Helpful Score: 2
I was impressed with the issues the author set out to explore in this book. Three American women in the early days of World War II each have to deal with the reality of their worlds changing forever. One woman, Frankie Bord, a radio news broadcaster, seeks out her change eagerly; the other two, Iris (a postmaster in rural Massachusetts) and Emma (a newlywed doctor's wife), are reluctantly dragged into theirs.
I felt that Iris and Emma each represent America in the days before Pearl Harbor--aware that something dreadful was happening, but desperate to avoid dealing with it. The men in their lives are more aware that war is unavoidable, and more willing to confront the war and take action.
The author does a great job of setting three microcosm stories against the macrocosm of the war and the Holocaust in Europe. The characters are sparsely drawn, but they stick with you nonetheless. It's fascinating to watch each character wrestle with his or her response to the war, knowing as we do what the years ahead held for American men and women and men and women all over the world. I very much enjoyed reading about this time of quiet in America before the storm.
I felt that Iris and Emma each represent America in the days before Pearl Harbor--aware that something dreadful was happening, but desperate to avoid dealing with it. The men in their lives are more aware that war is unavoidable, and more willing to confront the war and take action.
The author does a great job of setting three microcosm stories against the macrocosm of the war and the Holocaust in Europe. The characters are sparsely drawn, but they stick with you nonetheless. It's fascinating to watch each character wrestle with his or her response to the war, knowing as we do what the years ahead held for American men and women and men and women all over the world. I very much enjoyed reading about this time of quiet in America before the storm.
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