monopoly girl Female, 19. London, United Kingdom

The novel tries to achieve too much, which is where it fails. There are two stories that are woven together, one more successful than the other. Faulks' storytelling of Stephen Wraysford and Jack Firebrace's life at war is absolutely brilliant. The former character is cold and detached by the time we meet him for the second time, during the war. The author uses the initial part of the novel (pre-war) to highlight this contrast, but I found it boring at times as it took a long time for the author to "get somewhere".

The parts with the granddaughter are also insipid and I found myself finding the narration, description and dialogue to be predictable, whilst very little occured. Skipping those parts made the structure of the novel clearer and also made the novel more tolerable. The parts dealing with war are split into three years and the author deals with topics such as religion, the purpose of war, surival and friendships/comraderie. The characters have their own unique identities, but my favourite was Weir. The detail used in portraying the events of the war, as well as the day-to-day events, is absolutely wonderful and captivating. ... (continue)

Instead of revising, I've been reading and re-reading this. This series of books act as a biography of her life, but what sets this particular biography apart is that it's done graphically. Her style of drawing is also particularly unique, with strong and bold black lines, even if it is simple.
The ending is far too abrupt for my liking (only because I want the novel to continue on forever), but it's a wonderful biography. Although, it's vague considering the number of years it spans, it somehow feels complete. The storyline, the drawings and the words compliment each other wonderfully (although I'm disappointed in the American-"English" translation), which makes the novel successful. ... (continue)

The introduction of the protagonist, Hilliard, is brilliantly done even if it is slightly boring and repetitive. However, when Barton enters as a character, the novel becomes engrossing. Barton's personality change, his analytical and philosophical views of the war and his friendship with Hilliard is what makes one want to continue reading. The differences between the two characters provide some humourous and sobering moments, whilst Barton's letters to his family portray the damage the war does to nature, humanity and a soldier's mentality.

Additionally, the author's narration of the battle towards the end is absolutely powerful, imaginative and harrowing. ... (continue)

Somewhere in the middle, during the author's flicking between the early and the late sixties, I lost interest and put the book down. The author does not develop the minor characters much throughout the novel in the sense that they do not grow as much as the more central characters, which is disappointing. This is because this novel partly explores the effects of the war on people, but they appeared to have changed only by a small degree. By the end of the novel, one notices that it is mainly the men who have changed the most.

Whilst depicting the settings and the background of the war is important, it was densely compacted in the middle of the novel. This is when the author lost balance between telling the story of her characters and telling the story of the war.

The author portrays the different groups of people within Nigeria in an animated, colourful way which adds a touch of humour and humanity. The ending surprised me, perhaps because Kainene and Richard were my favourite characters and as a result, it felt like an anti-climax.

I had read a review by a reader who was suprised by who the author of the book was, but despite this and having possible ideas, I was not anticipating it to be by that particular character. The novel does pick up pace and was more gripping towards the end, so it is worth muddling through. ... (continue)

Witty, romantic and with a hint of mystery, in a way that is remiscient of Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. An absolute classic that will not disappoint.