"Good-bye, sir, I'll see you later on."
"Moved by a compulsion that he did not understand, without considering the consequences, believing that what he was about to do was utterly disgraceful and criminal, he put his arms round Anson and pulled him closer."
Look Down in Mercy is a novel by Walter Baxter. First published in 1951, it is both an intense war novel and an exploration of love between men in a situation where that wasn’t permitted.
This novel centers on the Burma campaign of World War II. Kent is an officer in the British Army. He has a wife back in England, but feels emotionally distant from her. Initially, this manifests in him having a turbulent attempt at romance with a nurse named Helen. However, he soon meets a private named Anson, who becomes his orderly. They end up feeling attracted to each other. This leads to Kent struggling both with internalized homophobia and the possible repercussions if anyone found out about his relationship with Anson. Combining this with wartime duties and horrors leads to Kent becoming a deeply troubled person.
Look Down in Mercy was reprinted in 2014 by Valancourt Books
. It includes both the original British ending and, as an appendix, the first American edition's alternate ending.
Look Down in Mercy contains examples of:
- Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder: Kent has a wife in England, but that doesn't stop him trying to romance both Helen and Anson.
- Anti-Hero: Kent. While the protagonist of the story, he is far from a typical hero. In particular, he is quite self-centered. He puts his own survival far above helping others. For example, he leaves a wounded man to die when he crosses the river with Anson and lets three men get killed before him when he is captured by the Japanese. When thinking about Kent’s self-centeredness, Anson considers how most people, Kent included, do not fall into the role of a hero:“There always seemed to be something odd about heroes, either they got religion or believed in something else or just wanted to show off. It wouldn’t be easy for most people to be heroes, most people didn’t believe in anything very much, at least nothing important, nothing except themselves.”
- Asian Buck Teeth: Discussed. Bonar had thought of the Japanese as always following this trope, but after Goodwin describes to Bonar what a specific Japanese soldier looks like, Bonar is confronted by how this trope may not match reality.
- Child of Two Worlds: Helen has both Indian and English ancestry, yet she feels drawn to marry English men more than fellow Anglo-Indians. Despite Robert, an Anglo-Indian, having unquestionable romantic interest in her, she sees him only as a second choice. She feels that it is wrong to think that way, but it is still a part of her. And even though she is interested in marrying a man from England, they do not see her as coming from the same community as them.
- Closet Key: Anson is Kent’s closet key.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: Kent experiences this after being captured by the Japanese.
- Ethnic Menial Labor: Some characters with non-British heritage, such as Sammy and Sher Ali, are placed into the role of servants.
- Foil: Anson’s acceptance of his circumstances and unconditional love for Kent highlight Kent’s chaotic, insecure, and self-interested character.
- Forbidden Love: Kent and Anson are attracted to each other despite being in a time and place where they could face severe consequences for being two men who love each other in that way.
- Gayngst: Kent has a lot of guilt about being attracted to Anson. He constantly is struggling with internalized homophobia. Averted with Anson; he is relatively accepting of his attraction towards Kent.
- Hate Sink: Goodwin is shown to have absolutely no redeeming qualities. For example, he hit Anson in the mouth and kicked him in the thigh just because he wouldn’t go to a brothel with him. He also is fond of stealing, and will go to great lengths to do so. He stole keys to a safe from a rotting corpse and while he was drunk he murdered a woman with leprosy thinking that she was a watchman who held the keys to a jewel bazaar. Goodwin’s dislikeable nature culminates in him trying to blackmail Kent into revealing his relationship with Anson.
- Heartbroken Badass: After Anson and Kent see each other for the last time, Kent cries.
- Held Gaze: Kent and Anson have a held gaze when they are deciding who will save an injured Goodwin when he can’t get up out of the jungle.
- Inappropriately Close Comrades: Not only are Kent and Anson having a same-sex relationship, but the officer/soldier relationship also results in it being difficult to be seen with each other in public unless Anson is doing his duties as an orderly.
- Jungle Warfare: As this book takes place during the Burma campaign, there is plenty of this.
- Manly Gay: Kent is a very masculine military man who also is definitely not straight.
- Meaningful Look: For a brief moment, Kent notices that Anson is watching him, Anson smiles, and Kent smiles in return. Anson sees that as a confirmation of Kent’s attraction to him.
- Messy Maggots: Goodwin sees corpses covered in maggots.
- Scenery Porn: There are very detailed descriptions of lush jungle vegetation and expansive landscapes.
- Sexy Discretion Shot: Kent and Anson take their clothes off, cuddle in bed together, and Kent’s internalized homophobia makes him think of it as an unforgivable sin, but no details of the sex itself are provided. At least in the original British version and the Valancourt reprint. The 1952 American version is a bit more explicit.
- Shoot the Dog: When Goodwin tries to blackmail Kent into revealing his relationship with Anson, Kent murders Goodwin. Kent could write the note falsely saying that Goodwin’s leg was too injured to continue on the battlefield and possibly avoid the secret getting out, but there was no reason Kent should necessarily trust Goodwin with that secret, and even writing the note alone would probably still reflect poorly upon him as an officer. There’s certainly no easy option in this circumstance, but in order to greatly lessen Kent and Anson’s risk of being outed and thus lessen the risk of facing horrible legal consequences, murder seems like the most convenient option. And since Goodwin has been established to be a terrible person, it is hard to feel sympathy for him.
- Smoking Hot Sex: After they have sex, Kent and Anson smoke in bed.
- Sociopathic Soldier: The Japanese who capture Kent and Anson treat them horribly.
- Starbucks Skin Scale: Helen’s skin tone is compared to honey and coffee.
- Survival Mantra: Kent repeats a mantra to himself to help him survive the brutal march through the jungle with barely any water.
- Violence Is Disturbing: The descriptions of injury and death can be very graphic, and are not depicted in a fun Gorn-y way.
- Vomit Indiscretion Shot: There are multiple detailed descriptions of characters vomiting.
- War Is Hell: Not only is the violence gruesome, but characters have to endure arduous travel through the hot jungle.
- While Rome Burns: At one point, while Kent and Anson’s surroundings are filled with bombs detonating and bullets flying, they simply embrace each other under a bush.
