Everyone Brave Is Forgiven (Reprint) (Paperback) (Chris Cleave)

Book Synopsis

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.

Review Quotes

Praise for" Little Bee"
"A raw look at vulnerability, accountability and survival." "--Chatelaine"
"An immensely readable and moving second novel. . . . Cleave uses his emotionally charged narrative to challenge his readers' conceptions of civility, of ethical choice . . . The character and voice of Little Bee reveal Cleave at his finest. . . . An affecting story of human triumph." "--The New York Times Book Review"
"Cleave has a Zola-esque ability to write big and deeply. . . . [He] makes the reader think about political issues and care about his characters." "--Calgary Herald"
"Enthralling." "--The Globe and Mail""

About The Author

CHRIS CLEAVE is a columnist for "The Guardian" in London. His first novel, "Incendiary," was published in 20 countries, won the 2006 Somerset Maugham Award and was shortlisted for the 2006 Commonwealth Writers' Prize. His second novel, "Little Bee," was a "New York Times" bestseller and was shortlisted for the Costa Award and the Commonwealth Writers' Prize. In Canada, it was a national bestseller, and a reader and book club favourite. His third novel, "Gold," was also a bestseller and received wide critical acclaim. Chris Cleave lives in London with his French wife and three mischievous Anglo-French children. The author lives in London, UK.