Three biographical stories about three men who dies young. Apart from the first character, an artist, I had not really heard of the others. Their stories were remarkably similar in many ways; they all seemed to rush head-forward towards their early deaths without much thought. Interesting read.

I think I'm finished trying to like Sebastian Faulks' books. Such interesting characters, but they end up sounding more like a rather cardboard research project. I've never been able to connect with his writing.

It might well be good but it's not for me I'm afraid. Had to give up on this one. It's my fault for not finding out what it was about before starting it.

While the three mini-biographies in this volume were clearly told, I reamin unsure as to why it recieved plaudits. There were some links between the lives and fates of the men that justified putting them together but for me it was nothing special, sorry.

The story of the self-destructive airman was the most powerful - maybe because of it's position at the end it gained strength by being an implicit commentary on the other two lives ... or is that just me trying to be as deep as a more literary reviewer?

The edition I have is not one that is shown - a Vintage paperback with a detail from a Blake painting (the same one used on the front of some editions of Skellig I think) on the cover. I read about Wood's painttings blind as I was unaware some had been reproduced in the plates section - a pointer to them would have been nice for someone who doesn't automatically turn to the pictures first but takes them in their place as a diversion.

This will probably become a BookCrossing book in due course, as I am not bursting to re-read it.

Having read Richard Hillary's impressive memoir, The Last Enemy, I saw a Goodreads reviewer noted that Faulks had written this book, which included a brief biography of Hillary. For that reason I read this book and found the portion on Hillary, a Battle of Britain airman, well done. While Faulks revisits what Hillary had written in 1942, he also adds to the story, detailing the airman's death in a plane crash that same year. It was a rewarding insight.

The other two brief biographies were less engaging. The first was of the British artist Christopher Wood, who led a driven live dedicated to becoming a great painter. He was achieving some success in this quest when he underwent emotional trauma and committed suicide (no spoiler, that is why the subtitle cites "short lives") by leaping in front of a moving train.

The other account is of a bright young lad, Jeremy Wolfenden, who seemed destined for great things. He settled on a career in journalism, becoming a foreign correspondent for several English newspapers, including a stint in Cold War Moscow. His homosexuality allowed the Soviets to compromise him and use him for espionage purposes. The British intelligence agency also made use of him in the same fashion. Despite his vaunted intellect his self destructive behavior led to his death from alcoholism. Some effort was made to link his death to one or another of the intelligence services with which he was involved, but Faulks pretty well refutes this idea. For all his promise, his life seems quite peripheral.

Every life, even short ones, contains a story, perhaps. Of these three, Hillary's seems the most purposeful.

Really moving account of three brilliant young 20th century lives cut short. A great theme and really well researched and written.
Jeremy Wolfenden was especially fascinating: Faulks writes about how you’d have expected all his very brilliant contemporaries to have gone on to build a just, intelligent and strong society in Britain, but this just didn’t really happen.

Brilliant. Excellent choice of subjects. Is there a link between Jeremy and the setting for "on green dolphin street" or am I letting the cold war paranoia take hold? A very scholarly book and too short. Hope the author tries this again.

Have stopped reading this book because I found the first story became boring. May come back to it at some point.
Usually I enjoy books by Sebastian Faulks and rate them highly.

The lives of three flawed and therefore 'fatal' men from the 20th century. Each story is told with a mixture of biography and investigative journalism. The three men are linked in various ways...explicitly via family and common acquaintances, and morally through their relationships, motivations and fa al flaws. This is a great evocation of recent history, intermingling art, religion, relationships, class, education and various other facets of English life.

Trio of early deaths

Three young men in successive eras. Born in England, they engaged with the wider world via artistic ambition, war, journalism and espionage. Their lives cover a lot of ground, but there is a stultifying quality that oppressed them: a grim disapproval of homosexuality, difference of any kind that belong to the milieu they had the mis/fortune to be born into. A sobering and fascinating account of the drama of the times. I found many names I have since looked up, so it is also a starting point for further reading about lost lives.

Truly fascinating account of the three short lives of three exceptional men. Beautifully written as one would expect by Sebastain Faulkes. A fascinating history of the early 20th century as seen through the prism of their lives.

Three too long and tedious Wikipedia articles.