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3.6 AVERAGE
3.6 AVERAGE
I did not finish this book. Very hard to get into. It seemed bland, sterile, dated.
Interesting insight into the nuclear accident at the SL-1 reactor in Idaho Falls, Idaho in 1961. Three people died here vs no deaths at the much more famous Three Mile Island accident from 1979. I had never heard of this accident so that was interesting. The book also gives a peek into the life of a military wife, at home, raising three children with few friends or chances to get out of the house. Pretty slow going, took forever to get through.
I loved this book. It's beautifully written and reminded me of Revolutionary Road (with army wives and nuclear reactors). The 60s details were delightful - the food, cars, clothes. Andria Williams is a born storyteller and she paced this novel perfectly. She created some truly memorable and interesting characters. It was an absolute joy to read a story straight - no timeline twists and turns, no stylistic flourishes. It's a plotty book and the pages fly by. Loved it. Put simply, this book is a really good read.
Nat and Paul married young, as many did in the late 50's/early 60's and now they have two daughters. Paul is a military man so he has to take his family out to Idaho Falls to work in a nuclear plant. This book is about the nuclear reactor accident that occurred on January 3, 1961 in the same way that The Road is about the apocalypse or The Great Gatsby is about dying in a pool. I mean, yeah the accident happens in the novel but it's just part of the bigger story. My point is that this book isn't a history lesson but rather an exploration of a marriage and the strain that work and neighbors and new friends put on it.
I was excited for this and I'm so glad it didn't let me down. In fact, I don't really have any complaints about this book which surprises me because I can always find something to complain about. It was somewhat slow but the pace felt necessary to build tension. I thought the characters were compelling so the fact that it alternated perspectives between Paul, Nat, and Jeannie didn't bother me.
Overall, it was a great book and I will be on the lookout for more by Andria Williams.
I was excited for this and I'm so glad it didn't let me down. In fact, I don't really have any complaints about this book which surprises me because I can always find something to complain about. It was somewhat slow but the pace felt necessary to build tension. I thought the characters were compelling so the fact that it alternated perspectives between Paul, Nat, and Jeannie didn't bother me.
Overall, it was a great book and I will be on the lookout for more by Andria Williams.
An interesting story about a piece of American history that probably most of us are unfamiliar with, the fatal nuclear accident in Idaho Falls in the 1950's. The story centers around a young army couple, Nat and Paul, and their struggles to assimilate to married life, army life deployment, being sent to the small town of Idaho Falls where Paul is working on a top secret nuclear reactor.
When Paul discovers problems with the reactor and the covering up of the log book, his relationships with commanders go south.
Meanwhile, Nat is struggling to fit into the role of an army wife and mother. When Paul gets deployed for six months, she befriends a local cowboy which causes rumors to fly.
When the nuclear reactor explodes friendship and love come together to do what is best for all.
This book is a glimpse into the past of what America was like in the 1950's for men and women. The roles of what a wife and mother were and the role of father and husband. It is eye opening to see how much has changed. It also gave, what I am sure, is a small taste of what it is like to be constantly moving to a new place with the service. Trying to fit in, make friends, make a home and find your way. We owe a lot to our service families for their sacrifices.
Finally, the story of the reactor. It was almost an after story but it really did happen in Idaho Falls! The only fatal nuclear accident in America. In this story it was due to a lot of human cover up and error. A man trying to coast his way through till retirement. Sadly, putting others in harms way.
The story was written lyrically with beautiful, descriptive language. Each chapter is by either Nat, Paul or Jeannie.
When Paul discovers problems with the reactor and the covering up of the log book, his relationships with commanders go south.
Meanwhile, Nat is struggling to fit into the role of an army wife and mother. When Paul gets deployed for six months, she befriends a local cowboy which causes rumors to fly.
When the nuclear reactor explodes friendship and love come together to do what is best for all.
This book is a glimpse into the past of what America was like in the 1950's for men and women. The roles of what a wife and mother were and the role of father and husband. It is eye opening to see how much has changed. It also gave, what I am sure, is a small taste of what it is like to be constantly moving to a new place with the service. Trying to fit in, make friends, make a home and find your way. We owe a lot to our service families for their sacrifices.
Finally, the story of the reactor. It was almost an after story but it really did happen in Idaho Falls! The only fatal nuclear accident in America. In this story it was due to a lot of human cover up and error. A man trying to coast his way through till retirement. Sadly, putting others in harms way.
The story was written lyrically with beautiful, descriptive language. Each chapter is by either Nat, Paul or Jeannie.
A great read about a tough time in a young couple's marriage in the late 50s/early 60s, with the backdrop of the military nuclear program in Idaho. This is one of the books that is fairly long but can get sucked into and end up reading it in just a couple of days--I did! The story is told from three points of view, young wife Nat, military husband Paul, and older yet glamorous neighbor, Jeannie. Jeannie's POV is often about her own dysfunctional marriage and secrets but also her insights and not always kind thoughts about young Nat--who her husband takes an immediate liking to--and Nat's reserved, somewhat dark husband, Paul. Nat likes to run freer than Paul, and while they love one another, they have their share of disagreements about just how free Nat (along with their two young daughters) should get to be. When Paul is unexpectedly deployed for six months, Nat's friendship with a kind, local young man named Esrom who comes to her aid grows, and gossip about their relationship follows. Upon Paul's return home, an accident at the nuclear facility coincides with the biggest test his marriage has faced. The relationships in this book--both the good and bad ones--all felt so authentic, and I absolutely loved how Nat's relationships with both Paul and Esrom were written. So glad I happened upon this book!
Digital audiobook performed by Rebecca Lowman, Hillary Huber and MacLeod Andrews
In June 1959, a young military couple moves to Idaho Falls when the husband is assigned to work at one of the country’s first nuclear power plants. Natalie and Paul Collier have two girls, but Nat can’t seem to form any friendships among the other Army wives and she’s lonely and restless. Paul notices some issues with the reactor and feels that his superiors are doing nothing to correct the problems. Tensions build, and it’s a question of what will blow first – the reactor, Paul’s career, or Nat and Paul’s marriage.
I love character-based novels like this. The way in which Williams writes these characters gives great insight into what is going on. The reader is privy to their secret thoughts, their emotions, fears, disappointments, joys, and expectations. Williams gives us three narrators; in addition to Paul and Nat, we also have Jeannie, the wife of Paul’s supervisor, Master Sergeant Richards. Where Paul and Nat are young, in love, with their future ahead of them, Jeannie and her husband have settled into a sort of truce. She puts up with his womanizing and drinking, trying her best to ensure he doesn’t mess up enough to jeopardize his retirement pension. He closes his eyes to Jeannie’s mean-spiritedness, her gossiping and efforts to numb her disappointments with a drink – or a dalliance - of her own.
Add a handsome local cowboy into the mix and things get interesting quickly.
I was interested and engaged from beginning to end and could hardly put it down.
The audiobook is performed by three talented voice artists: Rebecca Lowman, Hillary Huber and MacLeod Andrews. They do a marvelous job. Each takes a different narrator, making it easy to follow the changes in point of view.
In June 1959, a young military couple moves to Idaho Falls when the husband is assigned to work at one of the country’s first nuclear power plants. Natalie and Paul Collier have two girls, but Nat can’t seem to form any friendships among the other Army wives and she’s lonely and restless. Paul notices some issues with the reactor and feels that his superiors are doing nothing to correct the problems. Tensions build, and it’s a question of what will blow first – the reactor, Paul’s career, or Nat and Paul’s marriage.
I love character-based novels like this. The way in which Williams writes these characters gives great insight into what is going on. The reader is privy to their secret thoughts, their emotions, fears, disappointments, joys, and expectations. Williams gives us three narrators; in addition to Paul and Nat, we also have Jeannie, the wife of Paul’s supervisor, Master Sergeant Richards. Where Paul and Nat are young, in love, with their future ahead of them, Jeannie and her husband have settled into a sort of truce. She puts up with his womanizing and drinking, trying her best to ensure he doesn’t mess up enough to jeopardize his retirement pension. He closes his eyes to Jeannie’s mean-spiritedness, her gossiping and efforts to numb her disappointments with a drink – or a dalliance - of her own.
Add a handsome local cowboy into the mix and things get interesting quickly.
I was interested and engaged from beginning to end and could hardly put it down.
The audiobook is performed by three talented voice artists: Rebecca Lowman, Hillary Huber and MacLeod Andrews. They do a marvelous job. Each takes a different narrator, making it easy to follow the changes in point of view.
The signs of exceptional histornical fiction, to my mind, are 1) a story that would be compelling even without the historical context and 2) enough information about the historical context conveyed in such a way as to make me want to find out more. This book met both of those qualifications. Paul and Nat Collier have just moved to Idaho Falls with their two small daughters. Paul is a military man, stationed in Idaho Falls to be an operator on a nuclear reactor that was a prototype for reactors the army is building in the Arctic Circle, but that is still in use. In use, and badly in need of maintenance and repair. Unfortunately, the Sergeant Master is more concerned with his military career than with safety, and he chooses to cover up the increasing problems with the reactor. Meanwhile, Paul and Nat's marriage becomes strained as they try to adjust to their new life without clarifying their expectations with each other. The alternating viewpoints made these characters relatable and understandable, if not always likeable. The tension of the danger, both at the reactor and in the marriage, made this a quick-moving, engaging story. I loved the writing of Nat's life, that both gave a nod to the stuck-without-options that some women felt in this time period, but also showed that with a little freedom, she (not everyone, but she) really could be fulfilled in her life as wife and mother. Paul was more difficult for me to identify with, but his background explained a lot of his flaws, and he, more than anyone, grew as a person and a husband throughout this book. I loved that he was not painted as a caricature, but as a fully developed character who sometimes fit some stereotypes, but was not limited to those flaws. I would have really liked to know more about the effect of his shift work on their family life, especially in those early weeks when sleep and time together were so problematic on their own. I'm sure his schedule affected that, too, but no mention was made of it. I would also have liked to know more about her family earlier in the story. We do get her background, but it felt belated to me. Minor complaints in a truly excellent book.
Not bad, but not great either.
(read on 2-week training trip to Chicago for Liberty work)
(read on 2-week training trip to Chicago for Liberty work)
challenging
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes