A review by shirleytupperfreeman
The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit

As you start reading this, you think, 'wait - is this one voice or many voices?' And the answer turns out to be 'yes.' The narrator tells the story of the wives of Los Alamos (most, though not all, of the scientists were men) using no dialogue or character development. The writing style helps to convey the overall sense that while the women were individuals, they knew they were also part of something bigger than themselves. Not until August of 1945, did they realize they were part of the building of the atomic bomb. You kind of feel like you're having coffee with a group of the wives many years later. They're all talking and many of their stories are the same but each have their own uniqueness also. The secrecy, lack of contact with family, harsh living conditions, the normal concerns of running a household and raising children, the strange social atmosphere - all are described by the many/one. The last paragraph of the 1943 section will give you a sense of the style, "We were a group of people connecting both honestly and dishonestly, appearing composed at dusk and bedraggled at daybreak, committed, whether we wanted it or not, to shared conditions of need, agitation, and sometimes joy, which is to say: we were a community."