Scan barcode
syebba's review
1.0
I can appreciate the attempt at unifying a character cast by consistently referring to said cast in the royal "we" or "they" or "us." It was a good idea to set the tone. After page 10, it got old. By page 20, I was done.
alexandrahughes's review
3.0
The book is written in a way I've never read before. It's written from the view of the group of wives at Los Alamos. So the author uses "we" or "us" and that was hard to get accustomed to. It was really annoying. I found it most annoying when the author would describe how the women felt (which happened often) and she would say things like "some of agree, some of us did not, some of us didn't say anything" (this is not a direct quote). We get it. It's a group of women so they all had varying opinions and feelings. But every time it seemed the author had to list every possible option for how the women felt or did things. I couldn't get past that. I also didn't like any of the women when they were described.
The only reason I gave the book three stars is because the authors interpretation of the Manhattan Project was interesting.
The only reason I gave the book three stars is because the authors interpretation of the Manhattan Project was interesting.
lilirose's review against another edition
1.0
Che delusione questo libro.
Mi aspettavo un punto di vista originale su una delle pagine più controverse e discusse della seconda guerra mondiale, e mi sono ritrovata tra le mani un romanzo banale che non approfondisce nessuna tematica e non suscita il minimo interesse nel lettore.
Il problema più grande, da cui derivano tutti gli altri, è la sciagurata decisione di scrivere usando la prima persona plurale: in questo modo non solo si appesantisce la narrazione, ma diventa anche impossibile l' analisi psicologica dei personaggi dato che in realtà non ce ne sono, c'è solo un io collettivo che dice tutto e il contrario di tutto. Insomma una scelta che ha danneggiato sia la forma che la sostanza dell'opera: complimenti all'autrice.
C'è poco altro da dire su questo libro: è superficiale, poco scorrevole e povero di informazioni; è più interessante leggere la pagina wikipedia del Progetto Manhattan, e non lo dico per esagerazione ma per esperienza diretta.
Mi aspettavo un punto di vista originale su una delle pagine più controverse e discusse della seconda guerra mondiale, e mi sono ritrovata tra le mani un romanzo banale che non approfondisce nessuna tematica e non suscita il minimo interesse nel lettore.
Il problema più grande, da cui derivano tutti gli altri, è la sciagurata decisione di scrivere usando la prima persona plurale: in questo modo non solo si appesantisce la narrazione, ma diventa anche impossibile l' analisi psicologica dei personaggi dato che in realtà non ce ne sono, c'è solo un io collettivo che dice tutto e il contrario di tutto. Insomma una scelta che ha danneggiato sia la forma che la sostanza dell'opera: complimenti all'autrice.
C'è poco altro da dire su questo libro: è superficiale, poco scorrevole e povero di informazioni; è più interessante leggere la pagina wikipedia del Progetto Manhattan, e non lo dico per esagerazione ma per esperienza diretta.
panda8882's review
4.0
This book was so different from anything else I've read recently. I don't even know the name for the narrative format - first person but we rather than I, so it is attempting to tell the story from the perspective of all of the wives, while accounting for the fact that their experiences were the same but different. It ended up making for a less story driven, more poetic read. I also loved that it got me thinking about this group of women who I had never really thought about before - women whose wives were tasked with building the first atomic bomb, though they didn't know that's what they were doing. It captures their point of view perfectly - isolated, trusting, frustrated, regretful, all of it. Really interesting read. Considering it for book club.
onejordo's review
3.0
This book was pretty interesting. It describes the lives of those who had to secretly move to Los Alamos during World War II. These were the families of the scientists who worked on the Manhattan project.
Told from a collective "we" point of view, readers do not get to know any of the characters personally. I thought this was the perfect way to tell this story. These women and children were similar in that they lived reclusive lives and were able to reveal so little about themselves to the outside world. That's where their similarities end. They're were all unique in their tolerance of their living situation, in their backgrounds, and in so many other ways.
This book is quick to read, but did not leave me engrossed in the story. Might be a perfect book for someone who is very interested in the Manhattan project history or in civilian lives during war time.
Told from a collective "we" point of view, readers do not get to know any of the characters personally. I thought this was the perfect way to tell this story. These women and children were similar in that they lived reclusive lives and were able to reveal so little about themselves to the outside world. That's where their similarities end. They're were all unique in their tolerance of their living situation, in their backgrounds, and in so many other ways.
This book is quick to read, but did not leave me engrossed in the story. Might be a perfect book for someone who is very interested in the Manhattan project history or in civilian lives during war time.
miztrebor's review
5.0
The Wives of Los Alamos is a book that sat on my shelf for a few years. I originally bought a copy of the book after hearing great things about it. But then I held off reading it due to the use of the plural first person point of view (“We”, “Our”, etc instead of “I”). Turns out that I was hesitating for no reason. After a few pages, I got hooked by the book and the plural first person POV didn’t bother me at all. To be honest, I think one of the strengths of this book was this rarely used POV.
The POV plays a big part in telling the story of this large community of women. While every one of these women is an individual, they also shared many of the same experiences. This is reflected in the writing, along with various other experiences some may have went through. Through Nesbit’s writing each woman has a voice as well as the community of Los Alamos having a voice together.
Aside from how well that all was written, this book is also informative about this time in history. I don’t know many details about the Manhattan Project. I know a little more about it now. But what’s best about having read this book is that it wasn’t overloaded with details. That’s not the goal. The goal was to show the effect of secrets on marriages, families, friendships. It shows how this secretive relocation altered the course of the lives involved and then after, the course of world history. I could have read a non-fiction book that spelled out all the experimenting, politics, and more surrounding the project. But The Wives of Los Alamos made it all human. History shouldn’t always be boiled down to the facts. Real humans were involved, and a book like this one reminded me of that.
If this is what Nesbit has to share with readers for a début novel, I can’t imagine what’s in store for us with the rest of her career.
The POV plays a big part in telling the story of this large community of women. While every one of these women is an individual, they also shared many of the same experiences. This is reflected in the writing, along with various other experiences some may have went through. Through Nesbit’s writing each woman has a voice as well as the community of Los Alamos having a voice together.
Aside from how well that all was written, this book is also informative about this time in history. I don’t know many details about the Manhattan Project. I know a little more about it now. But what’s best about having read this book is that it wasn’t overloaded with details. That’s not the goal. The goal was to show the effect of secrets on marriages, families, friendships. It shows how this secretive relocation altered the course of the lives involved and then after, the course of world history. I could have read a non-fiction book that spelled out all the experimenting, politics, and more surrounding the project. But The Wives of Los Alamos made it all human. History shouldn’t always be boiled down to the facts. Real humans were involved, and a book like this one reminded me of that.
If this is what Nesbit has to share with readers for a début novel, I can’t imagine what’s in store for us with the rest of her career.
samstillreading's review
4.0
Thank you to Bloomsbury and The Reading Room for the copy of this book.
I’ve been fascinated by the story of Los Alamos ever since I saw a documentary on the men that worked there during World War II. (I didn’t even think about their wives, girlfriends or daughters – how narrow minded of me!) When I saw The Wives of Los Alamos, I knew this was a book I wanted to read for the perspective of what it was like to live, not just work on a top secret mission. I thought this was a non-fiction book, but it’s actually a novel that has been really well researched and tells the story of the women stationed there, no part of their lives left uncovered.
Los Alamos was the secret place in New Mexico, USA where scientists were recruited to work on a top secret mission for the government during World War II. Men and their families came from all parts of the US and further afield, such as Europe. For the wives, it was a complete upheaval. They had to leave their jobs (some were well respected academics in their own field) and their families, but couldn’t say where they were going. Heck, they didn’t even know where they were going. They were given new names. Their future address was nothing but a postal box. To get to their new home, they had to cross the country and then ask for directions in a shop. Once they arrived in Los Alamos, they needed passes to leave. They simply had no idea where they were going and what the essence was of all this secrecy. Their husbands were smart men, good men. So why didn’t they know what their new house would be like? The children’s school?
Nesbit captures all these worries and the adjustments the wives of Los Alamos had to make. I found it fascinating how there is no one main character, but the story is told from the collective first person of all the wives of Los Alamos. I imagine that this was not an easy thing to do, as the women were so different – from newlyweds to older wives, no children to many. They came from varying educational and cultural backgrounds, but they all had to make a living for their families in huts without bathrooms, stores that held very little and in complete isolation from their families and friends. It was no wonder that such strong bonds were formed between these women as they made the best out of what little they had. Nesbit’s writing captures this beautifully – the sense of a community thrown together that becomes very close out of shared need.
I did find it took me a little while to get used to the ‘we’ (the wives) of the narrative, but once I hit my stride, I was eager to read more. Even though I knew what the Project was, I was just as shocked as the wives when they found out what their husbands had been up to. Nesbit captured all the differing feelings so well – from shock and horror to jubilation at their role in ending the war. (From visiting Hiroshima and the Peace Museum, I was familiar with the effects of the bomb on the Japanese, but I hadn’t deeply considered the reaction of those who had invented the bomb. It was an eerie, uncomfortable feeling to know the feelings of both sides). Was the use of ‘we’ as the character in the novel to show the bomb was a team effort, or that the responsibility for the outcome could not be laid at the feet of one individual? Was it simply to show the coming together of individuals in the war? Or, to show that women are at heart the same?
If you’re looking for a story about particular named characters, you may not enjoy this book. But if you’re looking for an overall story of the lives of the women in Los Alamos (a place that didn’t really exist to the rest of the world in WWII), written in a unique voice, you’ll love it.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com
I’ve been fascinated by the story of Los Alamos ever since I saw a documentary on the men that worked there during World War II. (I didn’t even think about their wives, girlfriends or daughters – how narrow minded of me!) When I saw The Wives of Los Alamos, I knew this was a book I wanted to read for the perspective of what it was like to live, not just work on a top secret mission. I thought this was a non-fiction book, but it’s actually a novel that has been really well researched and tells the story of the women stationed there, no part of their lives left uncovered.
Los Alamos was the secret place in New Mexico, USA where scientists were recruited to work on a top secret mission for the government during World War II. Men and their families came from all parts of the US and further afield, such as Europe. For the wives, it was a complete upheaval. They had to leave their jobs (some were well respected academics in their own field) and their families, but couldn’t say where they were going. Heck, they didn’t even know where they were going. They were given new names. Their future address was nothing but a postal box. To get to their new home, they had to cross the country and then ask for directions in a shop. Once they arrived in Los Alamos, they needed passes to leave. They simply had no idea where they were going and what the essence was of all this secrecy. Their husbands were smart men, good men. So why didn’t they know what their new house would be like? The children’s school?
Nesbit captures all these worries and the adjustments the wives of Los Alamos had to make. I found it fascinating how there is no one main character, but the story is told from the collective first person of all the wives of Los Alamos. I imagine that this was not an easy thing to do, as the women were so different – from newlyweds to older wives, no children to many. They came from varying educational and cultural backgrounds, but they all had to make a living for their families in huts without bathrooms, stores that held very little and in complete isolation from their families and friends. It was no wonder that such strong bonds were formed between these women as they made the best out of what little they had. Nesbit’s writing captures this beautifully – the sense of a community thrown together that becomes very close out of shared need.
I did find it took me a little while to get used to the ‘we’ (the wives) of the narrative, but once I hit my stride, I was eager to read more. Even though I knew what the Project was, I was just as shocked as the wives when they found out what their husbands had been up to. Nesbit captured all the differing feelings so well – from shock and horror to jubilation at their role in ending the war. (From visiting Hiroshima and the Peace Museum, I was familiar with the effects of the bomb on the Japanese, but I hadn’t deeply considered the reaction of those who had invented the bomb. It was an eerie, uncomfortable feeling to know the feelings of both sides). Was the use of ‘we’ as the character in the novel to show the bomb was a team effort, or that the responsibility for the outcome could not be laid at the feet of one individual? Was it simply to show the coming together of individuals in the war? Or, to show that women are at heart the same?
If you’re looking for a story about particular named characters, you may not enjoy this book. But if you’re looking for an overall story of the lives of the women in Los Alamos (a place that didn’t really exist to the rest of the world in WWII), written in a unique voice, you’ll love it.
http://samstillreading.wordpress.com