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    Everyone Brave is Forgiven
    Everyone Brave is Forgiven
    Everyone Brave is Forgiven
    Audiobook12 hours

    Everyone Brave is Forgiven

    Written by Chris Cleave

    Narrated by Luke Thompson

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The instant New York Times bestseller from Chris Cleave—the unforgettable novel about three lives entangled during World War II, told “with dazzling prose, sharp English wit, and compassion…a powerful portrait of war’s effects on those who fight and those left behind” (People, Book of the Week).

    London, 1939. The day war is declared, Mary North leaves finishing school unfinished, goes straight to the War Office, and signs up. Tom Shaw decides to ignore the war—until he learns his roommate Alistair Heath has unexpectedly enlisted. Then 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 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. The three are drawn into a tragic love triangle and—as war escalates and bombs begin falling—further into a grim world of survival and desperation.

    Set in London during the years of 1939–1942, when citizens had slim hope of survival, much less victory; and on the strategic island of Malta, which was daily devastated by the Axis barrage, Everyone Brave is Forgiven features little-known history and a perfect wartime love story inspired by the real-life love letters between Chris Cleave’s grandparents. This dazzling novel dares us to understand that, against the great theater of world events, it is the intimate losses, the small battles, the daily human triumphs that change us most.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateMay 3, 2016
    ISBN9781442397835
    Author

    Chris Cleave

    Chris Cleave is the author of Everyone Brave is Forgiven, Gold, Incendiary, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Little Bee. He lives with his wife and three children in London, England. Visit him at ChrisCleave.com or on Twitter @ChrisCleave.

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    Reviews for Everyone Brave is Forgiven

    4/5

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    • 5/5
      Endearing love story and wonderful prose.
      Loved it so will you.
    • 5/5
      This was a great book. It was interesting to learn more about World War II through different eyes. The love story was very sweet and it was not a romance and the traditional form. This was worth the read.
    • 5/5
      Unusual viewpoints and characters so fully developed with present action and dialogue. Cleave delves into difficult places with finesse, and stunning language
    • 5/5
      A book that will break your heart. We forget that the story of WWII is not just the battles won and lost, but the heroic stories of all the people who had to keep going day after day in the ruins left by the fighting. This book reminds me of the reality in Syria and all other war-torn places the world over. An excellent read.
    • 2/5
      Not as good as I thought it would be. Never finished.
    • 5/5
      An simple story told through beautifully complex writing. A story of ordinary people surviving extraordinary times.
      A book that I didn't want to end, yet whose ending was wholly satisfying.

      Excellent narration, to boot.
    • 5/5
      Reader was very good except for the two girls. The story was one I’ll always remember and have feelings for.
    • 5/5
      I have to confess that I adore Chris Cleave. If he writes a book, I read it. It's that simple.It's been a while since his last book. GOLD was published in 2012, and I read it the instant it was available, so I started to doubt myself. What if Chris Cleave isn't as good as I remembered?! What if he can't continue to produce books at the level I've come to expect?!Fortunately, the man did not disappoint with his latest effort, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN. The book is set during World War II with much of the action taking place in London and on Malta.I admit to having a soft spot for historical fiction. I love a good war book. I get sentimental when I read about brave fighters--especially when my oldest son is in the middle of a deployment. That said, what Chris Cleave has written is so gorgeous and so heart-wrenching, I don't have the words to properly describe it. As with Cleave's first book INCENDIARY, EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN isn't a book I'll recommend to everyone. However, if you're a fan of beautiful writing, and if you want to have a view of the pain that comes with war that will leave you crying yourself to sleep every night--but written in the loveliest of ways--then be sure to pick up this book.Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy of this book in exchange for this unbiased review.
    • 4/5
      This novel centers around London prior to World War II , and leading up to 1942. The relationships between Mary, her best friend Hilda, Tom, and his best friend Alistair become increasingly complicated as their lives are drastically affected by the war in different ways. The tragedy is often more than is predictable, and certainly heart-wrenching. The dialog is almost always extremely clever, in contrast to the dark situations and wartime inhumanity, and seems to try too hard--but then so do the characters. Did people ever really talk that way?
    • 5/5
      It is 1939 and war has just been declared. Upper class Londoner, Mary immediately rushes to the War Office to sign up to help. At first, she is disappointed to be offered a position as teacher for children evacuated to the countryside. However, she soon becomes attached to her students especially 10-year-old Zachery, an African American whose father was part of a minstrel show performing in London. Tom has plans to sit out the war but, as so many men head off to fight, he gets a position as School Administrator for those children who, for various reasons, either can’t be evacuated or who are returned to London because no one will take them in: the poor, the less attractive (or too attractive), those who are mentally and physically challenged, or non-white. He meets Mary and the two become lovers.Alistair is Tom’s best friend. He enlists almost immediately. He is sent to France and his life becomes one of long and grueling days of marching and boredom broken occasionally by the horror of enemy airstrikes and hidden land mines. Finally, on leave, he returns home and Tom introduces him to Mary. The two are instantly drawn to each other despite their loyalty to Tom. At the end of his leave, Alistair is assigned to Malta where airstrikes, hunger, rain, mud and the death of close friends are seemingly unending. Everyone Brave is Forgiven is the latest novel by author Chris Cleave and I have seen it described as an historical romance set in wartime. However, although there are certainly elements of romance here, that is a much too simplistic description of this book and doesn’t do it nearly enough justice. Often novels about war-time England seem to be just longer variations on that famous motivational poster from the British government, now a popular internet meme, Keep Calm and Carry On; the stereotypical British stiff upper lip, the almost immediate return to relative normalcy after an air raid, the kindness and welcoming of evacuated children to the countryside, and the instant romances. But this story transcends that simplistic view of what it means to be both a soldier and a civilian caught in the realities of war. It is more honest, more moving, more emotionally and intellectually challenging.It focuses on the facts of war that have rarely been expressed in novels except those by once soldiers: the boredom and the fear, the immediacy and unpredictability of death, the horrors of the bombings, the sense of displacement, shock, grief, and sense of guilt of the survivors, and the use of humour to help them carry on. And it shows something I have rarely seen before in a novel: the overt racism that permeated Britain even as they were fighting a brutal war against fascism. Everyone Brave is Forgiven is a beautifully written book with clever dialogue, memorable characters and stark powerful imagery. It is, at once, heart-warming and heart-rending and I can’t recommend it highly enough.
    • 3/5
      Historical fiction set in WWII covering the period 1939 to 1942, emphasizing the London Blitz and the Siege of Malta. The storyline follows an ensemble of main characters. Eighteen-year-old Mary North, daughter of a politician, leads a privileged life in West London. She volunteers to assist the war effort and ends up teaching, where she meets Tom Shaw, who runs the schools, and his roommate, Alistair Heath, who has enlisted. She befriends one of her students, Zachary, a black American child. Her friend, Hilda, is another privileged girl who is looking for a husband and is jealous of Mary’s beauty. This book depicts the horrors of war in vivid detail. None of the characters is spared an encounter with one or more tragedies.

      The strengths of this novel are twofold: 1) portraying lesser known events, such as the Siege of Malta and the American black experience of racism in London, and 2) showing changes and emotional growth in the characters. The drawbacks include unpleasant characters, incessant sarcastic dialogue, modern sensibilities, liberties taken with WWII timelines, and implausible plot points.

      I listened to the audiobook, narrated by Luke Thompson. He does a wonderful job with many different accents and gives a unique voice to each character. I have read a good deal of both historical fiction and non-fiction related to WWII, and there are many books I would recommend ahead of this one.
    • 5/5
      “Life took longer to reassemble than it did to blow apart, but that didn't mean it wouldn't be lovely, providing that one remembered to go for country walks, and to tune the wireless to music.” — Chris Cleave, “Everyone Brave Is Forgiven”Chris Cleave's fourth novel, “Everyone Brace Is Forgiven” (2016), is about reassembling lives blown apart by World War II. Yet it is a love story that the war makes possible.Cleave says his novel was inspired by his own grandparents, although the story is based only loosely on their experiences.Mary is an idealistic rich girl whose mother only wants to marry well. Instead she volunteers to help with the war effort however she can, then gets assigned to teach school, even though she lacks any qualifications. Most London children are soon sent to the countryside when the Germans start bombing the city, but some children, either because they are black, disabled in some way or otherwise unattractive, are rejected by the country people and returned to London. Mary decides to teach them.She falls in love with Tom, her supervisor, but then one fateful night she and her best friend, Hilda, go out with Tom and his best friend, Alistair, and magic strikes between Mary and Alistair, an Army officer. Hilda feels betrayed because she likes Alistair, too. As for Tom, a German bomb soon kills him, as well as most of Mary's students. For most of the novel Alistair and Mary are separated by the war, he under siege on Malta and she driving an ambulance during bombing raids. Both suffer disabling injuries.The war destroys so much. Will it destroy this love that had just one brief night to form? Will everyone brave be forgiven? Will everyone forgiven stay brave? Cleave deals with such questions in an incredibly beautiful and meaningful novel.
    • 3/5
      I'm really torn about this book. In the end, I think it's wonderfully written but I really didn't like most of the characters. I neatly quit several times because I found them so unappealing. I'm glad I finished it though
    • 2/5
      I thought it was an ok story but nothing spectacular
    • 5/5
      Years ago when I read Chris Cleave's earlier novel, Little Bee, I was astounded by his ability walk in the life of a female African immigrant to England so convincingly that it seemed to me he was writing from his own memories. I have found at last in his current novel that he can also walk in the lives of his own people and bring the essence of their generation to life in such a way that seems to underscore that Cleave is so good a writer that for him bringing any imagined character to life is the easiest thing in the world.Heroes are, by my definition, ordinary people who perform such extraordinary acts in times of crisis and test as to seem beyond any sort of human as to be impossible. Yet they exist and they do these heroic things. So do the four friends in this novel, set primarily in London during the worst of the blitz and on the island of Malta during the Nazi blockade that nearly starved the tiny British garrison to death down to a man.What is heroism? In this novel it is the courage to carry on, to lay down your instinct for self preservation to preserve another, to defy defeat by preserving enough faith to trust in love, and to dare to make plans and then new plans when first plans are dashed. All of this is brought to life within the covers of this book.Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is the exceptional novel that truly does illuminate what it means to be human. It's the rare reader's treat that lovers of meaningful and lasting stories long and search for, and if lucky enough, find. Find yourself a copy, otherwise you may not be able to forgive yourself for missing this novel about the courageous Greatest Generation who defied evil with little more than a mysterious formula of persistence, defiance, and compassion that defeated dread.
    • 3/5
      This was an easy book to follow as an audiobook. A lot of time was spent on detailing the characters' daily lives and their thoughts which made the plot a little slow. The overall plot was okay but a little predictable.
    • 4/5
      EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN is about bravery. Most of the book takes place in England at the start of World War II and before the United States joins them. Mary wants to join the war effort right away so is assigned teaching duties. Later she joins her friend Hilda as an ambulance driver. London is a dangerous place to live, and they choose to volunteer for even greater danger.At first I found these chapters to be too young adultish, especially those about Mary's romance with Tom, a school administrator. But the chapters about Tom's roommate, Alistair, after he joins the army are excellent. These kept me going for about 100 pages, until I loved it all. (That is in spite of Mary's strange family. They are very rich. Mary's father never appears. Her mother seems untouched by the war. Neither parent seems to care much about Mary. Sometimes she lives with them, sometimes not. That doesn't seem to concern them, even when she is only 18.)EVERYONE BRAVE IS FORGIVEN shows us the hardships of the beginning of World War II not only to the English military but also to English citizens. What a relief it is to them when the US arrives.
    • 4/5
      Everyone Brave Is Forgiven is a love story set in the terror-filled times of the first few years of WW II. The settings vary from the streets and bomb shelters of London to the siege against British troops on Malta. Both settings are horrific scenes of death, destruction and abject terror.
      This book’s primary story about a romance is, frankly, not as interesting as the surrounding events and situations, the vividness of its descriptions, and the honest handling of both war and of racism.
      Beautiful but privileged Mary falls for soldier Alastair just as he is shipped off to Malta. Abandoning the safety of her privileged life, Mary wants to help children learn. When she can’t get a position working with mainstream children, Mary takes on the rejected and disowned, those outcasts who continue to be marginalized even today. She confronts first hand the abject, blatant and unapologetic racism of British society.
      While Mary sees the full brunt of racism in London, Alastair feels the full brunt of war in Malta. The mangling of human bodies, the terror of unremitting fear of death, the dehumanization necessary for some as a means of psychological survival and the full mental and physical devastation that war truly is fills the pages of the novel.
      So many books and movies gloss over or ignore what wars really do to victims, civilian and military alike, but this book does a good job of confronting and portraying them. The grisly horrors of children and civilians torn into pieces by enemy bombs in London vividly compares to the equally grisly death, destruction, privation and long term after effects of warfare on the battlefront.
      Everyone Brave Is Forgiven goes beyond describing the carnage of war into portraying the psychological impact it has on people, both combatants and civilian victims. These scars impact lives and relationships long after peace treaties are signed and wars end.
      This is a compelling book that clearly goes beyond being a romance and becomes a great book of historical fiction as well.
    • 4/5
      Excellent characters! Loved it!! And everyone forgiven must be brave.
    • 3/5
      3.5 I've read a lot of WW2 historical fiction and the characters just didn't compare. Mary's willingness to help teach children that others could care less about was touching. However, some parts really dragged and I had to work to care about Mary's love interests. Not terrible, but not great.
    • 5/5
      Interesting read. Well written. I learned more about the WWII than in most novels as it covered the blitz and Malta. An interesting angle of the .
    • 5/5
      This perhaps, is the best WWll book I have read and I have read a lot of them. I am a huge fan of Chris Cleave and enjoyed his other novels I have read. This one is no exception. WWll is shown without any glory but with gritty real life in it with characters who are human and that I loved. I loved Mary, a privilaged girl who has ideals and comes to maturity during wartime into a woman of depth . She discovers she is a good teacher . She teaches disabled children and a favorite student is black. I did not know such rampant racism existed in London but not with Mary. Her best friend Hilda is also remarkable as the two women take on ambulance driving and nursing when they know nothing of such work. Throughout is a lively banter between them that is so cleaverly intwined. The male characters are Tom, who does not go to war and is a teaching administrator and Allistar who joins up right away. Both these men show clearly how war is on a day to day basis, the losses the battles and the triumps. They are all brave and any shortcomings forgiven in my opinion.
    • 4/5
      England during the Second World War is the setting for this novel. Love found and lost, changing social norms, self discovery, growth and second chances are the themes explored in this novel. The author does a good job in capturing the devastation and horror of war. Some of the dialogue between two of the characters is frankly offensive but it’s important to note that some of the words and expressions used then were not as charged as they are now.
    • 5/5
      Mary North leaves her fancy school in Switzerland to head to the London War Office and volunteer her services in 1939. She doesn't know what to expect but teaching kids, is not it. Of course, she is not what the school expects either. Her methods are unconventional and she is too friendly with the children. When it comes time to evacuate the children to the country she discovers that she is not to go with them. Her last task is to find a black child, Zachary, who has run away. She worries about Zachary having trouble in the country and not being there to help him.Mary goes to the new head of the school district Tom Shaw to ask for a job teaching. The two are instantly attracted to each other, but Tom is one of those insecure quiet men so it takes a while for the two to begin dating. Tom also finds some misplaced children for her to teach. Mostly mentally or physically disabled children that no family in the country would take or children whose parents could not bear to send them away. Mary also has written letters to Zachary's father asking that he send for Zachary and when something happens out in the country Zachary comes back to join her class.Tom's roommate Alistair Heath, who worked at the Tate Gallary, joined the army and is a Captain. He is coming for a quick visit before shipping out to Malta. Mary sets up a date for him with her best friend Hilda. Hilda is a little bit overweight and has a habit of going brainless when a man is around. It doesn't help that her best friend is the beautiful and charming Mary. Once Mary kissed the guy that Hilda had her eye on. So when Mary and Alistair meet and instantly fall in love they do and say nothing but they each know. And Hilda believes that Mary has gone off and kissed Alistair.The book goes back and forth between the terrible things that are happening with Mary and what is happening with Allistair, a lot of it while he is in Malta and the horrible conditions there. The title of the book is used in a full quotation "I was brought up to believe that everyone brave is forgiven, but in wartime courage is cheap and clemency out of season." There are those that won't be lenient on Mary. But courage is indeed cheap during wartime and Mary will show herself to be brave and worthy of our forgiveness. This is a magnificent book that teaches of the frailty of human nature and the fierceness of the human spirit with no easy answers. Quotes What was war, after all, but morale in helmets and jeeps? And what was morale if not one hundred million little conversations, the sum of which might leave men brave enough to advance? The true heart of war was small talk-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p3)It turned out that the only difference between children and adults was that children were prepared to put twice the energy into the project of not being sad.-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 11)“And we need to find you a nice soldier, do we?”“An airman would do in a pinch. I draw the line at navy blue.”“Nice girls do.”-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 42)Almost as strange as being in love was being in it with someone she liked: someone her mother would not countenance nor Hilda even consider. Without the war, how would one ever meet an ordinary man like Tom?-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 74)The worst thing would be to decide that it was love, and then to discover—after one was taken—that it hadn’t been. No: the worst thing would be to decide that it wasn’t love, and then to discover years later—old and unconsoled—that it had been. No: the worst thing—the worst, worst thing—was this having to decide.-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 76)Women share everything. It’s the blessing we received when we turned down muscles and mustaches.-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 93)Women fall differently, that’s all. We die by the stopping of our hearts, they by the insistence of theirs.-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 350)Here they honored one’s name in that generous way the Ritz knew, which was to remember it only when one was sober.-Chris Cleave (Everyone Brave Is Forgiven p 406)
    • 5/5
      This is really quite good. It is a beautiful romance, and covers much regarding the bombing of London. Also, there is a description of the German siege of Malta, and the difficulty of the British forces there. The book was inspired by the wartime experiences of the author's grandparents, especially the grandmothers.
    • 5/5
      Chris Cleave creates such believable characters you’ll mourn their deaths as if you almost knew them. He places them in a believable early-war London, where the brave volunteer and those not yet sure of their bravery stay to fight at home. Sometimes the less brave might prove to be more. Sometimes the battle might prove to be something quite different from the war. And sometimes, whether violently or otherwise, the world really does need to change, and indeed to forgive.The London Blitz, the starvation of Malta, the risks of land, air and sea all come to life in this novel. The rich aren’t always different, and the right things aren’t always obvious. But the characters stumble and learn, readers learning beside them, while a story of the past becomes something awesomely scary and wise for the present. Problems of race, drugs, family loyalties and more come to the fore… as does love.This novel is a slow read interrupted by scenes of devastating action, a self-absorbed insight interrupted by the rest of the world, and a tale of assumptions proven false, love proven slow, and kindness bringing hope. It's highly recommended.Disclosure: I enjoy Chris Cleave’s novels and I was delighted to be given this one as a gift.
    • 4/5
      The British homefront during World War II, has always fascinated me, and this book, based on the author's grandparents' own wartime love story, is an excellent entry into the books written about that time period. Mary North is a young, upper middle class girl who runs away from her finishing school as soon as war is declared in the hopes of landing a glamorous wartime assignment - preferably as a spy. Her friend, Hilda is also looking for something glamorous to do - preferably in order to meet an interesting man.Unfortunately, the job Mary is assigned to is that of a school teacher. In that capacity, she meets Tom Shaw, a young man who is trying to avoid military service. Tome and Mary fall into wartime love. When Tom's friend, Alistair Heath, comes home on leave Mary and time try to set him up with Hilda. However, Mary and Alistair take one look st each other and unwelcome lightning strikes.How these four people navigate their way through the first three years of the war is a tale of bravery, loyalty and loss that seems very real to the reader. the characters don't always act in the most admirable manner, but it's wartime and as the title says, everyone brave is forgiven.
    • 4/5
      This book came highly recommended so I was disappointed in the story.It's a WWII love story which takes place in London while it is being bombed and on the Island of Malta, while it is being blockaded by the Nazis. The main character are Mary North, Tom Shaw and his best friend Alistair. Mary, the only daughter of wealthy Londoners is an extremely independent 18 year old and signs up to become a teacher at the start of the war. Her supervisor is Tom and they eventually become lovers. Once Mary meets Alistair who is on leave from the battle in France, it is love at first sight. Tom is killed in a bombing and Mary begins to correspond with Alistair in Malta. Tragedy, starvation, drug addiction, self doubt dog the two as they wait for each other during the war. When the reunion finally happens, it is a let down as their expectations for their love to have withstood the separation is tested. The reader is not sure if this is the beginning of their romance or the end as both are unsure of their feelings after so much waiting.What I liked about the story was the dialogue between the characters which was quirky, funny and natural. I liked the characters, the descriptions of war torn London and Malta but I found myself skimming through some of the story.
    • 5/5
      I found the writing of Chris Cleave very moving and unforgettable! He writes with a rare skill that allowed me to easily empathise with his characters, laugh with them, marvel at their courage and yet fear for their lives all at the same time. I found the story compulsive reading and there's one passage in the second half of the book that I found so perfectly written, so emotionally charged, I doubt a well directed movie could have added any more suspense to the moment, I had to put the book down and walk away! The historical setting is London during the Blitz and the island of Malta during a two year siege that saw it nearly bombed out of existence. As beautiful as Cleave's writing is, at times he pulled me up, unable to continue reading, with his descriptions of the violence that happened during the war, but here too, his skill as a writer caught me unawares. It was like riding my pushbike around a corner only to discover a huge pothole that I hadn't a hope of missing, leaving me dumped, shaken and a little bruised. As I've said, a rare skill from this author who took my emotions firmly in his hands and ran with them.
    • 5/5
      I received this book from Reading with Robin and Simon & Schuster.

      Mary is an idealistic 18 year old girl who believes she has been called to be a teacher merely as subterfuge for the real job the War Office wants her to do which is to be a spy or something equally as exotic & heroic. They surely can't mean that she'll be doing something as mundane as teaching. But that is her job. And it's related to her teaching job that she meets two men, Tom and Alistair who are best friends.

      I can't say more because if I start I'll not be able to shut up and will give the story away. Let me say instead this is one of the best books I've read. What I love about Chris Cleave's books is he makes me feel what the characters feel and makes me able to hear the characters voices so clearly. In this book I felt my self in London during the bombings, I found myself gripping my seat and holding my breath hoping the bombs weren't going to hit. I laughed, cried and was utterly caught up in Mary's life in London and Alistair's in the war. It was a shock when I quit reading and I was back in my safe, comfortable house. I know this story will stay with me for a long time.