hilda. None of us could understand why Mary did this repeatedly. One of the
most exciting and edge of your seat parts of the novel occurs in the
underground station when Mary is trapped. When the water begins rising Mary
panics but Hilda remains calm. Hilda saves Mary’s life by breathing into her
mouth until she is cut free. Most of us cannot imagine Mary doing the same
thing for Hilda. We all hope Hilda and Simonson end up together and are happy
they are corresponding.
The jam jar is a wonderful talisman in
the novel. Alistair keeps the jam to eat at the end of the war. Carrying this
jar through the battlefields of France and Malta is an interesting way to stay
positive and stay alive. When Alistair gives the jam to Simonson it shows the importance
of their friendship. The idea of the jam is one of the most impressive things
Cleave does with the novel.
Occasionally the novel felt too long
and limped along. However, other times the story taught us new things about
WWII, showed us the haphazard destruction of London, and exposed us to new
ideas of the war. The ambulance portions of the novel were eye opening. Only
one of us knew the Hillman was a car and not a regular ambulance. None of us knew
they strapped injured people to the roof of the car.
The ambiguous ending of the novel leaves
us all wondering what will happen to the characters. We believe Cleave is
leaning towards Mary and Alistair spending their lives together. We all hope
that is the case.
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