Redheaded Reviews: Everyone Brave Is Forgiven by Chris Cleave

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.