TaraShea Nesbit's The Wives of Los Alamos is the story of the women who supported the men who worked on one of the biggest research projects in World War II. Unknowingly, these families would be tied to a huge development that changed the course of history.
Their lives during the time they spent in Los Alamos were tough but they had even bigger challenges ahead when their experience was over and they had to weigh their contribution to the creation of a hugely destructive development of the 1940s known as the Manhattan Project.
Is The Wives of Los Alamos a True Story?
Would I Recommend This Book?
The story is told by all of the women together in one voice. That is, the book is written in the first person plural a method that I personally did not care for. Here's an example from the beginning:
"We were European women born in Southampton and Hamburg, Western women born in California and Montana, East Coast women born in Connecticut and New York, Midwestern women born in Nebraska and Ohio, or Southern women from Mississippi or Texas, and no matter who we were we wanted nothing to do with starting all over again, and so we paused, we exhaled, and we asked, What part of the Southwest?"
That voice was okay for the first while but eventually I would rather have had the story told by a single individual. I can, however, see how this voice allowed many viewpoints to be expressed in each situation but there are many who could not get past the author's style. Others, however, really enjoyed this book and the style it was written in.
At the end of the book, I was left with a lot of thinking to do. How did those individuals cope with knowing they had made such a horrific contribution to the war effort? How would you cope? How would I?
Yes, I would recommend this book because it is a novel about a very significant scientific development in world history that takes place in the United States. You might want to read it for that fact alone and you never know, you might enjoy the style, too.
You can buy your copy from Amazon by clicking right here. If you do read it, be sure to come back and let us know what you think about the style and the story.
Happy Reading!
Brenda
Treasures By Brenda
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Buy your copy of The Wives of Los Alamos on Amazon.
Brenda, this sounds like a uniquely interesting book. I've always liked books written about a specific time in history and based on a factual event. I especially like anything to do with World War II history as that time period figured prominently in my family. I think I'd like to read 'The Wives of Los Alamos' as I've many books about what life was like for the men in WWII, but few about the effect of a specific event on the lives of the wives and families of those men. Thanks for your review and recommendation.
ReplyDeleteYou are welcome, Pat.
DeleteMy Book list is growing just in time for the holidays. Hopefully Santa will see the list and make sure to get some of these great stories. And I agree with Miss Elf, it will be nice to read about the women for a change. Thanks for a great review that has me wanting this book!
ReplyDeleteI would imagine this would be a very controversial book for several reasons, but still interesting to consider what the wives may have experienced and how they would have felt. I suspect I, too, would be annoyed by the "voice of the unit" instead of an individual telling their story based on their perspective. But on the flip side, I would probably like to view the experiences from different perspectives.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like an interesting book, but I might also be bothered by the many voices combined into one. I am interested in that period of history, so might give it a try anyway.
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like an interesting book, but I might also be bothered by the many voices combined into one. I am interested in that period of history, so might give it a try anyway.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure many have thought about the men of Los Alamos and their collective job, but I for one had never considered the wives. This sounds like a book that would really make one think.
ReplyDeleteThanks, all for visiting and for your comments. If you read the book, I do hope you enjoy it or at least appreciate it.
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