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Everyone Brave Is Forgiven

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About this listen

The breathtaking new novel from the multiaward-winning author of The Other Hand.

When war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up.

Tom Shaw decides to give it a miss - until his flatmate, Alistair, unexpectedly enlists, and the conflict can no longer be avoided.

Young, bright and brave, Mary is certain she'd be a marvelous spy. When she is - bewilderingly - made a teacher, she instead finds herself defying prejudice to protect the children her country would rather forget.

Tom, meanwhile, finds that he will do anything for Mary. And when Mary and Alistair meet, it is love as well as war that will test them in ways they could not have imagined, entangling three lives in violence and passion, friendship and deception, inexorably shaping their hopes and dreams.

In a powerful combination of both humour and heartbreak, this dazzling novel weaves little-known history and a perfect love story through the vast sweep of the Second World War - daring us to understand that against the great theatre of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs that change us most.

©2016 Chris Cleave (P)2016 Hodder & Stoughton Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction War & Military Heartfelt War Thought-Provoking Military Espionage
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there are characters I love, there are characters I dislike especially Mary's mother and her kin. Too dark and sad for me, even Shakespeare in his darkest tales,let's light in often. Towards the end, because of too much horror, I nearly gave up. I need a cheerful walk now and s few jokes

a dark dark tale of war

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Thoroughly recommend this book. Narrator perfect too. Thats my review but they require more words?!

Excellent

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A really enthralling story line , insight into real life events during WW Two interwoven with a really gripping story about the loves and lives of the four main characters . A fascinating insight into the problems faced by ordinary people forced to live extraordinary lives in the face of heart breaking tragedies .

Captivating Story Line

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A personal look through a young women's eyes at her life and loves during WWII.

EXCELLENT STORY

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This book took me completely by surprise. I listened to the first few chapters several times and It still made me laugh out loud with delight.
As the war progresses and the confidence and certainty of the main characters begins to disintegrate, the brilliant colours of the opening chapters darken and fade. The humour, which is always present, becomes bleaker and sharper.
I love the fact that Tom's jar of Blackberry jam takes on the significance of preserving colour and ultimately, redemption.
The narration was extraordinary. It was hard to believe there was only one narrator, so skilfully did Luke Thompson inhabit the different characters.
I cannot recommend this audible book enough.

An astonishing blend of laughter and pain.

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