When I first started this book, I thought it was like hundreds of other books of the same era. Just after WWI. Upper-class soldier returned home with an injury falls in love with a girl he sees performing in a show. While many of the common themes are present, the psychological aspect of a man who has seen the horrors of war is more deeply explored then in many of these books.
Stephen falls in love with Lily, hoping she can help him forget the horrors of a war he did not want to fight. Lily, however is in love with her career on the stage. Mrs Winters, Stephen's mother, is concerned about the impression Lily would make on her well ordered upper-class life. Mr Winters is an invalid since the death of his first-born son.
This is a story about many different types of love. It is about the clash of worlds. It is about the aftermath of a the war that took a generation and scarred those who survived it.
After I was about a third of the way through this book, I could not put it down. The first bit was readable, but then it became enthralling. Highly recommended to anyone who likes books about the post-WWI era.
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