March book of the month: Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. Join author webchat on Monday 27 March, 9-10pm

[RachelMumsnet]

We’re delighted to announce March book of the month is Chris Cleave’s Everyone Brave is Forgiven. We have 50 free copies up for grabs and Chris Cleave will be joining us to discuss the book on Monday 27 March, 9-10pm.

Impeccably researched, Chris Cleave's latest novel shines a light on the untold stories of the second world war. He looks at the plight of the unwanted children who remain in London during the blitz, at a small community of black inhabitants, working in theatres in London throughout the war and he draws on the experiences of his own Grandfather when describing the plight of soldiers stationed in Malta, besieged by horrific attacks from both Italian and German troops.

These fascinating stories are explored through three characters, dealing with complexities of love, alongside the dangers of war. With emotion and humour Cleave looks at and their capacity for humility and courage both on and off the battle-field.

Find out more about the book and apply for a free copy before Monday 27 February and put the date in your diary to join the discussion and chat to Chris Cleave on this thread on 27 March.

This book is on my tbr pile. It has movec up to the top on the back of this thread. Thanks Chris for coming on

@MaxNichols24

Thank you Mumsnet for hosting this chat! My name is Max Nichols. I am fifteen years old and joining from the US! I have just started Everyone Brave is Forgiven and I am really loving it!

As an aspiring author, I have two questions for Chris Cleave:

1. How do you get into the heads of your characters?

1. What are the advantages/disadvantages of having multiple points of view in a novel?

Thank you very much Mr. Cleave!

@MaxNichols24 Glad you're enjoying the book - thanks for reading it. Good questions. (1) I think it's important to be curious about people's lives and how they talk. If you come at a novel with a question about life, and if it's a good, simple, question to which you honestly don't have an answer, then you begin to research your characters with the kind of humility that opens you up to the subtle things people say and don't say - and these are the little details that make a character real (rather than just a cipher for the writer's ego). (2) Multiple POVs are a good thing if they're carefully chosen and carefully executed. I've only used that technique once (in Little Bee) because it is very hard to get right. I think it works if you can make the novel feel like a conversation, not an argument, between the points of view. Ideally they are singing close harmony, or at least verse and chorus, to tell the story between them. The story comes first. Otherwise it can start to feel like a contrived dichotomy which might be better handled by dialogue within one POV. Sorry if this comes across a bit technical - I'm rushing to try and answer as many Qs as possible! If you'd like a fuller answer you can get in touch via my website at chriscleave.com and I'll be happy to answer in a less compressed fashion! All good wishes for your writing.

@RachelMumsnet

Well that brings us to the end of the hour - it went so fast! Thanks SO much Chris for your time this evening and for your thoughtful and fascinating answers. It's great to hear about how you came to write such a brilliant novel - as you see it was loved by many readers and we're delighted that we selected it as book of the month.

Good luck with your next project and please do come back another time. Many thanks to all those who joined us tonight. A reminder that April Book of the month is The Mandibles by Lionel Shriver, who is joining us on Wednesday 3 May. Goodnight

Thank you Rachel, thank you everyone. Really sorry I didn't manage to answer everyone - it was a race against time & I am a two-finger typist. I've loved your questions, appreciated your kind words, and really enjoyed the event. It's been an honour to be on Mumsnet - thank you. Happy reading to everyone and all good wishes - Chris

Thank you Mr. Cleave!

I have not read this book but it sounds like one i would like to read. I will be looking out for this in my local library.

Wow! I've not heard of this book before, cant wait to read it!

So sorry I couldn't join in, unforeseen internet problems on Monday evening

I have read through the questions/answers and if I may add that I thoroughly enjoyed this book. A lovely tribute to his grandparents, and a reminder to us all how war changed everyone.

Thank you.

I was away and unable to join the webchat but have just finished reading the book - thank you for my copy.

I was fairly sure I had read one of Chris Cleave's books before and after a quick google identified it as "The Other Hand" which I don't seem to have so must have got from the library - I know I really liked it so probably wouldn't have passed it on!

This one is quite different. My parents met & married in the forces, and one set of grandparents lived through the blitz in London. I had heard about their experiences and thought I would relate to the details in the book, but I found the main characters were too "posh" for me and it was difficult to empathise.

The bits set in Malta were brilliant, the story of the negro entertainers was fascinating and other set pieces - Alistair's Dartmoor experience for instance - were really engaging & had me on the edge of my chair. It was also superbly written. So for me it was a bit of a curate's egg. Will definitely look out for his next book though.

What a great read. This helped me understand more about WW2 and how things were then. Especially the racism around at that time. There was some uncomfortable reading for me at times but I loved this book. More from the author please.

I have just finished this book which I struggled to get through and hence why it has taken me so long. Cleave is a brilliant writer but I struggled to connect with the characters. I liked the detail of the soldier's harrowing time in Malta and from the point of view of the children left behind the evacuation of London but thought the plot was thin.

Thank you so much for the copy and apologies for joining the discussion with such a delay. Just finished the book. It's brilliant. Gripping and vivid, it depicts how relationships, life perspectives and characters change while one is trying to survive the war and its atrocities. A novel of sadness, death, devastation, but also of hope and love. A real page turner.