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samstillreading's review against another edition
4.0
After the moving tributes of ANZAC Day this year, one hundred years after the Gallipoli campaign, I was in the mood to read something set in the time period that celebrated the ANZAC spirit. I couldn’t have picked a better book than The Soldier’s Wife. The book not only chronicles what it was like for those left on the home front, it also goes into detail of the horrors of war and how they affect families and loved one. Plus, it celebrates some girl power in Ruby, a young woman who finds her strength and determination when she is left alone in Sydney after her very new husband departs for the front. Ruby is a country girl from Bourke and the city is new to her – the smells, constant movement and the never-ending buildings. After Jimmy leaves on a troop ship, she organises a place to board and sets off looking for a job.
Ruby finds a place as a bookkeeper as a timber yard, thanks to her experience in her family’s drapers. A timber yard is not the usual place for women to work in 1915 and Ruby finds things uncomfortable at first amongst the men. However, she finds strengths in not only being able to do the work well, but helping new friend Maree and being a voice of calm and reasoning when tragedy strikes her boss’ family. Ruby grows into a strong, admirable woman before the reader’s eyes, but is it enough to sustain her when she gets her own bad news?
It’s at this point that the narrative changes from being about Ruby, relatively free, to being someone’s wife. Having only a couple of weeks of marriage to compare to, life is not easy being half of a pair, especially when the physical and mental scars of war are so fresh. Will Ruby give up her freedom to be a dutiful wife, or does her new life mean more to her?
It was easy to like Ruby and I enjoyed seeing her personal growth from wide eyed country kid to a force to be reckoned with (yet retaining her femininity). Pamela Hart stops Ruby from being the perfect woman in that she slips up sometimes with some razor-sharp verbal barbs. I thought that this made Ruby more realistic and well…conflict does make for an exciting story. I really didn’t know which way Ruby was going to turn towards the end of the book as events cumulate in a race against time. I liked not knowing what would happen – would the ending be happy or sad? Would Ruby end up together with Jimmy (or someone else) or alone? It made the story more exciting and delayed my bedtime somewhat!
Pamela Hart’s research for The Soldier’s Wife was both detailed and interesting. I enjoyed reading about Lassetter’s, a wonderful shopping emporium in Sydney and how the timber was transported. And her words? Well, the pages just flew by. This is a book that you won’t want to tear yourself away from – it contains a myriad of feelings and events that makes for compulsive reading.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and The Reading Room for the ARC, it was a delight to read.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Ruby finds a place as a bookkeeper as a timber yard, thanks to her experience in her family’s drapers. A timber yard is not the usual place for women to work in 1915 and Ruby finds things uncomfortable at first amongst the men. However, she finds strengths in not only being able to do the work well, but helping new friend Maree and being a voice of calm and reasoning when tragedy strikes her boss’ family. Ruby grows into a strong, admirable woman before the reader’s eyes, but is it enough to sustain her when she gets her own bad news?
It’s at this point that the narrative changes from being about Ruby, relatively free, to being someone’s wife. Having only a couple of weeks of marriage to compare to, life is not easy being half of a pair, especially when the physical and mental scars of war are so fresh. Will Ruby give up her freedom to be a dutiful wife, or does her new life mean more to her?
It was easy to like Ruby and I enjoyed seeing her personal growth from wide eyed country kid to a force to be reckoned with (yet retaining her femininity). Pamela Hart stops Ruby from being the perfect woman in that she slips up sometimes with some razor-sharp verbal barbs. I thought that this made Ruby more realistic and well…conflict does make for an exciting story. I really didn’t know which way Ruby was going to turn towards the end of the book as events cumulate in a race against time. I liked not knowing what would happen – would the ending be happy or sad? Would Ruby end up together with Jimmy (or someone else) or alone? It made the story more exciting and delayed my bedtime somewhat!
Pamela Hart’s research for The Soldier’s Wife was both detailed and interesting. I enjoyed reading about Lassetter’s, a wonderful shopping emporium in Sydney and how the timber was transported. And her words? Well, the pages just flew by. This is a book that you won’t want to tear yourself away from – it contains a myriad of feelings and events that makes for compulsive reading.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and The Reading Room for the ARC, it was a delight to read.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
kateyjay's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
maureensbooks89's review against another edition
5.0
‘The Soldier’s Wife’ take place in Australia, in 1915 when the world was in chaos due to the first world war. Ruby and Jimmy Hawkins are newlyweds and madly in love with each other. When the war takes Jimmy away to fight in the battle of Gallipoli, both Ruby and Jimmy are sure that their love will survive the war and al the tragedies it entails.
While Jimmy is away he writes love letters to Ruby, telling her about his dreams and the life he knows they will have when the war is over. Ruby is at home in Sydney and reads all his beautiful letters. But after the first view weeks have past, Ruby is forced to go on with her own life. And what she needs is money. Money to life, and to build a future for when Jimmy returns. But 1915 isn’t an easy time for woman to make their own money. And Ruby is forced to fight for her rights in a world were woman are considered less.
Not only the cover of this book is beautiful, but the story itself is even more beautiful. I normally don’t read much books about world war I and II. Stories about the war always make me feel so sad and even a little scared about the future. But ever since I read this books description, I knew I had to read it. And yes, it is a sad story, but above all it is a story about love, passion, and the strength people have when they need to survive. It’s also about what war does to people who fight it, and who are left behind.
‘The Soldier’s Wife’ is definitely a book I will remember. It’s so beautiful!! I loved the way Ruby fought for herself and how she conquered all odds in a men’s world who really didn’t want her there. While reading this book I felt like I was standing right next to Ruby and fighting beside her. Fighting off all those prejudices and old habits.
I also loved reading Jimmy’s letters, to Ruby. They were so sweet and they really brought me to tears. Jimmy loved Ruby so much and he really wanted to take care of her, and grow old with her. The letters were really heartbreaking to read at times.. But above all beautiful.
In the end I cried. I cried because of how it ended, because of the way this book had made me feel and because of what was lost, and above all because it ended. I wasn’t ready to let Ruby and Jimmy go.. And even almost twenty four hours after I finished this book, I still think about ‘The Soldier’s Wife’ and Ruby and Jimmy. This book is definitely one of my favorites this year!! It’s so good!! I really recommend this book.
While Jimmy is away he writes love letters to Ruby, telling her about his dreams and the life he knows they will have when the war is over. Ruby is at home in Sydney and reads all his beautiful letters. But after the first view weeks have past, Ruby is forced to go on with her own life. And what she needs is money. Money to life, and to build a future for when Jimmy returns. But 1915 isn’t an easy time for woman to make their own money. And Ruby is forced to fight for her rights in a world were woman are considered less.
Not only the cover of this book is beautiful, but the story itself is even more beautiful. I normally don’t read much books about world war I and II. Stories about the war always make me feel so sad and even a little scared about the future. But ever since I read this books description, I knew I had to read it. And yes, it is a sad story, but above all it is a story about love, passion, and the strength people have when they need to survive. It’s also about what war does to people who fight it, and who are left behind.
‘The Soldier’s Wife’ is definitely a book I will remember. It’s so beautiful!! I loved the way Ruby fought for herself and how she conquered all odds in a men’s world who really didn’t want her there. While reading this book I felt like I was standing right next to Ruby and fighting beside her. Fighting off all those prejudices and old habits.
I also loved reading Jimmy’s letters, to Ruby. They were so sweet and they really brought me to tears. Jimmy loved Ruby so much and he really wanted to take care of her, and grow old with her. The letters were really heartbreaking to read at times.. But above all beautiful.
In the end I cried. I cried because of how it ended, because of the way this book had made me feel and because of what was lost, and above all because it ended. I wasn’t ready to let Ruby and Jimmy go.. And even almost twenty four hours after I finished this book, I still think about ‘The Soldier’s Wife’ and Ruby and Jimmy. This book is definitely one of my favorites this year!! It’s so good!! I really recommend this book.
rivqa's review against another edition
4.0
This historical novel is simultaneously a fantastic page-turner (I read it in a day) and a serious, unsentimental look at the social issues of the time, particularly for women. One to reread, more slowly next time perhaps.
jim_b's review against another edition
5.0
Full disclosure: I've attended many writing courses that have been taught by Pamela - I consider her my mentor and a friend. But that doesn't mean I went into reading this book determined to like it; on the contrary, some cheeky, asinine part of me read it hoping to find faults, to pick up mistakes my teacher had made. Alas, there were none - this book is as close to perfect as any I've read in a long time. The characters and the setting were rendered with such superb clarity and precision that allowed me to truly and deeply fall into the world she has built. The ending took my completely by surprise, but then had me saying, 'but of course, it's obvious, it had to be that way!' - a quality that I love in fiction and find rarely. It is such a beautiful book!
samstillreading's review
4.0
After the moving tributes of ANZAC Day this year, one hundred years after the Gallipoli campaign, I was in the mood to read something set in the time period that celebrated the ANZAC spirit. I couldn’t have picked a better book than The Soldier’s Wife. The book not only chronicles what it was like for those left on the home front, it also goes into detail of the horrors of war and how they affect families and loved one. Plus, it celebrates some girl power in Ruby, a young woman who finds her strength and determination when she is left alone in Sydney after her very new husband departs for the front. Ruby is a country girl from Bourke and the city is new to her – the smells, constant movement and the never-ending buildings. After Jimmy leaves on a troop ship, she organises a place to board and sets off looking for a job.
Ruby finds a place as a bookkeeper as a timber yard, thanks to her experience in her family’s drapers. A timber yard is not the usual place for women to work in 1915 and Ruby finds things uncomfortable at first amongst the men. However, she finds strengths in not only being able to do the work well, but helping new friend Maree and being a voice of calm and reasoning when tragedy strikes her boss’ family. Ruby grows into a strong, admirable woman before the reader’s eyes, but is it enough to sustain her when she gets her own bad news?
It’s at this point that the narrative changes from being about Ruby, relatively free, to being someone’s wife. Having only a couple of weeks of marriage to compare to, life is not easy being half of a pair, especially when the physical and mental scars of war are so fresh. Will Ruby give up her freedom to be a dutiful wife, or does her new life mean more to her?
It was easy to like Ruby and I enjoyed seeing her personal growth from wide eyed country kid to a force to be reckoned with (yet retaining her femininity). Pamela Hart stops Ruby from being the perfect woman in that she slips up sometimes with some razor-sharp verbal barbs. I thought that this made Ruby more realistic and well…conflict does make for an exciting story. I really didn’t know which way Ruby was going to turn towards the end of the book as events cumulate in a race against time. I liked not knowing what would happen – would the ending be happy or sad? Would Ruby end up together with Jimmy (or someone else) or alone? It made the story more exciting and delayed my bedtime somewhat!
Pamela Hart’s research for The Soldier’s Wife was both detailed and interesting. I enjoyed reading about Lassetter’s, a wonderful shopping emporium in Sydney and how the timber was transported. And her words? Well, the pages just flew by. This is a book that you won’t want to tear yourself away from – it contains a myriad of feelings and events that makes for compulsive reading.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and The Reading Room for the ARC, it was a delight to read.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
Ruby finds a place as a bookkeeper as a timber yard, thanks to her experience in her family’s drapers. A timber yard is not the usual place for women to work in 1915 and Ruby finds things uncomfortable at first amongst the men. However, she finds strengths in not only being able to do the work well, but helping new friend Maree and being a voice of calm and reasoning when tragedy strikes her boss’ family. Ruby grows into a strong, admirable woman before the reader’s eyes, but is it enough to sustain her when she gets her own bad news?
It’s at this point that the narrative changes from being about Ruby, relatively free, to being someone’s wife. Having only a couple of weeks of marriage to compare to, life is not easy being half of a pair, especially when the physical and mental scars of war are so fresh. Will Ruby give up her freedom to be a dutiful wife, or does her new life mean more to her?
It was easy to like Ruby and I enjoyed seeing her personal growth from wide eyed country kid to a force to be reckoned with (yet retaining her femininity). Pamela Hart stops Ruby from being the perfect woman in that she slips up sometimes with some razor-sharp verbal barbs. I thought that this made Ruby more realistic and well…conflict does make for an exciting story. I really didn’t know which way Ruby was going to turn towards the end of the book as events cumulate in a race against time. I liked not knowing what would happen – would the ending be happy or sad? Would Ruby end up together with Jimmy (or someone else) or alone? It made the story more exciting and delayed my bedtime somewhat!
Pamela Hart’s research for The Soldier’s Wife was both detailed and interesting. I enjoyed reading about Lassetter’s, a wonderful shopping emporium in Sydney and how the timber was transported. And her words? Well, the pages just flew by. This is a book that you won’t want to tear yourself away from – it contains a myriad of feelings and events that makes for compulsive reading.
Thanks to Hachette Australia and The Reading Room for the ARC, it was a delight to read.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
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