A rarity, my friends--five stars. I seldom give that but a few books deserve it and this is one.Marge Piercy has taken ten major characters--six women and four men--and written a superb novel of the homefornt during World War II. She gives a very excellent portrayal of the hardships faced at home. Waiting to get a letter from the loved one overseas. The stringent rationing of gas, sugar and many other items. The rumors. The good times and the bad. The seperation of families. The political tensions and infighting among ourselves in the homefront.Especially interesting to me are the changes in society. When Ruthie goes to work in a war plant, many men harass her as they feel it is "unnatural" for a woman to want to do a man's job. Another character, a woman air pilot, is grounded because it is felt they--the women pilots--are taking jobs away from men who have families to feed. And, yes, you young teens reading this, in the 1940's lots of people--men AND some women--beleived this!When she starts the story, the switching from one character to another takes a bit of getting used to. But as the lives of the characters begin to intertwine, the book gains momentum. I do feel the characterizations are quite good, though I did enjoy some characters much more than others. Bernice, Ruthie, Jackie and Naomi are the best told characters I felt. Louise and Abra could have stayed home; the other characters fall somewhat in between. Each reader will probably find one or two favorites of his or her own.A well written novel this is a must for any fan of historical fiction; especialy if your interested is the 1940's. Fans of regular history would find much goodinformation as well. Very Highly Recommended.
I have to rewrite my review. I haven't read this book in 20 years, and started re-reading it early this month. My how things change. While I like Piercy's writing and her characterizations and setting are very strong, I was totally blown away by the fact that just about every single character -- and there are many characters in this novel -- is involved with some kind of animal exploitation. This is probably not something a non-vegan would notice, and I recognize that animal exploitation has historically been the norm so some depictions of it, and much ignorance around it, is to be expected. Yet it is difficult to read and care about characters who laugh at chickens dying, where one woman works at a furrier, where another character has hunted, another has slaughtered animals without being squeamish -- and on and on. One or two of these things, sure, I understand -- that's how things were and realistically that cannot be helped-- but this is totally beyond anything I've read before. I mean, it is fiction. Stick someone in a bookshop instead of a furrier's. Make the family business something like tailoring. But for every character to exploit animals beyond eating them is just too distracting and upsetting for me to continue. Particularly when Piercy is trying to write about the horrors of war.In the end I knew I would end up loathing just about every character in this 740+ -page work, so I stopped reading it. This book has gone from my favorite novel to seriously disappointing piece of shit.
Really good. Interesting characters, structured plot, and included tons of historical detail without seeming clumsy about it. WWII is a beast of a subject, but this book managed to cover a lot of it thoughtfully - from combat, resistance, refugee, American, French, Jewish, female, male perspectives...it's pretty impressive.Took off a star because the beginning was a little slow, and the prose was just a little bit awkward in some parts. Also, the version I read was one of those paperbacks that look like a trashy romance novel, which I feel is unfair to the complex story that Gone to Soldiers is. Plus the type was obnoxiously small.Because there are so many characters, even if you don't relate to/care for some of them, there are bound to be some you like. My favorites were Ruthie, Louise, Jacqueline, and Daniel. I didn't care for Abra - she struck me as immature and pathetic, chasing around a much older man who clearly didn't love her back. Long book, but worth the time. I'd recommend it.
—Sarah
I read this book before sometime in the 1990's. Before I starting my BOB. Book of books!This time it took me over a year to read it as it was my upstairs book when the current hard cover was too heavy or a purse book as my copy is paperback.I did remember all the characters and some of the incidents that happened to them. This is a sprawling novel that covers all of the years of World War 2 with many characters from all arenas who were impacted by this war:A Jewish translator of Japanese transmissions,a novelist turned army reporter,a college professor,a young French Jewish girl who got out of France just before it fell,her sister who joins the resistance and spends time in the camps and on a death march,A young female scholar from a blue blood family who becomes a member of the OSS,a woman who is a pilot and many more.I came to know each of these characters so well that now I will miss them!
—R. Honey
In the 1980s, while writing and editing a newsletter for the WMST program at the University of Maryland, College Park, I interviewed a woman professor who had done research on women in the military. I was surprised at how fascinating the subject was. Shortly afterwards I came across this novel, which I really enjoyed. I just found the title again and am looking forward to re-reading it. I liked that this novel featured several very strong, independent women. 30 years later, I remember them as sexy and romantic as well as couragousc, strong, strong-willed, and intelligent. Although at heart I am anti-war, I was left with the thought that being female does not, of itself, limit my ability to face any peril or hardship. I am powerful enough to carry whatever loads life puts here for me. I can choose to point a gun, fly a plane, or hold evil at bay by cleverness and manipulation if need be. I have the right, and the responsibility, of asserting my power for the sake of a higher good. Goddess-willing, I never will be called to do so in battle!
—Cathy Benedetto
