Violets
Alex Hyde

Although this book is well written, unfortunately I didn’t really connect with with the characters.
However it was an enjoyable and unusual read and I really liked the use of poetry in the story telling.
I would be interested to see what this author does next.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title.

Was it just me who got a little confused when reading this? First off, it took me far too long to work out that there were two Violets, then I kept not noticing when the protagonist changed and frequently found myself having to double-check which Violet I was reading about or scan back a page or two when the penny finally dropped that the Violet had changed. Despite this, I still found the story really engaging and loved the ww2 setting. Beautifully written.

I wish I could say I loved the book. I found it confusing. I finished the book with the comment ‘huh’?

This was such a surprise! Historical/war fiction is not something I gravated towards but I'm very happy I read this one. Such a unique way of story telling, in short vignettes. Very emotional and I was very invested. Highly reccomend.

Violets is one of those books that gets its rating upped right at the end, because it made me cry. It's a beautifully and lyrically written book - Hyde's poetry background is evident throughout. I had slight difficulty with constantly wanting to untangle fact from fiction in my head - I almost would rather not have known the back-story. That said, I'm not sure if everything was explored fully enough in the novel without knowledge of it.
Nonetheless, I found Violets to be a quick and moving read - I greatly enjoyed being gently towed along its path.
Thanks to Granta and Netgalley for the ARC.

This is one of my favourite reads of 2022 already, and I read it in February. I thought that the writing, the storytelling, the characters, were exquisite. Violets follows two women called Violet at the tail-end of World War II, and follows them through their experiences of pregnancy, friendship, relationships and work throughout this turbulent time.

At the time of reading this, I was going through a bit of a rocky patch, I was struggling to read, struggling to relax, and struggling to take full care of myself. This book really changed that, on a personal note, it really helped me feel like my life can be manageable. One of my favourite things about books is that the story, the characters, can be relatable and inspiring, no matter what you’re going through. You can take the lessons learned throughout the book, and help yourself through a hard time.

This book does mention a few sensitive topics, mainly surrounding pregnancy, but Hyde has written it in such a respectful, informative way, which I find a huge positive within the story. I loved both Violets equally, I really felt like I connected with them, I felt like I knew them, which is even more special considering the book is under three-hundred pages. Everything that was included was essential to the story, it was concise and succinct but still incredibly meaningful. I would recommend this to everyone, whether you like historical fiction or not, I really think that this is a book that should be read widely. I’m definitely excited to read Hyde’s future work.

An early shout for my book of the year. This is such a heart-wrenchingly beautiful novel and I’ve already started recommending it to people.

A novel that bridges the gap between poetry and prose with every line, this is a character study more than anything else and the study of the motherly character in a time of war. A look at the smaller details of life, the trials and tribulations of motherhood, that often gets overshadowed by the war and the mass deaths that were accompanied by it.

Following two women both named Violet, this is the story of what it meant to be a mother in that period o and how motherhood has many different faces. While one Violet was robbed of motherhood the other became a mother outside of wedlock, forcing her to choose escape over having an established support system. The story plays off against the backdrop of the Second World War, but unlike many other historical war novels, the war doesn’t take the center stage of this novel. Instead, it plays a role in the hiding of a pregnancy and the removal of a husband from a recently devasted mother to be. This novel more than anything gives a lyricism to the lengths women go to survive their trauma and the expectations of those around them.

Although I felt sympathy for these two characters that served as echoing mirrors of each other, the real thing that had me falling in love with story was the writing style. The flow of the lines and the balladesque form of the chapters had me flying through the novel and repeatedly going back to savor the lines.

Incorporating a poem of the author’s own design with the already poetry resembling chapters had me falling deeper into to the rhythm of the novel. The poem combined with the border blurring quality of the writing served as a lullaby, comforting me as the lives of these women unfolded.

Due to the poetic nature of the novel, I feel a reread is necessary to grasp and enjoy even more details. Details that were hidden in the lines. This is a task that I look forward to, so all is well.

Perfect for anyone looking for a beautiful novel that portrays and studies the lives of women during the great war. Unfolding their tales and having the war take a back seat, playing a supporting role that influenced their lives but did not determine it. It is looking at characters during a well-studied period through a new lens.

I highly recommend this book, both for its style and its content, the two playing off each other to create something stunning, yet real. Gentle but forceful.

Such a clever book and really well written.
The story follows 2 different women both called Violet and how their lives eventually collide.
Part of the narrative is poetic which is lovely.
I fully expect this book to make the Women's Prize long list.

Two interwoven stories set during WW2 about two women named Violet, one suffering a miscarriage and the other on the front with a baby out of wedlock. A tender and visceral portrait of womanhood and motherhood with excellent characterization and sustained by superlative, vivid and nuance lyrical prose.

My thanks to the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review via Netgalley.

I didn’t think it would be possible for me to enjoy a book about the Second World War quite so much as I did Violets. With two interlinked stories of the two Violets, the short novel tells poignant and quiet stories from within the broader narrative of the war. I loved it.

This beautiful and lyrical book is a little gem- two women, both named Violet, both experiencing war and motherhood, albeit quite differently, see their lives run in parallel to each other.

The book speeds along, in tender and rich prose as the two women’s lives unfold alongside the troubles of war and what remains concealed. Something about this book was deeply enchanting, the imagery and language always a delight, and sometimes brutal and shocking in its observations, but always bewitching.

I received an advanced copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

The story of two women with the same name. Their stories are so deeply woven that there is no delineation between the two characters in the book, and their worlds and experiences merge. At points the reader needs to look back to notice the small change from the story on one Violet to the other. Artistic poetic prose, honest painful prose set this book above the usual story of two women.
Living different lives which will at some point converge, we see married Violet in Wales, and headstrong, independent Violet who travels far from home. Lives so different, both lived on their own terms, riddled with difficulties, love, fear, hope, so similar in strength and adversity, so different in scenery and landscape. So real.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of publication in exchange for an honest review. I gulped this book down in two days. Truly memorable.

I wanted to like this but unfortunately, I just couldn't get into it at all. The writing was nice and the characters were very well-formed

Not for me, I’m afraid. I found the story totally confusing, didn’t like the writing style and felt no engagement with any of the characters. I appreciate that there is a good story in there, but the manner of telling it did nothing for me. This is my voluntary review after receiving a free copy of the book.

If you loved Small Pleasures from Clare Chambers, then you’ll adore Alex Hyde’s debut…

I devoured this book in hours thanks to its engaging prose and fully formed characters. Violet, two Violets in fact, who live separate lives during the Second World War. Set during the dying days of the war, this beautiful debut tells the story of loss and motherhood through two very different lenses for each of our Violet’s, with one living in the Welsh Valleys and grappling with the loss of a baby and future procreation, and another who is serving in the war on the frontline, carrying a baby out of wedlock and removed from the identity she sees for herself.

Their stories, both unique and yet the same in many ways, slowly intertwine as the story progresses, as their stories progress, with a finish that is both unexpected but deeply satisfying as an invested reader.

I couldn’t put this book down and when I did, I couldn’t stop thinking about these two women. They are multi-dimensional, complex and rich in detail; I became close to them and invested in them. Hyde writes beautifully, with all of the rage, hope, optimism and defeat you want when digesting the complexity of the female experience. A triumph.

Somewhere between 3 - 3.5

A beautifully written - you can tell the author is a poet almost immediately! - debut novella following two different women, both named Violet. Their stories are separate and told alternately but include a number of similarities (mostly relating to the war, loss, isolation and motherhood).

As is often the case with novels with dual storylines there was definitely one Violet whose story I was more interested in and felt like the stronger narrative. Despite this minor criticism Hyde's debut still has much to recommend it - the internal lives of the characters are vividly evoked and the writing excellent.

Set towards the end of the Second World War, the book tells the story of two women, both called Violet, with the narrative alternating seamlessly between the experiences of the two women.

The first Violet we meet has just suffered a miscarriage and she and her husband, Fred, find themselves without any prospect of having the child they have longed for, and prepared for. ‘And the room upstairs, ready and waiting, the walls still bare. No summer baby, she thought. No noise and mess.’ With Fred posted abroad, Violet has to bear her grief alone and try to pick up the pieces of her life.

The second Violet is in the opposite position, pregnant as the result of a brief relationship. Desperate to hide the fact from her mother and fearful of the response to her unmarried state, she signs up for the ATS and is posted abroad. On the voyage to Italy she meets the vibrant and worldly Maggie and they form an unlikely friendship. Despite Violet going to greater and greater lengths to disguise the fact she is expecting a child, discovery is inevitable.

The way the lives of the two Violets intersect is perhaps not that surprising but still provides a resolution for both of them, and for Fred, a character I loved.

However, the most remarkable aspect of the book, and the feature which sets it apart from other books I’ve read, are the lyrical passages which interrupt the text from time to time. Addressed to ‘Pram Boy’, the unborn son of Violet, these passages are poetic in nature and contain some striking imagery. They chart the progress of the child Violet is carrying from conception, through gestation, to birth. Often the passages use metaphors linked to Violet’s experiences at the time, such as this during her voyage to Italy.

So wait then, stay your course
Decked and berthed and set in the hold, darkly stowed
That’s you, mother-lover, filling her up.
Deep in the womb glow, sweet loving cup.

Finally, Pram Boy makes the journey from being ‘a rounded pod of seed’ in his mother’s womb to the outside world.

Come now, hush
A moment’s respite, release,
Before your un-knit skull crowns to the air
To the burn of a ragged tear
And your Mama a cat panting its litter-runt free

Perhaps the only criticism I can make of the book is that the ‘second Violet’s’ story is more eventful and compelling but this is a minor quibble because Violets is a remarkable debut and I think Alex Hyde is an author to look out for in the future.

this was an ambitious poetic historical fiction novel that is not an easy read at all. it follows two complex women and is written so lyrically and poignantly. in fact, at times i found it trying too hard that it distracted and confused me, but it is still worth the read. i would recommend if it sounds like something you'd enjoy.

thanks to netgalley and the publisher for providing me with the digital arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Violets by Alex Hyde.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Violets is the story of two women (both named Violet) in 1940s Britain whose lives are at a parallel and yet a complete contrast. One, a housewife who loses her baby to miscarriage, and the other, an unwed young woman trying to conceal her pregnancy for as long as possible.

I just loved this story. The author weaves poetry and prose throughout while keeping the book super accessible to all readers. Historical fiction is not usually my first pick but it's clear that the author knows their characters inside out and they could have as easily been women in 2021 as they were women at the end of World War 2. The subject matter (although centred around British women) is one that is close to the hearts of so many Irish women, and without giving too much away about what happens, the things that both women went through in this book mirror the story of many women in Ireland over the past century.

One of the only issues I had with this book was that I would have loved it to be longer! An absolute gem that I'm so happy I got to read before its publication date.

This book will be published 3rd February 2022. Thank you to @grantabooks for approving me to read an advanced copy via @netgalley.