In Memoriam

In her assured debut, Winn accomplishes the mission of historical fiction with wide-ranging research, emotional depth, and a dash of derring-do. WWI buffs will recognize details and themes, all presented seamlessly and in powerful ways: the carnage of the Somme seen through the eyes of a German machine-gunner, reproduced newspaper lists of the dead that the reader scans just as anxious civilians did. The heart of the novel is the relationship between two students as one follows the other from boarding school to the trenches. Winn conjures the intensity of teenagers in love and war, yet she knows that—like the soldiers who had periodic rests away from the front—readers need to recuperate too. An interlude set in an officers’ prison camp provides respite by showcasing her humor and storytelling panache. I can’t think of a better introduction (especially for Gen Z—now the same age as the soldiers) to what was once called the War to End All Wars. And I can’t wait to see what Winn does next!