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The Soldier's Wife
The Soldier's Wife Trollope, Joanna
352 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
145 people are currently reading
753 people want to read
About the author
Joanna Trollope
132 books607 followersJoanna Trollope Potter Curteis (aka Caroline Harvey)
Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.
From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
Joanna Trollope was born on 9 December 1943 in her grandfather's rectory in Minchinhampton, Gloucestershire, England, daughter of Rosemary Hodson and Arthur George Cecil Trollope. She is the eldest of three siblings. She is a fifth-generation niece of the Victorian novelist Anthony Trollope and is a cousin of the writer and broadcaster James Trollope. She was educated at Reigate County School for Girls followed by St Hugh's College, Oxford. On 14 May 1966, she married the banker David Roger William Potter, they had two daughters, Antonia and Louise, and on 1983 they divorced. In 1985, she remarried to the television dramatist Ian Curteis, and became the stepmother of two stepsons; they divorced in 2001.
From 1965 to 1967, she worked at the Foreign Office. From 1967 to 1979, she was employed in a number of teaching posts before she became a writer full-time in 1980. Her novel Parson Harding's Daughter won in 1980 the Romantic Novel of the Year Award by the Romantic Novelists' Association.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 313 reviews
December 17, 2012
I will start this review by saying I am a Navy wife so I understand the issues faced by Military families.
I found this book to be very true (from my own experiences.)
The homecoming after a deployment is always difficult, the excitement at seeing your loved one again is often plagued with doubts about what will they be like, have I changed, have they changed?
The kids adjust quickly to having their parent back but the adults often find it harder to adjust. The serving parent doesn't know how quickly to step back into the parent role etc.
I felt that the author brought all these issues up in the book, the way the communication between spouses is affected, how quickly to step back into parenting as well as the comradeship between the serving mates which can also cause problems in the relationship. You as the wife/husband want to spend time with your loved one but they are still adjusting to being back "in the real world" so they stick with their mates that are also adjusting etc.
I felt the book taught me a lot about the British Army way of life, how the norm is to send the children to boarding school to gain some stability in their lives, how the family lives on the "patch" and they don't have much to do with the civilian community.
Here is Australia we have much more support to stay put for stability for the children, on many of the bases here we live in the civilian community and are encouraged to "live” in the community.
This book was a wonderful learning tool for me on how it is done in other countries.
I found this book to be very true (from my own experiences.)
The homecoming after a deployment is always difficult, the excitement at seeing your loved one again is often plagued with doubts about what will they be like, have I changed, have they changed?
The kids adjust quickly to having their parent back but the adults often find it harder to adjust. The serving parent doesn't know how quickly to step back into the parent role etc.
I felt that the author brought all these issues up in the book, the way the communication between spouses is affected, how quickly to step back into parenting as well as the comradeship between the serving mates which can also cause problems in the relationship. You as the wife/husband want to spend time with your loved one but they are still adjusting to being back "in the real world" so they stick with their mates that are also adjusting etc.
I felt the book taught me a lot about the British Army way of life, how the norm is to send the children to boarding school to gain some stability in their lives, how the family lives on the "patch" and they don't have much to do with the civilian community.
Here is Australia we have much more support to stay put for stability for the children, on many of the bases here we live in the civilian community and are encouraged to "live” in the community.
This book was a wonderful learning tool for me on how it is done in other countries.
August 18, 2025
A well written story of the problems faced by British Army families, or at least those families in which the husband is an officer. It is one of the little drawbacks in the novel. The lower ranks - of men only - are portrayed as drug-taking cannon fodder, only capable of communicating monosyllabically even when sober and whose only virtues are loyalty to their unit and their willingness to obey orders. Those who appear in the story are quickly pushed aside as if they were stage props with limited use.
As the title suggests the book is strongly on the female and civilian side. The husbands may be the ones shooting and killing or being shot at, blown up or wounded - female soldiers seem to be a rare breed in this world - but it is the wives and the female children who bear the brunt of the emotional turmoil. Isabel, the oldest daughter of the Riley family, is deeply unhappy at being pushed off to a boarding school, the loneliness and the bullying is tearing her apart. It is a pity she is not a boy in an Army family. Apparently they take everything in their stride when shunted out of the parental sight. As Alexa's friend Franny explains, comparing her two boys to Isabel: "Daily sport and regular food and sleep, and my boys are sorted." All males are simple souls at heart - so it seems.
That is not to say the author does not try to present all sides of the problem. She is careful to show that any emotional pain which passes between wife and husband, husband and wife, parents and children is not deliberate or done with an intent to hurt. They are all people struggling desperately to achieve some degree of normality in their disrupted lives. All of them see examples of couples and families who get by with an occasional argument on a plateau of happiness, even if only on television. But how to reach such an ideal when the wife and children have been surviving alone for months not even knowing if the husband and father will return, and if he does will he be in one piece, physically or mentally, while the husband may have been experiencing something close to hell, fighting for survival.
It is little wonder at the end that there is no solution other than grin and bear it. Isabel at least escaped boarding school life while all of the adults seem to form last gasp plans for some sort of peace of mind, while keeping their fingers crossed that everyone makes it through to the next time mentally and physically. An interesting and moving read with some elements of soap opera in the emotional storytelling.
As the title suggests the book is strongly on the female and civilian side. The husbands may be the ones shooting and killing or being shot at, blown up or wounded - female soldiers seem to be a rare breed in this world - but it is the wives and the female children who bear the brunt of the emotional turmoil. Isabel, the oldest daughter of the Riley family, is deeply unhappy at being pushed off to a boarding school, the loneliness and the bullying is tearing her apart. It is a pity she is not a boy in an Army family. Apparently they take everything in their stride when shunted out of the parental sight. As Alexa's friend Franny explains, comparing her two boys to Isabel: "Daily sport and regular food and sleep, and my boys are sorted." All males are simple souls at heart - so it seems.
That is not to say the author does not try to present all sides of the problem. She is careful to show that any emotional pain which passes between wife and husband, husband and wife, parents and children is not deliberate or done with an intent to hurt. They are all people struggling desperately to achieve some degree of normality in their disrupted lives. All of them see examples of couples and families who get by with an occasional argument on a plateau of happiness, even if only on television. But how to reach such an ideal when the wife and children have been surviving alone for months not even knowing if the husband and father will return, and if he does will he be in one piece, physically or mentally, while the husband may have been experiencing something close to hell, fighting for survival.
It is little wonder at the end that there is no solution other than grin and bear it. Isabel at least escaped boarding school life while all of the adults seem to form last gasp plans for some sort of peace of mind, while keeping their fingers crossed that everyone makes it through to the next time mentally and physically. An interesting and moving read with some elements of soap opera in the emotional storytelling.
March 7, 2012
Dan is husband to Alexa, father to twin girls, Flora and Tassy, stepfather to Isabel, son, grandson, son in law, friend and soldier. On return from a six month deployment in Afghanistan Dan cannot seem to find what he is anymore. Being a soldier is the easiest for him than returning to family life, the army life gives him more structure, purpose and plenty of knowns. Families bring plenty of unknowns and no orders on how to deal with them.
Alexa adores her husband and knew exactly what she was getting into upon marriage to Dan and marriage in effect to the army. Constant moving, no property that actually you can call your own, making new friends. Leaving old ones behind as you go to the next posting. Changing schools for the children, in fact it is an upheaval, but with Dan away she is the one to make it work, to fix everything; when he is back she wants to share that responsibility and become Alexa Riley and not Mrs Major Riley.
Dan does not understand, nobody is talking, whilst all around them lives are fracturing in their own way. Isabel is determined to make her point about boarding school, she does not want to be there no one asked her and the only reason she is, is because of the Army, because of Dan. Alexa has a chance of a job, to become herself for a few hours a day, away from the children but she knows she cannot take it, because of the Army, because of Dan.
And so Dan is the catalyst of this story which taps into a conscious of many readers who have experience of not just the Army but the other armed forces as well. I am a passive observer of such in my working life and can see the correlations that Joanna Trollope has covered. Times are changing and for the better.
It is a story about finding that happy balance, not just for those left at home those coming back as well. Trollope taps into something, and shows us inside an institution warts and all. Criticism is abound because it focuses on the more 'officer' class soldiers and not the average 'squaddie' in the story but actually it reflects everyone's part. Talking to the Brigadier and his wife, you sense that both Dan and Alexa feel inferior. The book goes a long way to show the class structure, the snobbery, the them and us that makes up part of all these institutions.
A book, which traverses along at a reasonable pace, there was a sense of undercurrent all the way through as the readers are watching something disintegrate. It would not if there was the right time to tell of what has happened at home as well as on the front line. And the right support to deal with wives and girlfriends wanting to not be an extension of their husbands but actually someone to be recognised in their own right. They married the man not the Army, is Trollope's theme throughout.
It is apparent that research and thought has gone into this book (why shouldn't it?) because it deals with those who come back from Afghanistan not the people they went with. The scenes where they are dealing with drugs within the regiment, the hard drinking,marriages breaking up, the rehabilitation of those who have lost limbs and the remembrance of those who did not make it back is handled in my opinion well without being too graphic or rose coloured in view. The references to previous conflicts through Dan's father and grandfather both ex Army was a good tool for reflecting the change that has happened on how returning to domestic and home life can be dealt with and has been. What the outside world sees is very different from the reality of living with that reunion. Trollope handles it efficiently and effectively, candidly and with empathy without patronising those it is happening to now in the here and now.
Having read only one Joanna Trollope novel many moons ago, I was thrilled to read this book as it has all the composite parts of being an excellent book in typical Trollope style. It would also make a good adaptation for television provided its handled with as much care as Trollope has done with the plot and the characters.
An interesting and thought provoking read, one which I will remember for a long time.
Alexa adores her husband and knew exactly what she was getting into upon marriage to Dan and marriage in effect to the army. Constant moving, no property that actually you can call your own, making new friends. Leaving old ones behind as you go to the next posting. Changing schools for the children, in fact it is an upheaval, but with Dan away she is the one to make it work, to fix everything; when he is back she wants to share that responsibility and become Alexa Riley and not Mrs Major Riley.
Dan does not understand, nobody is talking, whilst all around them lives are fracturing in their own way. Isabel is determined to make her point about boarding school, she does not want to be there no one asked her and the only reason she is, is because of the Army, because of Dan. Alexa has a chance of a job, to become herself for a few hours a day, away from the children but she knows she cannot take it, because of the Army, because of Dan.
And so Dan is the catalyst of this story which taps into a conscious of many readers who have experience of not just the Army but the other armed forces as well. I am a passive observer of such in my working life and can see the correlations that Joanna Trollope has covered. Times are changing and for the better.
It is a story about finding that happy balance, not just for those left at home those coming back as well. Trollope taps into something, and shows us inside an institution warts and all. Criticism is abound because it focuses on the more 'officer' class soldiers and not the average 'squaddie' in the story but actually it reflects everyone's part. Talking to the Brigadier and his wife, you sense that both Dan and Alexa feel inferior. The book goes a long way to show the class structure, the snobbery, the them and us that makes up part of all these institutions.
A book, which traverses along at a reasonable pace, there was a sense of undercurrent all the way through as the readers are watching something disintegrate. It would not if there was the right time to tell of what has happened at home as well as on the front line. And the right support to deal with wives and girlfriends wanting to not be an extension of their husbands but actually someone to be recognised in their own right. They married the man not the Army, is Trollope's theme throughout.
It is apparent that research and thought has gone into this book (why shouldn't it?) because it deals with those who come back from Afghanistan not the people they went with. The scenes where they are dealing with drugs within the regiment, the hard drinking,marriages breaking up, the rehabilitation of those who have lost limbs and the remembrance of those who did not make it back is handled in my opinion well without being too graphic or rose coloured in view. The references to previous conflicts through Dan's father and grandfather both ex Army was a good tool for reflecting the change that has happened on how returning to domestic and home life can be dealt with and has been. What the outside world sees is very different from the reality of living with that reunion. Trollope handles it efficiently and effectively, candidly and with empathy without patronising those it is happening to now in the here and now.
Having read only one Joanna Trollope novel many moons ago, I was thrilled to read this book as it has all the composite parts of being an excellent book in typical Trollope style. It would also make a good adaptation for television provided its handled with as much care as Trollope has done with the plot and the characters.
An interesting and thought provoking read, one which I will remember for a long time.
July 12, 2012
It is difficult to be the family member of someone in the military whether they are deployed or not. The military always seems to come first and non-military family doesn’t understand what their loved one is going through. My brother was in the Army and was deployed overseas two or three times. I know it was difficult for our parents and even more so for his wife. It was hard for him adjusting when he returned to the States and at times I did not recognize the man my brother had become. Many relationships of military members deteriorate over time because the spouses feel stuck and are afraid to start new jobs or friendships because they don’t know when they’ll be forced to be uprooted next.
In The Soldier’s Wife, Alexa Riley is trying to hold her family together. She has a daughter, Isabel, from a previous marriage who she thinks isn’t as important to her husband, Dan, as the twin daughters they have together. Alexa is trying to balance the needs of Dan, Isabel, the twins, and, of course, her own needs. Now Dan’s home from Afghanistan, but he’d rather spend time with Gus (his army buddy) than his own family. Alexa tries to understand, but she doesn’t have the knowledge base to feel useful to her husband. Alexa feels as if her life is spiraling out of control and has nowhere to turn. The Army has a lot of programs to support the soldiers, but is sorely lacking a support structure for the rest of the family. Touching, poignant, and timely as many of our soldiers come home, The Soldier’s Wife will give readers an inside look at the lives of military families.
In The Soldier’s Wife, Alexa Riley is trying to hold her family together. She has a daughter, Isabel, from a previous marriage who she thinks isn’t as important to her husband, Dan, as the twin daughters they have together. Alexa is trying to balance the needs of Dan, Isabel, the twins, and, of course, her own needs. Now Dan’s home from Afghanistan, but he’d rather spend time with Gus (his army buddy) than his own family. Alexa tries to understand, but she doesn’t have the knowledge base to feel useful to her husband. Alexa feels as if her life is spiraling out of control and has nowhere to turn. The Army has a lot of programs to support the soldiers, but is sorely lacking a support structure for the rest of the family. Touching, poignant, and timely as many of our soldiers come home, The Soldier’s Wife will give readers an inside look at the lives of military families.
July 18, 2013
I have a thing about finishing every book I start, otherwise I would have closed this and sent it to the charity shop.
I have read a couple of her books and quite enjoyed them but I was totally BORED by the storyline which I found extremely laboured and I did not warm to one single character. Not one. I get the message - my bother in law was an officer in the Royal Navy for over twenty five years, served in Korea and the Falklands and the family moved around 16 times. My niece eventually boarded. I recognised the various types. I hated reading this book and was so relieved when it was over. Horrible characters.
I have read a couple of her books and quite enjoyed them but I was totally BORED by the storyline which I found extremely laboured and I did not warm to one single character. Not one. I get the message - my bother in law was an officer in the Royal Navy for over twenty five years, served in Korea and the Falklands and the family moved around 16 times. My niece eventually boarded. I recognised the various types. I hated reading this book and was so relieved when it was over. Horrible characters.
October 15, 2014
When Joanna Trollope is good, she can actually be great. But when she's not it's a bit of a slog. And unfortunately that was the case with this one. I'm sympathetic to the themes here -- how do modern military families cope with the fact that soldiers' wives have ambitions and careers of their own in the face of an overly traditional military that assumes they will drop everything for their husbands' careers? -- but it all felt a bit didactic and heavy-handed. I also did not quite understand the obsessive interest that all the peripheral characters (parents, grandparents, friends) seemed to have in the marriage of Alexa and Dan. How exactly did they magically KNOW that the marriage was perhaps in trouble? And how and why did they actually think they could do anything about it?
I have really enjoyed some of Trollope's novels, but this was not among them.
I have really enjoyed some of Trollope's novels, but this was not among them.
December 23, 2013
Ah, finally! I think 3 stars are fairly enough.
I like The Soldier's Wife for many reasons:
-It employs creativity.
-It sends you into the world of soldiers and the army. You get to know many stuff you thought were totally the opposite.
-The main theme is captivating, "Couples have got to TALK. Taciturn, long life between couples is rather dangerous."
-It uses marriage as the relationship between all characters, not the date-then-marry one.
However, this book has given me a hard time while I was reading it;
-Over 400 pages are too much for the events.
-It was boring, but I liked it, but still it was boring.
-Er, I feel like all characters are exaggerating in their reactions to the almost invisible problem. All characters (relatives, friends, comrades) somehow sense that the mood is awkward between Alexa and Dan, and all of them die to make it up between them. For God's sake? -_-
-Alexa wants to talk to him since page 1. Finally, Dan says he'll listen in page 400. You must have a lot of patience, woman!
In summation, The Soldier's Wife is nice, but I won't advise anyone to read it. I hope someone else will write about the same topic but make it more interesting. Only then, I'll be willing to read it.
I like The Soldier's Wife for many reasons:
-It employs creativity.
-It sends you into the world of soldiers and the army. You get to know many stuff you thought were totally the opposite.
-The main theme is captivating, "Couples have got to TALK. Taciturn, long life between couples is rather dangerous."
-It uses marriage as the relationship between all characters, not the date-then-marry one.
However, this book has given me a hard time while I was reading it;
-Over 400 pages are too much for the events.
-It was boring, but I liked it, but still it was boring.
-Er, I feel like all characters are exaggerating in their reactions to the almost invisible problem. All characters (relatives, friends, comrades) somehow sense that the mood is awkward between Alexa and Dan, and all of them die to make it up between them. For God's sake? -_-
-Alexa wants to talk to him since page 1. Finally, Dan says he'll listen in page 400. You must have a lot of patience, woman!
In summation, The Soldier's Wife is nice, but I won't advise anyone to read it. I hope someone else will write about the same topic but make it more interesting. Only then, I'll be willing to read it.
December 4, 2014
I could personally only relate to some of the struggles Alexa goes through as the wife of a British Army officer, but I think Joanna Trollope did an excellent job describing the conflicting emotions military wives go through continuously and the different ways they cope with those emotional challenges. Although I often wanted to throttle Alexa for her indecisiveness, I like how Trollope eventually makes her characters - and her readers - remember what we all know to be the main factor in any working relationship, military or civilian: compromise.
Nevertheless, I was cheering for Great-Granddad Eric when he yelled at his grandson that "[t]hat girl, Daniel, will be here when the Army's OVER for you. Or she will if you treat her right. And in the end, where would you bloody be, soldiering or not, without her?". HOOAH, grandpa!
Nevertheless, I was cheering for Great-Granddad Eric when he yelled at his grandson that "[t]hat girl, Daniel, will be here when the Army's OVER for you. Or she will if you treat her right. And in the end, where would you bloody be, soldiering or not, without her?". HOOAH, grandpa!
August 30, 2014
A random pick, The Soldier's Wife was actually interesting. I was cheering for Alexa throughout the book. Too hard not to empathise with her.
March 3, 2012
A writer such as Trollope can take a reader and place her (more likely)/him (considerably less likely) into a groove from page one and transport seamlessly through a three hundred or so pages to, invariably, a neat, satisfying resolution. When on song, as she is in this novel, the reader will lose all track of time as this skilled practitioner inveigles the reader to care about her protagonists to the degree that there is always an unsatisfactory sigh emanating as the book is placed to one side to deal with life’s more mundane minutiae.
For seventeen titles this’ aga-sagaist’ has been at this – it must be so second nature to her now! Take a group of not especially significant people, place them in domestic situations, stir in a few pressures to make the threads of life fray, and then guide them through the sorting out process to an aforementioned ending, to cause a sigh of a different nature from her public.
Here the non-significant is Alexa, chaffing in her role as army wife, trying to contend with husband Dan, still on a ‘high’ after his third sortie to Afghanistan. Now my father (World War 2) and brother-in-law (Vietnam) never had the emphasis that soldiers have placed on their re-entry to ‘normal’ service life after an deployment these days, and their generations would consider this conflict, Iran and probably the Falklands (which features) as minor skirmishes. But that would be unfair, and certainly Dan’s father and grandfather do not subscribe to that view. These two are probably Trollope’s best creations in this salutary tale, although Beetle the dog is particularly attractive too.
Throw in a feisty teenage daughter, an engaging pair of twins and some army buddies/wives similarly afflicted, to various degrees, with their ‘returns’, and we have a potently heady mix for reader entrapment.
Maybe Trollope could be criticised here for a too pat ending, and by this civvy for some ‘over the top’ army speak. Maybe a few of her characters drift into the mien of stiff upper lip cliché, but having read all her titles, this reader, like her devoted fans, know what to expect, and are disappointed when she strays from her winning formula. I enjoyed ‘A Soldier’s Wife’ immensely.
For seventeen titles this’ aga-sagaist’ has been at this – it must be so second nature to her now! Take a group of not especially significant people, place them in domestic situations, stir in a few pressures to make the threads of life fray, and then guide them through the sorting out process to an aforementioned ending, to cause a sigh of a different nature from her public.
Here the non-significant is Alexa, chaffing in her role as army wife, trying to contend with husband Dan, still on a ‘high’ after his third sortie to Afghanistan. Now my father (World War 2) and brother-in-law (Vietnam) never had the emphasis that soldiers have placed on their re-entry to ‘normal’ service life after an deployment these days, and their generations would consider this conflict, Iran and probably the Falklands (which features) as minor skirmishes. But that would be unfair, and certainly Dan’s father and grandfather do not subscribe to that view. These two are probably Trollope’s best creations in this salutary tale, although Beetle the dog is particularly attractive too.
Throw in a feisty teenage daughter, an engaging pair of twins and some army buddies/wives similarly afflicted, to various degrees, with their ‘returns’, and we have a potently heady mix for reader entrapment.
Maybe Trollope could be criticised here for a too pat ending, and by this civvy for some ‘over the top’ army speak. Maybe a few of her characters drift into the mien of stiff upper lip cliché, but having read all her titles, this reader, like her devoted fans, know what to expect, and are disappointed when she strays from her winning formula. I enjoyed ‘A Soldier’s Wife’ immensely.
March 21, 2012
I love Joanna Trollope's novels for their insightful examination of human relationships and human frailties. The Soldier's Wife is set mostly on a military base in the UK, and focuses on the challenges facing personnel in the modern Army. What sacrifices must a woman make when she commits to the life of an army wife? What compromises are necessary? How does a long deployment impact on the emotional health of both partners? Through central couple Dan Riley, a major in the British Army who is just home from a six-month tour of duty in Afghanistan, and his wife Alexa, a qualified teacher, Trollope explores the issues surrounding the home lives of army families.
I found this novel an absorbing and compelling read - one of the best of Trollope's many excellent novels. The characters are very real and the scenarios utterly convincing.
I found this novel an absorbing and compelling read - one of the best of Trollope's many excellent novels. The characters are very real and the scenarios utterly convincing.
January 6, 2025
I am gobsmacked by Joanna Trollope's skill. She is truly a brilliant writer. I really enjoy the diffidence and boundaries the English people in her novels have: they are so believable in their stiff-upper-lipness! One of her particular strengths is the way she describes children. The three-year-olds are so very accurately depicted in their behaviour and I like the way 12-year-old Isabel takes her situation in hand and bends it to her will. The only reason I didn't give the novel five stars has little to do with Trollope. I just can't get over the way the British decide to involve themselves in other country's wars.
July 27, 2023
This was not a good book at all. There were way too many characters, and none of them well developed. The storyline was so incredibly boring I just wanted to sleep every time I picked it up. If I didn’t have a personal policy of finishing every book I start I would’ve stopped this after the first chapter. The characters personalities were always switching about and nothing was ever really explained well. There was no climax in this book. There was no story. Honestly this was a huge waste of time to read and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
February 17, 2021
Una pareja, que por culpa del trabajo de él tiene problema de comunicación y durante toda la historia tratan de aclararlo, el problema es que abuelos, padres, amigos se entrometen en este problema matrimonal, pocas veces se logra entender lo que de verdad quieren ellos.
October 13, 2018
A reasonably quick read for an afternoon.
A quick read. I felt the ending was rushed. Not one of her best ones. Felt dreadfully sorry for Isabel.
A quick read. I felt the ending was rushed. Not one of her best ones. Felt dreadfully sorry for Isabel.
June 27, 2020
Good easy read
February 5, 2021
I found at times the story was long and boring. I don't like long chapters which this book is. However there was something that kept me captive to read on and finish.
December 18, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. It gives a real insight into what it must be like to be a soldier's wife in modern times
July 11, 2012
From the first page, I wanted the Rileys to make it through as a unit. Dan Riley knows all about protecting the unit as part of his British army training and experience, so why can't he keep his family unit together and happy? Alexa Riley has lost one husband already and can't bear to lose another one.
It's amazing how two people so in love can stop talking, stop listening. But that's exactly what happens to them. Thanks to wonderful friends and family, help is never far away. But in the end, it's up to them.
Good books are all about the characters for me. And this book is loaded with memorable ones. Each one adds to the story and impacts Alex and Dan in some way. From Alex's daughter with her first husband, Isabel, to other military wives, each character is a stone on the pathway for Alex and Dan.
The only character I yearned to know in more detail was Alex's best friend, Jack. Selfishly, I'd love to see the author tell his tale separately. He was so devoted to Alex, yet I knew little about him and how he felt.
I loved Dan's father and grandfather. They never gave up on Dan or Alex, but they also treated them with respect and surrounded them with loving honesty.
For readers who crave a relationship saga full of emotions and memorable characters, you can't go wrong with The Soldier's Wife. It is an engrossing read from start to finish. I felt like I was sitting down while a person close to the situation was telling me the story.
So grab a cup of coffee (or preferred beverage), find a comfy spot, and welcome yourself into the world of a family. A family you will come to cherish.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed.
It's amazing how two people so in love can stop talking, stop listening. But that's exactly what happens to them. Thanks to wonderful friends and family, help is never far away. But in the end, it's up to them.
Good books are all about the characters for me. And this book is loaded with memorable ones. Each one adds to the story and impacts Alex and Dan in some way. From Alex's daughter with her first husband, Isabel, to other military wives, each character is a stone on the pathway for Alex and Dan.
The only character I yearned to know in more detail was Alex's best friend, Jack. Selfishly, I'd love to see the author tell his tale separately. He was so devoted to Alex, yet I knew little about him and how he felt.
I loved Dan's father and grandfather. They never gave up on Dan or Alex, but they also treated them with respect and surrounded them with loving honesty.
For readers who crave a relationship saga full of emotions and memorable characters, you can't go wrong with The Soldier's Wife. It is an engrossing read from start to finish. I felt like I was sitting down while a person close to the situation was telling me the story.
So grab a cup of coffee (or preferred beverage), find a comfy spot, and welcome yourself into the world of a family. A family you will come to cherish.
Note: I received a complimentary copy for review purposes. A positive review was not requested or guaranteed.
June 14, 2012
Another excellent novel by Joanna Trollope. In this novel she examines the difficulties faced by soldiers returning from a dangerous tour of duty in Afghanistan. One would imagine that reunions with wives and families at home would be joyous for everyone concerned, but in this novel, this is not the case.
Joanna Trollope explores the difficulties faced by soldiers and the families who have waited to welcome them at home. In this day and age it is not enough for many soldiers' wives to be home-makers, living for the day their husbands return safely. Some are highly educated and feel frustrated that the successful careers they enjoyed before marrying into the military cannot be fulfilled.
As in most of her other novels, Joanna Trollope manages to examine these problems with sympathy for all concerned. I need not add that she writes beautifully and creates well-rounded and distinctive characters in a few paragraphs. This is a very satisfying novel and I recommend it.
Joanna Trollope explores the difficulties faced by soldiers and the families who have waited to welcome them at home. In this day and age it is not enough for many soldiers' wives to be home-makers, living for the day their husbands return safely. Some are highly educated and feel frustrated that the successful careers they enjoyed before marrying into the military cannot be fulfilled.
As in most of her other novels, Joanna Trollope manages to examine these problems with sympathy for all concerned. I need not add that she writes beautifully and creates well-rounded and distinctive characters in a few paragraphs. This is a very satisfying novel and I recommend it.
November 13, 2012
The story of Alexa Riley and her husband Dan, who is a major in the British army. Dan has just returned from a 6-month stint in Afghanistan, and the Rileys are trying to adjust to life after his return. Alexa is considering the offer of a teaching job but is torn between the desire for a career and her loyalty to her husband and the Army. Dan is struggling with life back on base while trying to help his fellow soldiers. The entire family is on the verge of breaking down.
This was my first Joanna Trollope novel and I am compelled to read the rest. The writing is subdued and beautiful. It was interesting to read about the life of a British family (rather than an American one) affected by the war in Afghanistan.
This was my first Joanna Trollope novel and I am compelled to read the rest. The writing is subdued and beautiful. It was interesting to read about the life of a British family (rather than an American one) affected by the war in Afghanistan.
dnf
December 3, 2012I won this book from First Reads in May of 2012. Two Three almost four months later and it has still not arrived. Hmm..
I've contacted the publisher and Goodreads support and still have not received the book. I think we can consider this my negative review.
Final Edit: Not only have I contacted the publisher but contacted Goodreads support 3 additional times and they ensured me they would get back to me about it. It's been just shy of 7 months now and there's been no responses or book. I give up on it and this has definitely put a huge damper in my opinion of GR support staff and the First Reads program's accountability.
Thumbs down.
I've contacted the publisher and Goodreads support and still have not received the book. I think we can consider this my negative review.
Final Edit: Not only have I contacted the publisher but contacted Goodreads support 3 additional times and they ensured me they would get back to me about it. It's been just shy of 7 months now and there's been no responses or book. I give up on it and this has definitely put a huge damper in my opinion of GR support staff and the First Reads program's accountability.
Thumbs down.
July 24, 2012
A great insight into military families and the difficulties they face when a loved one returns from a war zone. But, most importantly, a story of "family" in all its variations: nuclear and extended, friends, military family, and the many kinds of support each can offer. This is my first Joanna Trollope novel, but it won't be my last.
July 15, 2012
The usual Joanna Trollope thing - people make bad choices then endlessly discuss those choices (or inadvisably refuse to). Well written, easy read.
April 3, 2013
I hadn't read any Joanna Trollope for a while and I was really pleased with her return to form with this book.
October 10, 2022
I am a bit ambivalent about Joanna Trollope, she does middle class characters SO well, I suppose I shouldn't be expecting her to do working class ones well too. She doesn't, and fortunately doesn't often try.
Soldiers Wife is, of course, well written and holds the interest well, and I am usually perfectly happy with dialogue driven middle class novels and yards of minutiae about people's lives. The lives in this book are realistic ( as far as I can tell, never having been married into the Forces, though I was married to a police officer once) . It's their speech I find unrealistic , here are people in crisis, who are stretched to their emotional limits on occasion, who speak as if on a stage , perfectly modulated and coherent passages going for what would be minutes on end in real life. Even Isabel at , what 12? speaks like this, or if not speaks, certainly thinks like it. The soldier's father and grandfather are slightly less verbally adept , the grandfather being close to a parody in some ways , though articulate when needs be.
They all think like psychologists too or at least the female characters do . Not good psychologists you understand, but have the lingo and thought patterns down pat .
The soldier in question , Dan , seems strangely dispassionate and blank to me, though his love of the Army and in particular of his regiment and battlefield compadres is obvious. Maybe , as one reviewer suggests, he suffers from PTSD and I am just incapable of seeing it. The eponymous soldier's wife and Dan spend interminable pages not connecting with each other , and it needs a grittier writer than Joanna Trollope to do this well, imho.
The ending I found unlikely and contrived , as it the author had got bored of her characters and just decided to rehabilitate them all and thus be rid of them ....
Soldiers Wife is, of course, well written and holds the interest well, and I am usually perfectly happy with dialogue driven middle class novels and yards of minutiae about people's lives. The lives in this book are realistic ( as far as I can tell, never having been married into the Forces, though I was married to a police officer once) . It's their speech I find unrealistic , here are people in crisis, who are stretched to their emotional limits on occasion, who speak as if on a stage , perfectly modulated and coherent passages going for what would be minutes on end in real life. Even Isabel at , what 12? speaks like this, or if not speaks, certainly thinks like it. The soldier's father and grandfather are slightly less verbally adept , the grandfather being close to a parody in some ways , though articulate when needs be.
They all think like psychologists too or at least the female characters do . Not good psychologists you understand, but have the lingo and thought patterns down pat .
The soldier in question , Dan , seems strangely dispassionate and blank to me, though his love of the Army and in particular of his regiment and battlefield compadres is obvious. Maybe , as one reviewer suggests, he suffers from PTSD and I am just incapable of seeing it. The eponymous soldier's wife and Dan spend interminable pages not connecting with each other , and it needs a grittier writer than Joanna Trollope to do this well, imho.
The ending I found unlikely and contrived , as it the author had got bored of her characters and just decided to rehabilitate them all and thus be rid of them ....
December 11, 2017
I lived this book as I was reading it. It seemed real. The main characters were trying to make things work, it was just that their reality was so tough. In a way army families struggle in similar ways to most, jobs clashing, housing difficulties, schooling problems with kids, lack of money, one party resenting carrying a bigger load of child care when they used to have a good job and one in a fly in fly out position. It is just magnified by the fact that the husband in this case has a job where he fights in a morally shady war, kill or be killed, seeing his men die and lose limbs or become disfigured. Add to this the crippling emotional scars they all carry, the soldiers and their families, the loneliness and worry and danger, it doesn't bode well. The children are collateral damage, sent off to boarding schools. I never quite got the British boarding schools, the cost, the misery, the loss of family life. The government pays. Bet that is in a cost cut now! The men live in army hosing on a base with their families. A pressure cooker with a glass lid.
Yet there is care and love and longing. People attempt to find their solutions. Families come together and rally round. The women are friends, with a sisterhood/aunty system happening to support them. It is all a bit close "in your pockets" stuff where a lot gets said and happens in a bubble and yet, most of the time, little is said that really matters. The army's tight lipped, hierarchical system colours their lives, even the wives and children.
Well worth reading especially for those of us who have had fathers buggered by wars and sad or bitter mothers.
Yet there is care and love and longing. People attempt to find their solutions. Families come together and rally round. The women are friends, with a sisterhood/aunty system happening to support them. It is all a bit close "in your pockets" stuff where a lot gets said and happens in a bubble and yet, most of the time, little is said that really matters. The army's tight lipped, hierarchical system colours their lives, even the wives and children.
Well worth reading especially for those of us who have had fathers buggered by wars and sad or bitter mothers.
February 6, 2018
As usual Joanna Trollope gets to the very crux of the story very fast. Dan is in the Army. He has served a very troublesome six months period in Afghanistan and is now home with his mates. Life should be happy. His wife, he has twin daughters and an older step daughter all look forward to his return but why cant they all settle down.
Alexa is a very loyal dutiful wife. She has battled on alone, never complaining but she now begins to feel that his batch mates and the Army is his top priority and that the family trails behind. Dan himself feels caught up in a triangle of how does one choose priorities. A mate returned with him, his wife leaves him, there are those mates who have been badly injured who have to be rehabilitated, there are many social obligations within the Army itself which have to be included in his life and he himself feels that things are getting away from him and he and his wife are increasingly isolated, without communicating what they actually want from each other.
Alexa wants a fixed home, she wants Isabel her eldest daughter to be happy (she isnt), she wants them to be a family again without the third wheel of all of the Army crowding in. How does one cope. Dan's father, grandfather , Alexa's parents are all anxious, all wanting to help. All know that without an intervention the family is going to split.
The story of relationships and mainly the need for open lines of communication are so manifestly important and it is this that for me was the focal point of this story. Dan is a soldier foremost and now he must try to be a civilian father and husband whilst balancing his career as well. Tough calls.
Alexa is a very loyal dutiful wife. She has battled on alone, never complaining but she now begins to feel that his batch mates and the Army is his top priority and that the family trails behind. Dan himself feels caught up in a triangle of how does one choose priorities. A mate returned with him, his wife leaves him, there are those mates who have been badly injured who have to be rehabilitated, there are many social obligations within the Army itself which have to be included in his life and he himself feels that things are getting away from him and he and his wife are increasingly isolated, without communicating what they actually want from each other.
Alexa wants a fixed home, she wants Isabel her eldest daughter to be happy (she isnt), she wants them to be a family again without the third wheel of all of the Army crowding in. How does one cope. Dan's father, grandfather , Alexa's parents are all anxious, all wanting to help. All know that without an intervention the family is going to split.
The story of relationships and mainly the need for open lines of communication are so manifestly important and it is this that for me was the focal point of this story. Dan is a soldier foremost and now he must try to be a civilian father and husband whilst balancing his career as well. Tough calls.
April 26, 2019
Once again Joanna Trollope has entered the world of women whose men are married to their job. Dan is a devoted Major in the Army, on his way home (when the book starts) from Afghanistan. At home is Alexa, (no, not the digital voice-activated sort) her daughter from her first marriage Isabel, and the utterly delightful twins, Flora and Tassy (aged 3). Not forgetting ancient Labrador Beetle.
But Dan's head is with the battery he's in command of, and getting them safely off on their leave, sorting out their problems. The fact that Alexa has been offered a steady, dependable job and that Isabel is bitterly unhappy at boarding school, never even register.
We seem to spend a lot of time getting frustrated over this couple's inability to communicate with each other, as do their parents on both sides and grandfather Eric. I found myself sympathising with all military wives, expected to jettison their own careers and to be ready to be moved anywhere at any time, just because the Army calls.
To some extent, the problems are the same as those befalling Anna in the Rector's Wife - and in others, completely different. Again, Trollope has done her homework and obviously talked both to service personnel and their families in her research. It's good to have our eyes opened to the lives of those who serve their country, often at such great personal cost.
But Dan's head is with the battery he's in command of, and getting them safely off on their leave, sorting out their problems. The fact that Alexa has been offered a steady, dependable job and that Isabel is bitterly unhappy at boarding school, never even register.
We seem to spend a lot of time getting frustrated over this couple's inability to communicate with each other, as do their parents on both sides and grandfather Eric. I found myself sympathising with all military wives, expected to jettison their own careers and to be ready to be moved anywhere at any time, just because the Army calls.
To some extent, the problems are the same as those befalling Anna in the Rector's Wife - and in others, completely different. Again, Trollope has done her homework and obviously talked both to service personnel and their families in her research. It's good to have our eyes opened to the lives of those who serve their country, often at such great personal cost.
November 17, 2020
This lovely, easy read gives a fascinating and eye-opening perspective on the life and difficulties of military families: the lengthy separations and associated worry, and the problems, for all the participants, of returning home and back into 'normal' family life. We see these issues through the eyes of various soldiers' wives (especially Alexa) and their soldier husbands (especially Dan). Trollope also includes the views of children (Isabel, moved between many schools and finally sent to boarding school) and of parents, both Dan's and Alexa's. It is a story about loyalty and collegiality, of family and relationships.
Although the ending leaves the ultimate outcome for Dan and Alexa quite vague, there was, for me, a rather too happily-ever-after feel that may not be exactly realistic, although that is more my feeling than anything else. It will be interesting now to read Exit Wounds by John Cantwell and get another view from an entirely different perspective. Interesting too, to know if anything has changed, in terms of support and understanding, for military families since this was published in 2012. ***
Although the ending leaves the ultimate outcome for Dan and Alexa quite vague, there was, for me, a rather too happily-ever-after feel that may not be exactly realistic, although that is more my feeling than anything else. It will be interesting now to read Exit Wounds by John Cantwell and get another view from an entirely different perspective. Interesting too, to know if anything has changed, in terms of support and understanding, for military families since this was published in 2012. ***
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