The Heroes' Welcome

By: Louisa Young

Narrated by: Dan Stevens

Length: 8 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's Summary

The Heroes' Welcome is the incandescent sequel to the best-selling R&J pick My Dear, I Wanted to Tell You. Its evocation of a time deeply wounded by the pain of WWI will capture and beguile listeners fresh to Louisa Young's wonderful writing, and those previously enthralled by the stories of Nadine and Riley, Rose, Peter, and Julia.

It's 1919, and Britain is realising that it is no longer at war. Now, Nadine and Riley, Rose, and Peter and Julia, must try to regain a sense of normality. But long shadows cast by the war dim the potential joys of peacetime, and matters of the heart prove arduous and bewildering.

Normality doesn't seem to exist the way it did, and there is no ‘going back' to anything. What must give, for happiness to stand a chance? For those who fought, those who healed, and those left behind, 1919 is a year freighted with perilous beginnings, unavoidable realities, and gleams of indestructible hope.

©2014 Louisa Young (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic Reviews

Praise for My Dear I Wanted to Tell You:

"This novel is a triumph" (Elizabeth Jane Howard)
"Every once in a while comes a novel that generates its own success, simply by being loved." (The Times)
"Birdsong for the new millennium" (Tatler)
"Powerful, sometimes shocking, boldly conceived, it fixes on war's lingering trauma to show how people adapt - or not - and is irradiated by anger and pity" (The Sunday Times)
"[A] tender, elegiac novel. Others have been here before, of course, from Sebastian Faulks to Pat Barker, but Young belongs in their company" (Mail on Sunday)

Disappointing

This book was a big disappointment, falling far short of 'My Dear ...'. It's not possible to write a critique without spoilers, so I will just say that I found some of the things done by some of the characters totally unbelievable. I would have liked more on how the saintly Nadine coped with a husband with a facial deformity, more on Riley's sister's reaction, more on how Riley developed relationships with the children who came into his life. And what of Nadine's Rome connections? Is there a third volume in the offing? These weaknesses overshadowed the aspects of the book which were well done, notably the way Young brings to light the trauma experienced by soldiers and their loved ones - trauma which did not stop after the men returned home. Dan Stevens is, again, simply superb.

Welcome return of these characters

What made the experience of listening to The Heroes' Welcome the most enjoyable?

Dan Stevens' superb narration: he picks up where he left off in 'My Dear...', not a missed step in transition, and it made the experience of being in the company of these rounded characters once again all the more pleasurable.

What did you like best about this story?

I love Louisa Young's writing, and the way she gets under the skin of all her characters, so you feel you know them as well as you can ever hope to know yourself... She's unafraid to expose their flaws, and their obliviousness to their own flaws, except when it suits them, and their unwillingness to fix themselves, or to try to be better, or to become exhausted by the attempt (how apt is that to your own experience?!) - all emotion and constraint is here.

What about Dan Stevens’s performance did you like?

His pace is deliberate, his intonation sincere, he takes care over the language and passion into the dialogue (his Riley is consistent and convincing): it's perfectly judged and I sometimes wish he narrated all audiobooks (but especially the third in this series, Devotion, because Eve Karpf isn't half so good and I'm listening to it now, finding myself missing Stevens' version of these characters I've come to know well)!

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The struggles of these characters moves me, and at times to tears - Peter's difficulties here were particularly acute and sensitively portrayed - and I found Julia especially interesting in the first novel, so her experiences here were more than a little wince-inducing. I'm so glad there is this follow-up, as the characters are deeply memorable and the story explores the effects of war and personal trauma that don't see the light of day very often.

Any additional comments?

Inspires me to read Homer, and to learn more about Classical Greek literature, which try as I might (I have the Odyssey in paperback with helpful encyclopaedic footnotes...) I've never found the motivation to start before!

Not as good as the first volume

Where does The Heroes' Welcome rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

This book feels like the middle book of a trilogy. It is not as good as the first volume and the story line is rather thin. You feel there is another book coming and if that is the case I would definitely continue with the story. The main theme is shell shock which is interesting, but lacks the emotional intensity of the first volume and is just not quite so interesting about WWI medical practices.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Heroes' Welcome?

Probably the discussions of the effect of shell shock on the mind.

Have you listened to any of Dan Stevens’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I have listened to My Dear I Wanted to Tell You among others and really you cannot fault Dan Stevens as a reader. He is excellent.

Did you have an emotional reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

The emotion was nothing like as intense as in the first volume, but there are some powerful passages.

Any additional comments?

One sort of wondered when the story was going to start - it's a bit unstructured.

Deeply, deeply moving. Incredible insight.

Would you consider the audio edition of The Heroes' Welcome to be better than the print version?

I have not read the print version, I cannot imagine how it could best this excellent audio.

What other book might you compare The Heroes' Welcome to, and why?

The prequel was also wonderful and gave an atmospheric lead into this book.

Have you listened to any of Dan Stevens’s other performances? How does this one compare?

Dan Steven's is superb in both books ( had me in tears on a sunny summers day!!)

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

The culmination of Julia's plight

Any additional comments?

I will listen to both books again. Wonderful audio!!

A good sequel

A good sequel to 'My dear I wanted to tell you'. A very moving story, beautifully written, a must read if you've enjoyed the first book. Beautifully narrated by Dan stevens who always does a great job with every book he reads.

Painfully Poignant

It took awhile to get into gear, a painful (necessary) review and then it built and rose a searing block of grief and misunderstanding and loss and more grief and resolution, lovely therapeutic listening.

Dark depressing post WW1

A harrowing story with some glimmers of hope. It's beautifully written and narrated but not for the faint hearted.

Beautiful beautiful tale of loss pain hope and lov

The story didn't grip me like the first book but it built and built and with the last words it made me weep. This is a tale of hope and loss life and PTSD. Moving and full of deep memories of my father's war scared friends. Evocative of so much a lovely lovey book so well read a reminder not to die just yet.

Absorbing sequel to my dear I wanted to tell you

Thoroughly enjoyed this. Loved finding out what happened to the original characters and their own private wars inside themselves. Sequels are often a letdown but this added to the brilliant prequel. I will think about moments in this story for a long time I think

Tenderly written sequel

Utterly beautiful sequel to the first book. Heartbreaking and hopeful story. Can not recommend it enough.

Fabulous sequel!

Loved it.. Amazing author. Poignant story of the truth of www1 & the after effects. Dan Stevens fabulous narrator. Brought it to life!