Everyone Brave Is Forgiven

Reviews / Votes

An addictive, propulsive read . . . Cleave writes with an engaging intensity, a determination to tackle big moral issues, and a willingness to take risks. -- Theo Tait * The Sunday Times * A compelling and finely crafted novel...The Second World War is dangerous territory for a contemporary novelist: the enemies they face include familiarity, cliche, and the reader's knowledge that any number of things happened then that were far stranger than fiction. For a writer to succeed in setting a tale in a period of heightened emotions, they need first to keep their own emotions under close control. Ian McEwan did this with Atonement, Sarah Waters did it with The Night Watch, and Chris Cleave does it too with Everyone Brave is Forgiven. * Financial Times * Loosely based on the author's grandparents' stories, this is a superb novel that breathes fresh life into an often brutal scenario. Particularly astute at demonstrating how war seeps into the psyche and changes it, this is beautifully written, funny, gut-wrenching and, above all, honest. * <i>Daily Mail</i> * Powerful and moving . . . Cleave's real revisionism exists in the very fabric of his prose. -- Lucy Scholes * Independent * A tremendous, sweeping love story that unfolds against the backdrop of war-torn London and Malta. * Mail on Sunday * Tender and touching. -- Eithne Farry * Mail on Sunday * Cleave cements his reputation as a skilful storyteller, and a sensitive chronicler of the interplay between the political and the personal . . . intricately researched and evocatively conveyed. -- Hannah Beckerman * Observer * Absorbing [and] sharply paced. -- Helen Dunmore * Guardian * Brilliant [and] fearlessly written . . . Thoroughly absorbing. -- Claire Allfree * Metro * I was blown away by it. * Woman & Home * A special book * Good Housekeeping * It's a war novel but not as you know it. Cleave, a Guardian journalist and celebrated novelist (Incendiary, The Other Hand), has reportedly written his best book to date with this tale of a young teacher determined to stay in Blitz-time London. * Esquire, Top 10 Best New Novels of 2016 * Magnificent and profoundly moving...This dazzling novel of World War II is full of unforgettable characters and the keen emotional insights that moved readers of Chris Cleave's Little Bee. * Shelf Awareness * Brings both the Blitz and the siege of Malta to unforgettable life. * Irish Times * With dazzling prose, sharp English wit, and compassion, Cleave paints a powerful portrait of war's effects on those who fight and those left behind. * People Book of the Week * He has the rare ability to tell a unique story while also expressing universal truths that pierce straight into your own everyday. Sure to be one of the hits of this year. * Grazia Book Club * A story of epic love inspired by grandparents and capital. * Barking and Dagenham Post * You'd be hard-pushed to find a list of what to read in 2016 that doesn't feature Chris Cleave's latest. * Mumsnet *