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

3.0

I pride myself on finishing what I start when I feel like giving up, but after reading about 30 pages of this book, I closed it, put it down, and turned on the television. I gave up on it because it was not at all what I expected. A few hours later though, when I found I couldn't quite fall asleep, I returned to the book. And I finished it in a matter of hours. Originally, I gave up on the book because I found the point of view unsettling and irritating. The entire thing is written using first person plural, a collective voice, a chorus, or a hive mentality. And I have never read from that POV before. And I didn't like it. However, when I resumed reading, I found the style both unique and poetic. It certainly gave me a sense of insight. BUT, I am a person who delights in getting to know the characters I read. And with this book, I felt that wasn't possible. All in all, I found the work lacking in intimacy, disjointed, but somehow still interesting and emotional. I would definitely try another book from this author, but for me, The Wives of Los Alamos was a bit disappointing simply because the idea of writing from the collective, though innovative and appropriate, was taken a bit too far and became overplayed very quickly. It left me wanting more from specific characters and I feel as though I missed out on "what could have been." This book was a wonderful idea; it just tried too hard.