Just finished reading: Everyone Brave is Forgiven
I just finished reading Everyone Brave is Forgiven by Chris Cleave. As I wandered semi-aimlessly around the library, I wished I could think of the name of that guy that wrote that book that I loved but can’t remember what it was called.
Then I stumbled on this book, which I wasn’t familiar with, but at the top it said Cleave was the author of Little Bee. That’s the book I was thinking about! And the guy! Woo-hoo!
As I’ve started doing recently, I collected a few doodles that helped me appreciate this book even more. Since the book is largely set in London during World War II, I’ve decided to take Winston Churchill’s advice and compress my thoughts.
Just this once.
Here’s tiny collection of doodles:
Abandoned zoos
Glad I looked this doodle up! The other day, I told my son they just let all of the animals out during the war.
Oops.
In fact, some of the dangerous animals (poisonous snakes and spiders) were killed not long after the war began. Although now I see my doodle is incorrect — most snakes are venomous (they bite to pass on their toxins) not poisonous (if you eat them, they will poison you). I’m just now learning that apparently the garter snake, normally thought of as harmless, is in fact poisonous. You can pick up a garter snake but don’t eat it. They store up the toxins of animals they eat.
I don’t know if the London Zoo had garter snakes during World War II, but if they did, they could have just let them loose. Probably.
Less dangerous animals were let out, so one could see a zebra racing through the streets post-raid.
I’m already being slothful and not compressing my thoughts, but I was curious: does the London Zoo have sloths? Yes.
The doodles above and the one below are all from The Splendid and the Vile: A Saga of Churchill, Family, and Defiance During the Blitz, by Erik Larson
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Protective balloons
More than five hundred “silver elephantines” (barrage balloons) floated above London to protect against dive-bombers and fighters… although my verb choice may have been too optimistic. London was bombed a lot. If a plane happened to hit a balloon cable, it might get tangled and the cable would break, setting off the parachutes, and hopefully preventing the bomb from getting close to the target.
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Cannibals…?!
There’s a lot in this book that reminds me of the other book I’m currently reading that overlaps the time period. I’m saving those doodles for another time.
Having read The First Lady of World War II, I understood the cannibal conversation in Everyone is Brave is Forgiven more fully. On the surface, it’s deeply unsettling. Knowing more of the backstory makes the conversation even more disturbing:
Black troops sent to Australia were warned that it was “a white man’s country” but were first “treated like human beings.”
Private Travis Dixon wrote to his father that they “were allowed to go into any place… they could afford.”
Offended at how the Black servicemen were treated, some white service men started rumors that Black people were cannibals. With tails. That were quick to kill.. and they carried razors.
U.S. Army officers visited local schools and warned children to stay away from Black troops.
American commanders introduced segregation policies.
Letters home were censored to eliminate any reference to the “race problem” or favorable treatment Black soldiers may have experienced.
Doodle inspired by The First Lady of World War II: Eleanor Roosevelt's Daring Journey to the Frontlines and Back, by Shannon McKenna Schmidt. Find more doodles here.
Eleanor Roosevelt later reflected that “among other things, war has taught us that we must approach all persons as human beings.”
Spoiler alert: perhaps it didn’t teach us that lesson after all. As noted in Everyone Brave is Forgiven: “Look at us, won't you? We are nation of glorious cowards, ready to battle any evil but our own.”
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“Hitler Has Only Got One Ball”
No doodle of this one (mercifully!), but if you’re not familiar with the British World War II song … go ahead and look it up. It will be stuck in your head for a while. Very catchy.
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Winston’s son
Author Chris Cleave was inspired to write this book by his grandparents and their experiences during the war. One of his grandfathers was assigned to “look after” Randolph Churchill, Prime Minister Winston Churchill’s son, and “if at all possible keep him out of trouble.” The reference to Randolph means I can talk about his first wife, Pamela, who I got to know in The Daughters Of Yalta.
Pamela was involved with so many people and is utterly fascinating. Eventually, she became a U.S citizen and ultimately was appointed by President Clinton to be U.S. ambassador to France.
Looking for more fiction?
Compressed thoughts