(360 pages)Essentially an autobiography of early part of author's life, though includes elements not originally written to be used as such. I don't know much about Graves, he was a very well-known poet and author.
By far the best part is the WWI discussion (also longest - book is much worthwhile just for this).
Starts with early family life; then author experiences English schoolboy life as someone who didn't fit in well. Rules/traditions in those days - stifling. Then gets into military and finds a lot of the same. (Not wired for military, but WWI breaks out just as graduating.)
Endless connections via family, school, military. The incredibly small world of Brit upper class. I keep thinking that this connectedness was a big factor in sustaining Brit ascendancy - idea-sharing, common values - small island with outsized influence for a very long time.
Develops close relationship with George Mallory, they go climbing; he is best man at author's wedding.
German relatives - visits in prewar, later they are fighting on the opposite side; this connection leads to some suspicions during the war.
Front line/trench discussions really good. I've also read a lot about this where it's part of a larger narrative in a novel (Parade's End, for example) or an overall history of the war (for example, this one by John Keegan); Graves's approach is different, effective - diary-style, where no compulsion to sacrifice details to a larger story arc. Reminds of the wonderful Isaac Babel military diary-sketches (also in that the writer isn't a military-type, at all).
Exciting times in front lines but he also has quite a few other roles in the military - training, supply stuff - some in England, some back of the front lines - assigned there because of wounds, and also because of what they then called neurasthenia - his nerves were shot. These discussions also interesting, in part because I've seen less of them.
As war winds down, Spanish flu kills mother-in-law; he travels on train with it. That discussion is interesting in these COVID-19 days.
Socialism seems attractive after the war, which made some sense at the time.
Recounts interactions with Wilfred Owen and a lot of poets I don't know, Thomas Hardy, T.E. Lawrence - I found myself not so interested in his reminiscences of meet-ups with famous folk.
Other postwar stuff - married, four kids, Oxford degree, takes a teaching position in Egypt.
Ends at age 33; epilogue reports that he lived in Majorca quite a bit; remarried and had four more children.
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