Terwijl ze op huwelijksreis zijn in een Europa dat in as ligt, verlangen ze, een ieder voor zich en in stilte. In plaats van een huwelijk vol liefde en passie is er afhankelijkheid en medelijden. With echoes of The English Patient, Atonement, and a touch of Ford Maddox Ford’s The Good Soldier, Louisa Young’s adult debut novel is haunting and mesmerizing....The dark and gritty battle scenes contrasted with the pining love letters sent from the front lines of battle blend perfectly together to give an accurate and honest portrayal of life during wartime”— Bronwyn Miller, BookReporter.com

One of the most beautiful women ever to grace the silver screen, Hedy Lamarr also designed a secret weapon against Nazi Germany. Moving among Ypres, London, and Paris, this emotionally rich and evocative novel is both a powerful exploration of the lasting effects of war on those who fight—and those who don't—and a poignant testament to the power of enduring love.The finest Great War novel since Susan Hill’s Strange Meeting....[Young’s] book encompasses themes of shifting perceptions of class; of the lingering, insistent consolation of art; of incorrigible wiliness; of unflinching duty and endurance; of the need to maintain a sense of identity when everything militates against it, and of selfless generosity, optimism and intense passion. Her research is meticulous, sometimes harrowing. The atmosphere she creates is often appalling, always compelling, and her narrative drive is powerful enough to keep you up all night.”— Sue Gaisford, Independent (UK) The plastic surgery plot line that developed was fascinating. The unveiling of the developing surgery was written so eloquently that it never seemed too heavy on medical jargon and I understood it completely. I was also intrigued with the psychology that young Riley uses to keep himself afloat and to see how different his reaction to the war is to Peter’s. One strong aspect of the book that I found really interesting and thought-provoking, were the descriptions of the early days of plastic surgery. Great advances in this field have always been made as a consequence of the horrific injuries inflicted on combatants in wars. Others benefit, of course, but which set of patients appreciate those benefits the most?

Londen. April 1919. De Grote Oorlog is ten einde. Daarvoor, toen de wereld nog zo anders was, is Nadine Waveney in een uitspatting van verliefdheid met haar jeugdliefde Riley Purefoy getrouwd. Maar Riley is gewond en verminkt teruggekeerd; een normaal leven lijkt onbegrijpelijk en liefde onbevattelijk. One of those books that doesn’t leave you, and probably never will.”—Jacqueline Winspear, New York Times bestselling author of the Maisie Dobbs novelsMeanwhile, Julia and her cousin Rose are dealing with the war effort the way only women can. Julia is hell-bent on Peter coming home to a perfect little wife. Rose is working under the revolutionary doctor, Major Gillies, and helping him to patch-up wounded soldiers with horrendous facial scarring. Miles away and Nadine is also working as a nurse, helping wounded soldiers and imaging Riley’s face in all of them. . . He came straight to her.... His case fell to the floor as he snaked his arm round her waist and there was a tiny perfect pause before he kissed and kissed and kissed her" *my heart only can stand some much* There are some aspects of the style of Young's writing that didn't always appeal to me; she's fond of a list and some of the passages are a bit 'choppy', but there's no denying the powerful story telling and the book's ability to add something new to the extensive literary subject matter of World War One is impressive. It's a book that will stay with me for a long time and whose characters will live long in the memory. The first half of the book is about the experiences that the five have adapting to the realities of war and the shifts it brings about in their relationships. In the second half, Riley suffers a serious injury which will affect all of the characters in different ways. This novel further opened my eyes to how an entire generation was altered and affected by the war, especially how women’s roles shifted during the void the men left. This was especially evident with the dotting housewife, Julia, struggling with the feeling that she had no purpose with her husband away and striving to be the perfect housewife for his return. I loved how Rose, who was never expected to marry and felt ineffective because of it, suddenly felt she had a place in the world.

The great strength of the book is the main characters. Young takes time to build them up and this is probably why a third of the way in I was thinking 'it's good, but I don't see what all the fuss is about'. But it means you really care for them when the story develops. By the end, I certainly knew. His wife is equally repulsive, though her character raises another intriguing issue: Is being a housewife enough? Can a woman live without her man? She has issues. When her baby is born, she allows her mother to take it away. When her husband comes home on leave and does not wish to have relations with her, she goes bizerk and obsesses that she is not pretty and this and that. She's a very weak woman who needs male attention to feel useful. What, another World War 1 book? Is there something about the fact that no one is left alive to tell -- or criticize the veracity of -- the tale that has led to a recent flourishing (to the already robust genre) of trench literature, usually somehow connected to a story of the folks at home, maybe poets, maybe artsy? Anyway, yes, another one, and another good one. A real energy and lyricism to Young's writing, the "men" come to life, especially her hero, Riley, caught between two worlds, but the little sketched portraits of the troops and other minor characters are memorable as well. The central love story is vivid, felt, sexy and real too, and the prose moves.

The story begins in 1907, with a snowball to the head and an icy dip in a Kensington Gardens lake. Thus begins the friendship between working-class boy, Riley Purefoy, and the Waveney family of kind intellectual bohemians who take him in as one of their own. In contrast, Julia and Peter grow further and further from one another. The war affects all of the characters differently. Rose becomes more and more useful and connects with humanity better even through horrible disfiguring injuries in her hospital. One character tries to forget through brothels and alcohol. Another withdraws emotionally and wallows in self-pity after a horrible injury. Another character tries to reconnect by getting as close to death and gore and possible. A few characters try to maintain normalcy and social expectations from pre-war. It is the dawn of a new age and all are ill-prepared to return to "normal" after the war.

Have just finished reading My Dear I Wanted to Tell You and really enjoyed it. Hadn't realised that Louisa Young is also the author of LION BOY, so I've just started to read that too. The second true historical story that is central to this novel is the work of Harold Gillies – a doctor who was also an Army Major. After experiencing front line fighting in the trenches, Major Gillies returned home to open a hospital in Aldershot which was dedicated to facial reconstruction; treating the facial wounds that were very common during trench fighting and carrying out pioneering work in plastic surgery to try to make his patients look as normal as possible. After the Battle of the Somme, Gillies treated 2,000 cases of jaw and facial mutilation and a key part of this novel is the telling of the tragic stories of some of the patients that were treated during this time.A testament to the frailty and heart of mankind, Louisa Young’s My Dear I Wanted to Tell You vividly paints an intimate portrait of life on the home front and battlefields during the First World War.”— Cathy Marie Buchanan, author of The Day the Falls Stood Still Already short listed for the Costa Prize, it wouldn't surprise me to see it appearing on the 2012 Orange Prize list as well.