A simple and sometimes cliché' love story before, during, and after World War II. The story stretches from the characters' childhood until they return from the war.
I like to read about many aspects behind the actual war, and it must have been a lot of work to research them. WWII's impact is felt everywhere, even by the generations born after that. My grandparents had a lot of tales about it, some of the most inspiring and terrifying ones.
The book centres around two characters' relationship, the war, and racism in many forms. I like that the author explores the variety of them, the three primary forms that still exist today: associations, colours, and genocide. What is sad about reading historical books or historical fiction for me is we have learned very little, have we?
In my opinion, the book can be tightened up a lot; there are a lot of unnecessary actions, explanations, and repeated information, like a small synopsis of things that happen only a few pages or a few chapters back. The dialogues feel clunky at times, almost indistinguishable between characters, as their personalities feel very similar, especially the parade of the main characters' friends. The exchanges also use 'names' all the time. I'm sure most readers can follow fine about who is talking because it feels weird reading 'Betty asked X this, Betty gestures, X replied, Betty was glad X did something, said Betty, X sighed, and so on'. It feels very stiff. The book seems to have two writing styles because when it's not dialogues, it flows better with using pronouns instead of names all the time. Sometimes, they are detailed descriptions of feelings and surroundings, while others are just unclear perceived expositions.
Having said that, overall, it's a slow and nice read. It's not boring as I learn many things and relate them to tales I know. The love story is heartwarming, and the title is very fitting.
4 out of 5
