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tsbowman1124's review
5.0
Definitely a keeper. This is World War II through the eyes of multiple women and men. The different stories overlap and intwine. Marge Piercy does her usual stellar job of creating believable human characters. It was an engrossing read.
velocitygirl14's review against another edition
3.0
This was a true epic of a book in all senses of the word. It goes from Pearl Harbour to the end of the war and has a ton of characters. It was gripping, well researched and had good descriptions and lively writing.
It did grab me for the entire time I was reading it and it does deserve a good rating, but looking back, not the five stars that I gave it.
That being said, there were a few things that were plain jarring and some a bit pointless.
She has one of the characters being sexually hit on by two older men of her FAMILY and that was like "WHUT?" I get that the character's supposed to be hot or something, but really?
There were also three characters too many that could have been cut out of the book and it wouldn't have made a difference. In fact, I wish she had so that she could have written about Stalingrad or spent more time in the Pacific.
The other complaint I had was of the same sex relationships. It was literally just smashed into your face that these two people, who hadn't shown previous inclinations as the stories were being built up, all of the sudden are pretty gay. One ends up deciding to live as a man out of a work necessity and it honestly didn't sit right. I know the book was written in 1987, so maybe it was a product of its time, but daaaamn Daniel, did it feel awkward to read.
The last thing was the connection of the twins and how they could feel each other's pain. It didn't fit in such a realistic setting and made it jarring to read. The suspension of disbelief took a beating with this.
Overall, it's a great book about WW2, but it does have it's flaws.
It did grab me for the entire time I was reading it and it does deserve a good rating, but looking back, not the five stars that I gave it.
That being said, there were a few things that were plain jarring and some a bit pointless.
She has one of the characters being sexually hit on by two older men of her FAMILY and that was like "WHUT?" I get that the character's supposed to be hot or something, but really?
There were also three characters too many that could have been cut out of the book and it wouldn't have made a difference. In fact, I wish she had so that she could have written about Stalingrad or spent more time in the Pacific.
The other complaint I had was of the same sex relationships. It was literally just smashed into your face that these two people, who hadn't shown previous inclinations as the stories were being built up, all of the sudden are pretty gay. One ends up deciding to live as a man out of a work necessity and it honestly didn't sit right. I know the book was written in 1987, so maybe it was a product of its time, but daaaamn Daniel, did it feel awkward to read.
The last thing was the connection of the twins and how they could feel each other's pain. It didn't fit in such a realistic setting and made it jarring to read. The suspension of disbelief took a beating with this.
Overall, it's a great book about WW2, but it does have it's flaws.
sherylk's review against another edition
5.0
This. Book. Was. Amazing. Piercy's [b:Woman on the Edge of Time|772888|Woman on the Edge of Time|Marge Piercy|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1480498743s/772888.jpg|838570] was one of my favorite reads a few years back, so I had made a mental note to read another book by her. This far exceeded my expectations - it was a sweeping story of 10 different people and their lives during WWII, reminiscent in its scope of [b:Exodus|42697|Exodus|Leon Uris|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1359742531s/42697.jpg|804397]. The storylines in this book ranged from people in the French Resistance to others in concentration camps to others who are soldiers in the Pacific to others who are living in the United States. Their lives intersect in both obvious and unexpected way; this book is a classic saga not to be missed.
This ought to be a miniseries....
This ought to be a miniseries....
katevane's review against another edition
5.0
The history of World War Two we learnt at school went something like this. There were these bad people in Germany called Nazis, who invaded other countries and were cruel to people, especially Jews. The British (and belatedly the Americans) were the good people who went in and saved everyone. It would be nice to think that as we grow up we realise it isn’t quite that simple, but that still seems to be the dominant narrative in much of the media and popular culture.
This novel presents a much more nuanced view. It follows a number of loosely linked characters from the start of the war. Their stories take in a range of locations, nationalities and situations, although American, female and Jewish characters all feature prominently. The action spans four continents and takes in battles, intelligence, resistance, factory work and the concentration camps.
What Piercy does so brilliantly is tell an epic story, covering the big political and moral issues, while giving you vivid, believable characters, and making them each the centre of their own narrative. There is heroism and brutality but there are also stories of love and ambition, of small acts of nobility and selfishness, of the ways which people find to survive. Some of the characters experience unspeakable horror, others bleakness and deprivation. For some, especially women, the war brings opportunities.
Piercy highlights the moral ambiguities of the conflict. The reluctance of western countries to welcome refugees is highlighted. Many on the Allied side believe leftists and Jews are more of a threat than Fascists – leading the US to initially side with the Vichy government rather than anti-colonial and resistance fighters. Women form an essential part of the wartime workforce but are still regarded as inferior by many, their status provisional.
At the start of the book many just don’t believe that war and barbarity could happen in their enlightened world. Nowhere is this more clearly shown than in the story of Jacqueline, a French-Jewish teenager. Her narrative begins with an endearing mix of cleverness and naivety. She is dismissive of her father’s Zionism, seeing herself as internationalist, secular, trying out lofty opinions and philosophical ideas. Even after the Nazi invasion, she initially feels that life has changed little, that people’s fears have been exaggerated. Of course, her innocence is short-lived.
This book is totally immersive in the way that only long novels can be (in the acknowledgements Piercy says it would have been even longer, but she couldn’t get the funding for a research trip to the Soviet Union). It forces you to consider what you could endure, if you had to, whether you would be brave or look the other way (of course none of us thinks we would be a collaborator or a profiteer). It makes you wonder if we, like Jacqueline, think this couldn’t happen to us, even as many of the events in the book resonate today.
*
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
This novel presents a much more nuanced view. It follows a number of loosely linked characters from the start of the war. Their stories take in a range of locations, nationalities and situations, although American, female and Jewish characters all feature prominently. The action spans four continents and takes in battles, intelligence, resistance, factory work and the concentration camps.
What Piercy does so brilliantly is tell an epic story, covering the big political and moral issues, while giving you vivid, believable characters, and making them each the centre of their own narrative. There is heroism and brutality but there are also stories of love and ambition, of small acts of nobility and selfishness, of the ways which people find to survive. Some of the characters experience unspeakable horror, others bleakness and deprivation. For some, especially women, the war brings opportunities.
Piercy highlights the moral ambiguities of the conflict. The reluctance of western countries to welcome refugees is highlighted. Many on the Allied side believe leftists and Jews are more of a threat than Fascists – leading the US to initially side with the Vichy government rather than anti-colonial and resistance fighters. Women form an essential part of the wartime workforce but are still regarded as inferior by many, their status provisional.
At the start of the book many just don’t believe that war and barbarity could happen in their enlightened world. Nowhere is this more clearly shown than in the story of Jacqueline, a French-Jewish teenager. Her narrative begins with an endearing mix of cleverness and naivety. She is dismissive of her father’s Zionism, seeing herself as internationalist, secular, trying out lofty opinions and philosophical ideas. Even after the Nazi invasion, she initially feels that life has changed little, that people’s fears have been exaggerated. Of course, her innocence is short-lived.
This book is totally immersive in the way that only long novels can be (in the acknowledgements Piercy says it would have been even longer, but she couldn’t get the funding for a research trip to the Soviet Union). It forces you to consider what you could endure, if you had to, whether you would be brave or look the other way (of course none of us thinks we would be a collaborator or a profiteer). It makes you wonder if we, like Jacqueline, think this couldn’t happen to us, even as many of the events in the book resonate today.
*
I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley.
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