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Gone to Soldiers
In a stunning tour-de-force, Marge Piercy has woven a tapestry of World War II, of six women and four men, who fought and died, worked and worried, and moved through the dizzying days of the war. A compelling chronicle of humans in conflict with inhuman events, Gone to Soldiers is an unforgettable reading experience and a stirring tribute to the remarkable survival of the human spirit.
804 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1987
1480 people are currently reading
7065 people want to read
About the author
Marge Piercy
113 books924 followersMarge Piercy is an American poet, novelist, and social activist. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Gone to Soldiers, a sweeping historical novel set during World War II.
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
Piercy was born in Detroit, Michigan, to a family deeply affected by the Great Depression. She was the first in her family to attend college, studying at the University of Michigan. Winning a Hopwood Award for Poetry and Fiction (1957) enabled her to finish college and spend some time in France, and her formal schooling ended with an M.A. from Northwestern University. Her first book of poems, Breaking Camp, was published in 1968.
An indifferent student in her early years, Piercy developed a love of books when she came down with rheumatic fever in her mid-childhood and could do little but read. "It taught me that there's a different world there, that there were all these horizons that were quite different from what I could see," she said in a 1984 interview.
As of 2013, she is author of seventeen volumes of poems, among them The Moon is Always Female (1980, considered a feminist classic) and The Art of Blessing the Day (1999), as well as fifteen novels, one play (The Last White Class, co-authored with her third and current husband Ira Wood), one collection of essays (Parti-colored Blocks for a Quilt), one non-fiction book, and one memoir.
Her novels and poetry often focus on feminist or social concerns, although her settings vary. While Body of Glass (published in the US as He, She and It) is a science fiction novel that won the Arthur C. Clarke Award, City of Darkness, City of Light is set during the French Revolution. Other of her novels, such as Summer People and The Longings of Women are set during the modern day. All of her books share a focus on women's lives.
Woman on the Edge of Time (1976) mixes a time travel story with issues of social justice, feminism, and the treatment of the mentally ill. This novel is considered a classic of utopian "speculative" science fiction as well as a feminist classic. William Gibson has credited Woman on the Edge of Time as the birthplace of Cyberpunk. Piercy tells this in an introduction to Body of Glass. Body of Glass (He, She and It) (1991) postulates an environmentally ruined world dominated by sprawling mega-cities and a futuristic version of the Internet, through which Piercy weaves elements of Jewish mysticism and the legend of the Golem, although a key story element is the main character's attempts to regain custody of her young son.
Many of Piercy's novels tell their stories from the viewpoints of multiple characters, often including a first-person voice among numerous third-person narratives. Her World War II historical novel, Gone To Soldiers (1987) follows the lives of nine major characters in the United States, Europe and Asia. The first-person account in Gone To Soldiers is the diary of French teenager Jacqueline Levy-Monot, who is also followed in a third-person account after her capture by the Nazis.
Piercy's poetry tends to be highly personal free verse and often addresses the same concern with feminist and social issues. Her work shows commitment to the dream of social change (what she might call, in Judaic terms, tikkun olam, or the repair of the world), rooted in story, the wheel of the Jewish year, and a range of landscapes and settings.
She lives in Wellfleet on Cape Cod, Massachusetts with her husband, Ira Wood.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 441 reviews
June 6, 2016
Gone to Soldiers is a novel told through characters in multiple settings: among them French Jewish resistance fighters; members of the intelligence community in Washington DC and London; a writer of fiction who moves into journalism; laborers in Detroit, along with their families; women entering the work force around the United States; men in various parts of the armed forces; and all the characters being faced with the changing mores of wartime when no one knows what the future will bring or if they will have a future. So society changes. There are also subtle threads of relationships between some of the characters running through the book. It's actually quite an epic tale.
I don't believe that I have ever read a work that so fully covers the many and varied aspects of life during war time, in many of its possible settings and people. There are combatants, code breakers, writers, students on the periphery, young women on factory lines. The primary characters range in age from pre-teen to ca 50 but all age during this novel, as too much happens and too fast. It is
quite a reading experience...dealing with so many fronts of WWII: the U.S. home front with the effects on women and children and those men left at home; the French Jewish resistance; the war in the Pacific; intelligence services in Washington and London; post war in a ravaged Europe. And everything is complete with fully developed characters.
The book has only now been released in ebook format and will, hopefully get another, new audience. For there are messages here for readers of 2016 and beyond, messages about tolerance and the effects of mass hatred and blind civic obedience to erroneous concepts which diminish humans of all stripes. There are also messages about personal relationships, searching for love and family. This is a long book but well worth the investment of time. Its structure also assists the reading since it is set up in chapters devoted to alternating characters. While this may be initially confusing, it develops a rhythm and it works well.
4.5*
A copy of this e-book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
I don't believe that I have ever read a work that so fully covers the many and varied aspects of life during war time, in many of its possible settings and people. There are combatants, code breakers, writers, students on the periphery, young women on factory lines. The primary characters range in age from pre-teen to ca 50 but all age during this novel, as too much happens and too fast. It is
quite a reading experience...dealing with so many fronts of WWII: the U.S. home front with the effects on women and children and those men left at home; the French Jewish resistance; the war in the Pacific; intelligence services in Washington and London; post war in a ravaged Europe. And everything is complete with fully developed characters.
The book has only now been released in ebook format and will, hopefully get another, new audience. For there are messages here for readers of 2016 and beyond, messages about tolerance and the effects of mass hatred and blind civic obedience to erroneous concepts which diminish humans of all stripes. There are also messages about personal relationships, searching for love and family. This is a long book but well worth the investment of time. Its structure also assists the reading since it is set up in chapters devoted to alternating characters. While this may be initially confusing, it develops a rhythm and it works well.
4.5*
A copy of this e-book was provided by the publisher in return for an honest review.
August 23, 2020
No clue when I first read this nor how many times I've read it since then nor how many copies I still own nor how many I've given away to friends and family. It's that good in my opinion and Piercy is one of my favorite writers.
June 6, 2022
Very good epic read. . Marge Piercy is phenomenal at characterization. This novel is extraordinary, covering the lives of 10 people living on different continents, of different ages, social classes, jobs, etc. We follow the lives of these characters as they take shape over the course of WW11 and its aftermath. If you are a WWII junkie you will love this.
February 8, 2016
Gone to Soliders has recently been re-issued. If you haven't read it you must and if you have read it re-read it. It's a treasure.
May 10, 2008
This is a sprawling epic covering a loosely-linked dozen people through WWII. Piercy explores the war among immigrants and citizens in the US, refugees, soldiers, spies, and members of the underground resistance; most of the characters eventually cross paths in one way or another. The characters are vividly painted, and as far as I know, it's fairly historically accurate. It's an incredible work of women's history and contributions to the war effort, as well as a very strong novel. I've read this at least a dozen times and frequently go back to it as a comfort-read.
August 8, 2009
World War II was the leitmotif of my childhood, bracketed by my memories of Pearl Harbor Day ( “Go outside and play, children. We’re listening to the radio.”) and VJ Day, when a parade of cars jammed Pacific Coast Highway in Laguna. The photo of a dead American Marine half-buried in the sands of a Pacific Island is an image I’ve carried with me all my life.
So I was predisposed to read this book. It’s a big, fat, old-fashioned novel with a myriad of characters and plots, held together by the War, and a few actual intercrossings. It must have been a major undertaking to write, both in terms of the number of characters and in the amount of background research involved. The writing, however, is pedestrian, except for a few outstanding incidences where Piercy’s background as a poet shines through.
All told, though, this book in its sheer size (770 pages) is “too much of a muchness” as my grandmother used to say. Certainly for the last ¼ of its pages I felt as if I were on a forced march.
So I was predisposed to read this book. It’s a big, fat, old-fashioned novel with a myriad of characters and plots, held together by the War, and a few actual intercrossings. It must have been a major undertaking to write, both in terms of the number of characters and in the amount of background research involved. The writing, however, is pedestrian, except for a few outstanding incidences where Piercy’s background as a poet shines through.
All told, though, this book in its sheer size (770 pages) is “too much of a muchness” as my grandmother used to say. Certainly for the last ¼ of its pages I felt as if I were on a forced march.
January 29, 2015
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I don't know if it's partly because I read it as I traveled around England with my mother many years ago, but I do remember trying to ration it, dreading coming to the end and not having these people in my life anymore. I love Marge Piercy's writing style and her books are always incredibly well-researched - or at least they seem to be, as I feel as if I'm living in the time of the book. This one takes place during WWII and follows quite a few characters both in the US and in England. Since it was so long ago that I read it, I can't remember specific storylines, other than a woman trying to become a pilot when that was just not done, but I highly recommend it! Wonderfully developed characters, terrific sense of place and time - it'll be hard to put down!
February 11, 2017
Marge Piercy has written an epic covering 1939 through 1945 from eyes we haven’t seen through a thousand times on History Channel, because they’re mostly women’s. An intellectual Parisian teenager, a women’s writer (including romances) in NYC, an awkward daughter stuck caring for her widowed malcontent chuff of a father, a working class Detroit daughter doing double shifts for years to educate herself, contribute and care for the family, while her parents seem only to value their dirtball sons. As her father told her:
“ ‘It isn’t right for them to take one son and then put the last one in danger.’”
A son, a son. As if she did not count.”
A child who feels arbitrarily chosen of her sibs to be saved - sent to the USA to try to be “normal” after seeing the worst malevolence humans are capable of. She tried to imitate American kids, but:
“‘They had never been bombed, they had never seen a mother holding a headless baby…’”
And an independent, wealthy young woman used to getting her way. All women, all Jewish, (but one) all of whom will find themselves redefined during these years.
There are also the eyes of men - some wonderful, some not. One believing he’s the only Jew in the Marines (he’s not, I had the honor of knowing another, a gentle, funny grandpa - that’s another story).
This is a grand, human, sweeping story that at 770 pages ended too soon. The characters are so believable, they're almost tactile, the scenes real; and, in fact, everything in this book happened somewhere in these times and places.
A tiny lagniappe: Jacqueline, who began as a precocious teenager searching for
“the universal because only in that way can we rise rigorously out of the slough of the accidental popular”
- has suffered much and is currently hiding in a horse stable, a spot on the ratline, the underground railroad to the south. While not moving a muscle, she begins thinking that her Jewishness is something she has
“backed into, something I had thrust upon me. It is the same way I used to feel when I was discussing philosophy or literature with some fellow student, and suddenly he would put his hand on my knee, or put his arm around me. I would be saying, I, I think, I am a thinking spirit, and he would be saying, you, you body, you female body. It is not that I dislike my body, female that it is, but the body was not how I was experiencing myself. Similarly, I considered being born in a Jewish family as a contingent peripheral part of my being, not part of my essence. Now it defines me…”
Ever so strongly recommended.
“ ‘It isn’t right for them to take one son and then put the last one in danger.’”
A son, a son. As if she did not count.”
A child who feels arbitrarily chosen of her sibs to be saved - sent to the USA to try to be “normal” after seeing the worst malevolence humans are capable of. She tried to imitate American kids, but:
“‘They had never been bombed, they had never seen a mother holding a headless baby…’”
And an independent, wealthy young woman used to getting her way. All women, all Jewish, (but one) all of whom will find themselves redefined during these years.
There are also the eyes of men - some wonderful, some not. One believing he’s the only Jew in the Marines (he’s not, I had the honor of knowing another, a gentle, funny grandpa - that’s another story).
This is a grand, human, sweeping story that at 770 pages ended too soon. The characters are so believable, they're almost tactile, the scenes real; and, in fact, everything in this book happened somewhere in these times and places.
A tiny lagniappe: Jacqueline, who began as a precocious teenager searching for
“the universal because only in that way can we rise rigorously out of the slough of the accidental popular”
- has suffered much and is currently hiding in a horse stable, a spot on the ratline, the underground railroad to the south. While not moving a muscle, she begins thinking that her Jewishness is something she has
“backed into, something I had thrust upon me. It is the same way I used to feel when I was discussing philosophy or literature with some fellow student, and suddenly he would put his hand on my knee, or put his arm around me. I would be saying, I, I think, I am a thinking spirit, and he would be saying, you, you body, you female body. It is not that I dislike my body, female that it is, but the body was not how I was experiencing myself. Similarly, I considered being born in a Jewish family as a contingent peripheral part of my being, not part of my essence. Now it defines me…”
Ever so strongly recommended.
December 13, 2016
Brevity isn’t possible here. Settle in and get comfy. Here we go.
The word “epic” gets overused in the world of advertising, and so as a reviewer, I have learned to take the promise with a grain of salt. However, Piercy is renowned, an iconic presence for feminists and for anyone that approaches life from a class perspective. I read this book when it first came out in the 1980’s for no discount whatsoever, and I loved it. Books come and go at my house, since space on the bookshelf is itself a commodity, but Piercy has a permanent shelf all her own; when I saw that Open Road Media had released this book digitally, I jumped on it, even though the release date had passed and even though I already had the book, because I wanted to help promote it, and I was happy to read it again. I rate it 4.75 stars and of course, round it upward.
There are two myths that get told, are believed by others, and then they are retold about World War II. The most recent one is that told by Holocaust deniers, who say that the whole death camp thing was just a huge exaggeration. Yes, there were prisons; yes, guards were mean sometimes; yes, people died, because nobody was getting enough food in Poland and other non-German parts of Europe anyway. This is a lie, but as eyewitnesses grow old and die, it takes a certain vigilance to keep this damnable untruth from gaining a toehold. Piercy tells the truth, and she does it really well. More on that in a moment, but let’s deal with the other lie first.
The second myth, one that’s understandably popular as patriotism grasps the human heart and we wish that our rulers, past and present, were truly noble, is that the USA joined its allies in a quest to preserve democracy and save those poor Jews and other unfortunates tucked away in those hellish camps. Piercy approaches this palace of straw from many different angles and razes it to the ground. Jews that wanted out faced tremendous obstacles, from nations—the USA included—that were extremely choosy about how many Jews they would take. The US and UK governments were more obstructive than helpful, and countless men, women, and children died because of these exclusions.
Piercy is a brilliant storyteller, and in her hands, the period and its people are so believable, nearly corporal, that I carry them with me still.
This story is told through the eyes of ten characters whose narratives are staggered. There are French characters, British, and Americans; men and women; straight, gay, lesbian, and bisexual. They hail from a variety of socio-economic circumstances and are affected by the war in different ways. It’s miraculous to see a writer develop even one of these characters as fully and thoroughly as Piercy does; how is it that she does so with a wide range of characters, yet has never been nominated for a prestigious award?
Those of us that are old and perhaps cynical may consider that the very political perspective that makes her prose so rich may be what kept her from landing on a short list. I guess we’ll never know for sure.
Piercy is a scholar and she approaches this historical period with sources in hand. She doesn’t interpret loosely, and her note to the reader tells us in what instance she has taken liberties, for example not wanting to have a whole string of people that have the same first name. Always she is aware of the subtext, the stereotypes that women aviators faced, for example.
My most beloved characters were Jacqueline, a hero of the French resistance, along with her lover, Jeff, and her little sister Naomi, one of the fortunate few who’s sent to live with American relatives before it’s too late. I liked Louise’s moxie, and I loved what happened to Duvey. I also really enjoyed the unusual perspective that Daniel and his fellow code-breakers shared, becoming so familiar with the Japanese point of view that they bonded with the men whose communications they were deciphering.
As we discuss the Japanese, we come to the .25 that I deducted. I did this as a token objection to the use of the racist vernacular that I know was commonplace during the time. This reviewer grew up with a father that served during this war, and reminiscences among the guests he and my mother entertained were so frequent that I, in youthful ignorance, rolled my eyes and decided they were impossibly dull. And my mother taught me that the terms he and they used to speak of Germans, of Jews, of Japanese were never, ever to be used in my own conversations with anyone at any time. And so yes, racist references and ethnic slurs were common to this era.
But I note that whereas our author has had the good taste and the good sense not to repeat the ugly terms by which Jewish people were called, and seldom repeats the anti-German slurs, the “J” word is used dozens of times, usually by the character that fights in the Pacific. And I have to say, it really stings.
There were fewer Asian Americans during the period when Piercy wrote this than there are today, particularly in the author’s own New England home. For anyone writing this today, and for anyone less venerable and also less influential for me personally during my formative years, I would lop off at least a couple of stars from my rating. It’s ugly to repeat these epithets, and it’s particularly painful to me to read them. This is my husband we’re talking about; it’s my daughter, too. It’s my in-laws, one of whom fought, as good Japanese citizens were expected to, for the Japanese Imperial Army. So I would not care to see her go back and insert the horrible terms hurled at Jews and Germans for the sake of consistency; I’d just rather see the “J” word used less often. She could mention it in her introduction if she feels the reader needs to know that she’s made an adjustment. That’s my viewpoint, and I’m sticking to it.
But it’s also true that when I was young and confused, Piercy was one of the bright feminist lights in literature to whom I looked for guidance. So I am moved not only by the excellence of this work, but also by the shining legacy she has provided for women during an uncertain time.
One further note: though I have a degree in history and have taught it, I have seldom seen much written—at least in English—about the French Resistance. This part is arguably the most deeply resonant part of this novel, and though I had read the book before, it’s amazing what one can forget over the course of twenty or thirty years. I don’t read many books twice because there are so many I haven’t read at all yet; and still this is one that I may read a third time, as I feel my recollection of the fine details already slipping away.
For those that treasure excellent literary fiction; that have the stamina for a novel of this length; that love outstanding historical fiction; that enjoy stories that are told from a feminist viewpoint and that recognize social classes and the way they affect us; this story is unparalleled. Get it and read it.
The word “epic” gets overused in the world of advertising, and so as a reviewer, I have learned to take the promise with a grain of salt. However, Piercy is renowned, an iconic presence for feminists and for anyone that approaches life from a class perspective. I read this book when it first came out in the 1980’s for no discount whatsoever, and I loved it. Books come and go at my house, since space on the bookshelf is itself a commodity, but Piercy has a permanent shelf all her own; when I saw that Open Road Media had released this book digitally, I jumped on it, even though the release date had passed and even though I already had the book, because I wanted to help promote it, and I was happy to read it again. I rate it 4.75 stars and of course, round it upward.
There are two myths that get told, are believed by others, and then they are retold about World War II. The most recent one is that told by Holocaust deniers, who say that the whole death camp thing was just a huge exaggeration. Yes, there were prisons; yes, guards were mean sometimes; yes, people died, because nobody was getting enough food in Poland and other non-German parts of Europe anyway. This is a lie, but as eyewitnesses grow old and die, it takes a certain vigilance to keep this damnable untruth from gaining a toehold. Piercy tells the truth, and she does it really well. More on that in a moment, but let’s deal with the other lie first.
The second myth, one that’s understandably popular as patriotism grasps the human heart and we wish that our rulers, past and present, were truly noble, is that the USA joined its allies in a quest to preserve democracy and save those poor Jews and other unfortunates tucked away in those hellish camps. Piercy approaches this palace of straw from many different angles and razes it to the ground. Jews that wanted out faced tremendous obstacles, from nations—the USA included—that were extremely choosy about how many Jews they would take. The US and UK governments were more obstructive than helpful, and countless men, women, and children died because of these exclusions.
Piercy is a brilliant storyteller, and in her hands, the period and its people are so believable, nearly corporal, that I carry them with me still.
This story is told through the eyes of ten characters whose narratives are staggered. There are French characters, British, and Americans; men and women; straight, gay, lesbian, and bisexual. They hail from a variety of socio-economic circumstances and are affected by the war in different ways. It’s miraculous to see a writer develop even one of these characters as fully and thoroughly as Piercy does; how is it that she does so with a wide range of characters, yet has never been nominated for a prestigious award?
Those of us that are old and perhaps cynical may consider that the very political perspective that makes her prose so rich may be what kept her from landing on a short list. I guess we’ll never know for sure.
Piercy is a scholar and she approaches this historical period with sources in hand. She doesn’t interpret loosely, and her note to the reader tells us in what instance she has taken liberties, for example not wanting to have a whole string of people that have the same first name. Always she is aware of the subtext, the stereotypes that women aviators faced, for example.
My most beloved characters were Jacqueline, a hero of the French resistance, along with her lover, Jeff, and her little sister Naomi, one of the fortunate few who’s sent to live with American relatives before it’s too late. I liked Louise’s moxie, and I loved what happened to Duvey. I also really enjoyed the unusual perspective that Daniel and his fellow code-breakers shared, becoming so familiar with the Japanese point of view that they bonded with the men whose communications they were deciphering.
As we discuss the Japanese, we come to the .25 that I deducted. I did this as a token objection to the use of the racist vernacular that I know was commonplace during the time. This reviewer grew up with a father that served during this war, and reminiscences among the guests he and my mother entertained were so frequent that I, in youthful ignorance, rolled my eyes and decided they were impossibly dull. And my mother taught me that the terms he and they used to speak of Germans, of Jews, of Japanese were never, ever to be used in my own conversations with anyone at any time. And so yes, racist references and ethnic slurs were common to this era.
But I note that whereas our author has had the good taste and the good sense not to repeat the ugly terms by which Jewish people were called, and seldom repeats the anti-German slurs, the “J” word is used dozens of times, usually by the character that fights in the Pacific. And I have to say, it really stings.
There were fewer Asian Americans during the period when Piercy wrote this than there are today, particularly in the author’s own New England home. For anyone writing this today, and for anyone less venerable and also less influential for me personally during my formative years, I would lop off at least a couple of stars from my rating. It’s ugly to repeat these epithets, and it’s particularly painful to me to read them. This is my husband we’re talking about; it’s my daughter, too. It’s my in-laws, one of whom fought, as good Japanese citizens were expected to, for the Japanese Imperial Army. So I would not care to see her go back and insert the horrible terms hurled at Jews and Germans for the sake of consistency; I’d just rather see the “J” word used less often. She could mention it in her introduction if she feels the reader needs to know that she’s made an adjustment. That’s my viewpoint, and I’m sticking to it.
But it’s also true that when I was young and confused, Piercy was one of the bright feminist lights in literature to whom I looked for guidance. So I am moved not only by the excellence of this work, but also by the shining legacy she has provided for women during an uncertain time.
One further note: though I have a degree in history and have taught it, I have seldom seen much written—at least in English—about the French Resistance. This part is arguably the most deeply resonant part of this novel, and though I had read the book before, it’s amazing what one can forget over the course of twenty or thirty years. I don’t read many books twice because there are so many I haven’t read at all yet; and still this is one that I may read a third time, as I feel my recollection of the fine details already slipping away.
For those that treasure excellent literary fiction; that have the stamina for a novel of this length; that love outstanding historical fiction; that enjoy stories that are told from a feminist viewpoint and that recognize social classes and the way they affect us; this story is unparalleled. Get it and read it.
September 21, 2020
I will preface rather than end this review with...”highly recommend”....but with a pretty big caveat: It requires a sustained and concentrated commitment of time. It’s nearly 800 pages long. It is epic historical fiction that follows 10 main characters, notably 6 women, over the course of the entire WWII.
The writing style captured me. I’m a scientist who hasn’t taken many literature classes but I’d describe it as “literary”. The author has also published a lot of poetry, so that seems an apt term. Each chapter is from the perspective of different alternating characters, so you are constantly transported to a different story in a different part of the world. At first I had a little trouble keeping track, as there are of course other lesser characters in each setting. It was worth the time to read slowly and really be attentive, especially in the early chapters. The stories develop nicely over time, as do the characters, who really grow (and grew on me). Their stories also sometimes intersect or overlap later on, so it’s important to keep track.
I liked how the book kept to a chronological timeline. I could expect that if it was spring of 1943 for one character’s story, it would be spring of ‘43 for all.
The amount of research that went into this book was obviously huge. It came across as completely authentic. I learned a lot and I found myself thinking of current events and the consequences of political power, and wishing our species would not keep letting history repeat itself when it comes to prejudices, hatred, inequality and inhumanity to our fellow man/woman.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
The writing style captured me. I’m a scientist who hasn’t taken many literature classes but I’d describe it as “literary”. The author has also published a lot of poetry, so that seems an apt term. Each chapter is from the perspective of different alternating characters, so you are constantly transported to a different story in a different part of the world. At first I had a little trouble keeping track, as there are of course other lesser characters in each setting. It was worth the time to read slowly and really be attentive, especially in the early chapters. The stories develop nicely over time, as do the characters, who really grow (and grew on me). Their stories also sometimes intersect or overlap later on, so it’s important to keep track.
I liked how the book kept to a chronological timeline. I could expect that if it was spring of 1943 for one character’s story, it would be spring of ‘43 for all.
The amount of research that went into this book was obviously huge. It came across as completely authentic. I learned a lot and I found myself thinking of current events and the consequences of political power, and wishing our species would not keep letting history repeat itself when it comes to prejudices, hatred, inequality and inhumanity to our fellow man/woman.
4.5 stars, rounded up.
February 11, 2017
I have loved Marge Piercy's poetry and her science fiction novel, Woman on the Edge of Time. For me, she is a feminist icon. I received a request from the publisher to review the new e-book version of her 1987 novel Gone To Soldiers. So I decided that it was time that I read it. I received a free copy from the publisher via Net Galley in return for this honest review.
For feminists, it's important to note that much of the narrative is a story about women, and some were extraordinary. My personal favorites were Jacqueline, Bernice and Louise.
I'll start with Louise because Gone To Soldiers opens with her perspective. Originally, I wasn't impressed with her. The multiplicity of her talents, her fortitude and resilience are gradually revealed over the course of the narrative.
As a journalist, Louise's travels bound the characters together. Although Jacqueline and Bernice never met each other, Louise had the opportunity to interview both of them.
Louise encountered Bernice first. Bernice was a pilot, and eventually joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Her entire life was focused on flying--getting an opportunity to fly, and then trying to find a way to keep flying. Readers may be astonished by how far she was willing to go to continue being a pilot after the war was over. Her refusal to ever give up on her dreams was what I admired most about her. To learn more about the WASP, I recommend The WASP Official Archive at Texas Women's University.
Jacqueline began as a sheltered Paris teenager who I found immensely irritating because of her complete lack of empathy. The German occupation of France shattered her life and reshaped her personality. The crucible of war and oppression accomplished the most marvelous metamorphosis for this character. It also fundamentally changed her priorities and her loyalties. I respected Bernice and Louise a great deal, but I came to love Jacqueline. Her struggle to survive truly moved me.
The viewpoint characters in Gone To Soldiers illuminated a number of aspects of the world they inhabited. Even when I didn't particularly identify with a character, I felt that I understood more about each slice of the realities of WWII that these characters represented. It is often said that a novel is more than the sum of its parts, but I believe that it was the segments of individual perceptions that gave this book significance.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
For feminists, it's important to note that much of the narrative is a story about women, and some were extraordinary. My personal favorites were Jacqueline, Bernice and Louise.
I'll start with Louise because Gone To Soldiers opens with her perspective. Originally, I wasn't impressed with her. The multiplicity of her talents, her fortitude and resilience are gradually revealed over the course of the narrative.
As a journalist, Louise's travels bound the characters together. Although Jacqueline and Bernice never met each other, Louise had the opportunity to interview both of them.
Louise encountered Bernice first. Bernice was a pilot, and eventually joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP). Her entire life was focused on flying--getting an opportunity to fly, and then trying to find a way to keep flying. Readers may be astonished by how far she was willing to go to continue being a pilot after the war was over. Her refusal to ever give up on her dreams was what I admired most about her. To learn more about the WASP, I recommend The WASP Official Archive at Texas Women's University.
Jacqueline began as a sheltered Paris teenager who I found immensely irritating because of her complete lack of empathy. The German occupation of France shattered her life and reshaped her personality. The crucible of war and oppression accomplished the most marvelous metamorphosis for this character. It also fundamentally changed her priorities and her loyalties. I respected Bernice and Louise a great deal, but I came to love Jacqueline. Her struggle to survive truly moved me.
The viewpoint characters in Gone To Soldiers illuminated a number of aspects of the world they inhabited. Even when I didn't particularly identify with a character, I felt that I understood more about each slice of the realities of WWII that these characters represented. It is often said that a novel is more than the sum of its parts, but I believe that it was the segments of individual perceptions that gave this book significance.
For my complete review see http://shomeretmasked.blogspot.com/20...
July 4, 2022
Easy to read story lines that interconnect. Also I learned some interesting facts about WWII: how the US Navy was capable of decoding all Japanese naval and diplomatic communication. And how the Holocaust was even more evil than I knew until now. Recommended.
February 19, 2021
4.5 Stars
Fantastic sweeping historical saga!
Fantastic sweeping historical saga!
April 26, 2016
Disclaimer: I was sent the Kindle version of Gone to Soldiers by the publisher through Net Galley in exchange for a review. I am grateful that this book is in digital format as a 768 page book can be difficult to hold.
Gone to Soldiers is an epic novel with great writing. We are introduced to the ten main characters(6 women and 4 men) in the beginning chapters.Their voices continue throughout the novel and it is through their eyes that we see WW2 and its effects on an entire generation. There are other characters that are attached to the main characters so keeping them all straight can be a challenge. It wasn't until I had read all the introductory chapters(about 9 in all) on the main characters that I had a sense of who they were and where the novel was taking us. My recommendation is to keep reading. You will not be disappointed. This book needs not only to be read but absorbed. In the novel you will travel from United States to France and to the European and Pacific Theaters. You will become attached to all the main characters. I began thinking about them even when not reading the book. One of the characters Duvey(a member of Coast Guard ) has a harrowing trip off the coast of Malta. I could not help but compare his journey to St Paul's shipwreck off the same island of Malta.
What came alive in the telling of this novel was the strength and courage of the characters,most especially the women. They were the stars of this epic novel. The most difficult chapter was the reading of Jacqueline's telling of the conditions in the concentration camp. It was a necessary telling though as we must never forget the past and man's inhumanity to man. Since this is historical fiction I found myself looking up information about the WASP's, WW2 and the French Resistance. Anytime a book increases my knowledge and sends me to Wikipedia I feel the author has completed her/his task.
One last thing that struck me was the bombing of Hiroshima. Two of the characters visit the site and the after effects of the visit are a powerful image as one of them says:"There is nothing left.Not an ant.Not a weed. Not a butterfly.Not a mouse. Nobody was lucky.It's flat as a pane of glass." That is indeed a powerful image that the author passes on to us.. This is a book that will stay with you for some time. Do not be intimidated by the size. It is a story that must be told and I am glad that Marge Piercy with her lovely prose was the one to tell it.
Gone to Soldiers is an epic novel with great writing. We are introduced to the ten main characters(6 women and 4 men) in the beginning chapters.Their voices continue throughout the novel and it is through their eyes that we see WW2 and its effects on an entire generation. There are other characters that are attached to the main characters so keeping them all straight can be a challenge. It wasn't until I had read all the introductory chapters(about 9 in all) on the main characters that I had a sense of who they were and where the novel was taking us. My recommendation is to keep reading. You will not be disappointed. This book needs not only to be read but absorbed. In the novel you will travel from United States to France and to the European and Pacific Theaters. You will become attached to all the main characters. I began thinking about them even when not reading the book. One of the characters Duvey(a member of Coast Guard ) has a harrowing trip off the coast of Malta. I could not help but compare his journey to St Paul's shipwreck off the same island of Malta.
What came alive in the telling of this novel was the strength and courage of the characters,most especially the women. They were the stars of this epic novel. The most difficult chapter was the reading of Jacqueline's telling of the conditions in the concentration camp. It was a necessary telling though as we must never forget the past and man's inhumanity to man. Since this is historical fiction I found myself looking up information about the WASP's, WW2 and the French Resistance. Anytime a book increases my knowledge and sends me to Wikipedia I feel the author has completed her/his task.
One last thing that struck me was the bombing of Hiroshima. Two of the characters visit the site and the after effects of the visit are a powerful image as one of them says:"There is nothing left.Not an ant.Not a weed. Not a butterfly.Not a mouse. Nobody was lucky.It's flat as a pane of glass." That is indeed a powerful image that the author passes on to us.. This is a book that will stay with you for some time. Do not be intimidated by the size. It is a story that must be told and I am glad that Marge Piercy with her lovely prose was the one to tell it.
November 9, 2023
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️.5
I loved this WWII story. It had an unusual approach: there are eight main characters and they are all Jewish. This is not a Holocaust book, although of course, the Holocaust plays a role in this book.
Most of the main characters serve in the war in some capacity and their experiences, both at war and the prejudice they feel because of their religion is front and center. In the beginning, the author introduces each character one at a time chapter by chapter. I found myself going back to those first eight chapters early on trying to keep who was who straight in my mind. But it didn’t take long to become enmeshed in each individual story, and eventually the characters become interlinked.
As with every WWII book I read, I learn some tidbit I had never learned. Here is a good example: On “July 28(1945), a B-26 named “Old John Feather Merchant” left Bedford Air Force Base near Boston and crashed into the Empire State Building, hitting the seventy-seventh floor and killing twenty office workers and its crew on impact. The building caught fire, elevators plunged to the bottom of their shafts.” I just had to look this up and it’s a true historical event. In fact, there was a woman in the elevator, which plunged 1000 ft, and she survived!
And here is a favorite quote: “when a girl is born, in her heart her mother is twice glad. Because she is born over again in her daughter, and maybe this time it will be better.”
This is a long one, but well worth the time.
The ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2023
Prompt #24 - a character who might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier or Spy
I loved this WWII story. It had an unusual approach: there are eight main characters and they are all Jewish. This is not a Holocaust book, although of course, the Holocaust plays a role in this book.
Most of the main characters serve in the war in some capacity and their experiences, both at war and the prejudice they feel because of their religion is front and center. In the beginning, the author introduces each character one at a time chapter by chapter. I found myself going back to those first eight chapters early on trying to keep who was who straight in my mind. But it didn’t take long to become enmeshed in each individual story, and eventually the characters become interlinked.
As with every WWII book I read, I learn some tidbit I had never learned. Here is a good example: On “July 28(1945), a B-26 named “Old John Feather Merchant” left Bedford Air Force Base near Boston and crashed into the Empire State Building, hitting the seventy-seventh floor and killing twenty office workers and its crew on impact. The building caught fire, elevators plunged to the bottom of their shafts.” I just had to look this up and it’s a true historical event. In fact, there was a woman in the elevator, which plunged 1000 ft, and she survived!
And here is a favorite quote: “when a girl is born, in her heart her mother is twice glad. Because she is born over again in her daughter, and maybe this time it will be better.”
This is a long one, but well worth the time.
The ATY Goodreads Challenge - 2023
Prompt #24 - a character who might be called a Tinker, Tailor, Soldier or Spy
August 7, 2011
I have to rewrite my review. I haven't read this book in 20 years, and started re-reading it early this month. My how things change.
While I like Piercy's writing and her characterizations and setting are very strong, I was totally blown away by the fact that just about every single character -- and there are many characters in this novel -- is involved with some kind of animal exploitation. This is probably not something a non-vegan would notice, and I recognize that animal exploitation has historically been the norm so some depictions of it, and much ignorance around it, is to be expected. Yet it is difficult to read and care about characters who laugh at chickens dying, where one woman works at a furrier, where another character has hunted, another has slaughtered animals without being squeamish -- and on and on. One or two of these things, sure, I understand -- that's how things were and realistically that cannot be helped-- but this is totally beyond anything I've read before. I mean, it is fiction. Stick someone in a bookshop instead of a furrier's. Make the family business something like tailoring. But for every character to exploit animals beyond eating them is just too distracting and upsetting for me to continue. Particularly when Piercy is trying to write about the horrors of war.
In the end I knew I would end up loathing just about every character in this 740+ -page work, so I stopped reading it. This book has gone from my favorite novel to seriously disappointing piece of shit.
While I like Piercy's writing and her characterizations and setting are very strong, I was totally blown away by the fact that just about every single character -- and there are many characters in this novel -- is involved with some kind of animal exploitation. This is probably not something a non-vegan would notice, and I recognize that animal exploitation has historically been the norm so some depictions of it, and much ignorance around it, is to be expected. Yet it is difficult to read and care about characters who laugh at chickens dying, where one woman works at a furrier, where another character has hunted, another has slaughtered animals without being squeamish -- and on and on. One or two of these things, sure, I understand -- that's how things were and realistically that cannot be helped-- but this is totally beyond anything I've read before. I mean, it is fiction. Stick someone in a bookshop instead of a furrier's. Make the family business something like tailoring. But for every character to exploit animals beyond eating them is just too distracting and upsetting for me to continue. Particularly when Piercy is trying to write about the horrors of war.
In the end I knew I would end up loathing just about every character in this 740+ -page work, so I stopped reading it. This book has gone from my favorite novel to seriously disappointing piece of shit.
March 24, 2021
"Gone to Soldiers" is a LONG book, but really worth the read. It reminds me VERY strongly of "War and Remembrance," by Herman Wouk, the sequel to "Winds of War," w/ its vivid imagery of a woman's suffering in the death camps.
In "Gone to Soldiers," we follow ten people through WWII. Many of them have family links to the Balaban family, from Poland originally. I most liked the chapters about Jacqueline, a French Jewess, and her family, one of whom is sent to Detroit to live w/ family. Jacqueline becomes a resistance fighter, like her father apparently, and Naomi is the sister who is a fish out of water w/ her extended family in Detroit. She can sense what her twin, Rivka is suffering in Paris, and then in a "labor camp," where she is sent w/ their mother fairly early on in the story.
The Detroit story line features Naomi and the extended family there, mostly her cousin Ruthie, who is trying to work and go to school full time. I relate the most to Ruthie who is a "good" girl and helps her family. The Detroit story line shows the effect of the Depression and and the war on the working poor in the US. Not all the folks back home are likeable or even have good intentions.
I want to keep my review as short as possible, so will try to mention other story lines in passing. We meet several American Jews who all go into various parts of the OSS, the wartime precursor to the CIA, as operatives, cryptanalysts, and a journalist. We meet a woman who loves to fly so much that she becomes a WASP. We also have the stories of soldiers, two in the Pacific. As dreadful as the war in Europe was, reading about the Pacific theatre was just horrific. This is the first book to make me really visualize how terrible it was. When you are caught in shelling on a ship, where do you go?
The story lines resolve, mostly somewhat happily, in the end, but boy, is it a harrowing experience getting there. The author is a very visual writer so you can form a very clear - and often grisly - picture in your head. She has the occasional lovely turn of phrase as well. Here are a couple:
"The grimy freezing grey rain was like universal pneumonia, a mucous discharge of the atmosphere." p. ?? (I wrote p. 636, but it's not on there.)
"The buildings of Washington seemed to him cold, dull and turned from molds. In spite of the history of the place, it did not strike him as having any. It made history, but did not seem to hold on to it. A historian was somebody who remembered how a senator had voted the year before." p. 449.
" Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding is the third." Once again, I have an incorrect page number cited, so p. 717-ish.
If you want a BIG book where you don't always LIKE the main characters, give this one a try. I'll give it a solid four stars.
In "Gone to Soldiers," we follow ten people through WWII. Many of them have family links to the Balaban family, from Poland originally. I most liked the chapters about Jacqueline, a French Jewess, and her family, one of whom is sent to Detroit to live w/ family. Jacqueline becomes a resistance fighter, like her father apparently, and Naomi is the sister who is a fish out of water w/ her extended family in Detroit. She can sense what her twin, Rivka is suffering in Paris, and then in a "labor camp," where she is sent w/ their mother fairly early on in the story.
The Detroit story line features Naomi and the extended family there, mostly her cousin Ruthie, who is trying to work and go to school full time. I relate the most to Ruthie who is a "good" girl and helps her family. The Detroit story line shows the effect of the Depression and and the war on the working poor in the US. Not all the folks back home are likeable or even have good intentions.
I want to keep my review as short as possible, so will try to mention other story lines in passing. We meet several American Jews who all go into various parts of the OSS, the wartime precursor to the CIA, as operatives, cryptanalysts, and a journalist. We meet a woman who loves to fly so much that she becomes a WASP. We also have the stories of soldiers, two in the Pacific. As dreadful as the war in Europe was, reading about the Pacific theatre was just horrific. This is the first book to make me really visualize how terrible it was. When you are caught in shelling on a ship, where do you go?
The story lines resolve, mostly somewhat happily, in the end, but boy, is it a harrowing experience getting there. The author is a very visual writer so you can form a very clear - and often grisly - picture in your head. She has the occasional lovely turn of phrase as well. Here are a couple:
"The grimy freezing grey rain was like universal pneumonia, a mucous discharge of the atmosphere." p. ?? (I wrote p. 636, but it's not on there.)
"The buildings of Washington seemed to him cold, dull and turned from molds. In spite of the history of the place, it did not strike him as having any. It made history, but did not seem to hold on to it. A historian was somebody who remembered how a senator had voted the year before." p. 449.
" Life is the first gift, love is the second, and understanding is the third." Once again, I have an incorrect page number cited, so p. 717-ish.
If you want a BIG book where you don't always LIKE the main characters, give this one a try. I'll give it a solid four stars.
March 14, 2010
A rarity, my friends--five stars. I seldom give that but a few books deserve it and this is one.
Marge Piercy has taken ten major characters--six women and four men--and written a superb novel of the homefornt during World War II. She gives a very excellent portrayal of the hardships faced at home. Waiting to get a letter from the loved one overseas. The stringent rationing of gas, sugar and many other items. The rumors. The good times and the bad. The seperation of families. The political tensions and infighting among ourselves in the homefront.
Especially interesting to me are the changes in society. When Ruthie goes to work in a war plant, many men harass her as they feel it is "unnatural" for a woman to want to do a man's job. Another character, a woman air pilot, is grounded because it is felt they--the women pilots--are taking jobs away from men who have families to feed. And, yes, you young teens reading this, in the 1940's lots of people--men AND some women--beleived this!
When she starts the story, the switching from one character to another takes a bit of getting used to. But as the lives of the characters begin to intertwine, the book gains momentum. I do feel the characterizations are quite good, though I did enjoy some characters much more than others. Bernice, Ruthie, Jackie and Naomi are the best told characters I felt. Louise and Abra could have stayed home; the other characters fall somewhat in between. Each reader will probably find one or two favorites of his or her own.
A well written novel this is a must for any fan of historical fiction; especialy if your interested is the 1940's. Fans of regular history would find much goodinformation as well. Very Highly Recommended.
Marge Piercy has taken ten major characters--six women and four men--and written a superb novel of the homefornt during World War II. She gives a very excellent portrayal of the hardships faced at home. Waiting to get a letter from the loved one overseas. The stringent rationing of gas, sugar and many other items. The rumors. The good times and the bad. The seperation of families. The political tensions and infighting among ourselves in the homefront.
Especially interesting to me are the changes in society. When Ruthie goes to work in a war plant, many men harass her as they feel it is "unnatural" for a woman to want to do a man's job. Another character, a woman air pilot, is grounded because it is felt they--the women pilots--are taking jobs away from men who have families to feed. And, yes, you young teens reading this, in the 1940's lots of people--men AND some women--beleived this!
When she starts the story, the switching from one character to another takes a bit of getting used to. But as the lives of the characters begin to intertwine, the book gains momentum. I do feel the characterizations are quite good, though I did enjoy some characters much more than others. Bernice, Ruthie, Jackie and Naomi are the best told characters I felt. Louise and Abra could have stayed home; the other characters fall somewhat in between. Each reader will probably find one or two favorites of his or her own.
A well written novel this is a must for any fan of historical fiction; especialy if your interested is the 1940's. Fans of regular history would find much goodinformation as well. Very Highly Recommended.
January 16, 2019
2.5 stars This one is hard to rate. It took me so long bc I pushed some other books in when I took some breaks. The information and characters are good and well-researched. I even liked how these stories started to come together as characters met.
What I didn’t like is it didn’t feel like a book about these people and their different stories so much as it felt like a book about sexuality and sexual identity during that time period. That’s not what the description made it sound like, & that was disappointing to me bc that ended up being a big focus.
I pushed myself to finish it to see where these characters ended up, but I could’ve done without this book. It wasn’t for me.
What I didn’t like is it didn’t feel like a book about these people and their different stories so much as it felt like a book about sexuality and sexual identity during that time period. That’s not what the description made it sound like, & that was disappointing to me bc that ended up being a big focus.
I pushed myself to finish it to see where these characters ended up, but I could’ve done without this book. It wasn’t for me.
October 24, 2019
I've read ALL of her books and this one is definitely my favorite of all time. Be prepared to cry your eyes out. World War II was intense no matter where you lived and this book shows all kinds of people who may or may not survive it... From the resistance gueurrilla fighters to the women on the assembly lines, this book shows the multi-faceted world that existed for women in the early 1940's. Gingembre is my favorite warrior spirit in a literary work. Worth reading just for her.
March 25, 2008
This book ruined me for all Marge Piercy novels to come because none have matched it in my opinion as a sheer tour-de-force of World War 2 as seen through various eyes. The strength shown by the characters was amazing and there were parts that really tore me apart. a definite re-read in the future.
January 13, 2016
A resounding 5 stars. more like 8. Simply phenomenal storytelling.
April 8, 2019
Read years and years ago. Absolutely loved it.
October 30, 2016
I give between three and four stars for Gone to Soldiers by Marge Piercy. I realize what a massive and daunting undertaking this was - World War II from several points of view and in numerous settings. One of the six main characters is the subject of each (often lengthy) chapter. The settings are different in each chapter as well - Naomi is in Detroit; her sister Jacqueline is in France (at the beginning), Oscar is in Washington DC (at the beginning), Louise is in New York City (at the beginning), and Murray is in the South Pacific, etc. Murray left Ruthie behind in Detroit and hopes to survive the war to return to her. Louise is a journalist and the ex wife of Oscar who is involved with his assistant, Abra, who is attracted to Daniel, a Japanese code breaker.
Because the story was so complex, I did not easily connect with the characters and struggled to recall the details of each life when I started a new chapter. That said, I also felt compelled to finish the book and discover the outcome of each character's life. The horrors of war were well-documented.
The book illustrates the far reaching effects of such a global war. No one is left untouched. When I read in the afterword that Piercy had planned to include the Russian involvement in WWII as well, I was relieved that she was cautioned against it. In my opinion, this 775 page tome would have been more readable as three-three hundred page books.
Because the story was so complex, I did not easily connect with the characters and struggled to recall the details of each life when I started a new chapter. That said, I also felt compelled to finish the book and discover the outcome of each character's life. The horrors of war were well-documented.
The book illustrates the far reaching effects of such a global war. No one is left untouched. When I read in the afterword that Piercy had planned to include the Russian involvement in WWII as well, I was relieved that she was cautioned against it. In my opinion, this 775 page tome would have been more readable as three-three hundred page books.
October 15, 2016
I learned Piercy was a poet after I finished the book, and I was not in the least bit surprised. I thought Gone to Soldiers was written beautifully, and I simply could not put it down.
Gone to Soldiers follows 10 characters and shares their different WWII experience. The stories take you to London, Paris, Detroit, San Francisco, New York, and the War in the Pacific. As a reader, you experience war through different perspectives, and even though some characters are more lovable than others, you grow attached to them. Sometimes, those characters meet each other, and it feels like two friends are meeting.
In a way, it reminded me of reading Game of Thrones because of the different character perspectives. I had the "not-another-Sansa-chapter!" feeling with some characters, but you have to carry on because it's worth it.
The characters are either resilient or learn to be. The characters grow throughout the book, and the women are empowered. Their experiences are heart-breaking, and their willingness to live is so strong that it really touches the heart. 5/5
Gone to Soldiers follows 10 characters and shares their different WWII experience. The stories take you to London, Paris, Detroit, San Francisco, New York, and the War in the Pacific. As a reader, you experience war through different perspectives, and even though some characters are more lovable than others, you grow attached to them. Sometimes, those characters meet each other, and it feels like two friends are meeting.
In a way, it reminded me of reading Game of Thrones because of the different character perspectives. I had the "not-another-Sansa-chapter!" feeling with some characters, but you have to carry on because it's worth it.
The characters are either resilient or learn to be. The characters grow throughout the book, and the women are empowered. Their experiences are heart-breaking, and their willingness to live is so strong that it really touches the heart. 5/5
September 14, 2019
I posted dozens of highlights from this combination audible/kindle book. That appropriately indicates that this is a book with a good deal of excellent writing. It is a book about war with both battle scenes and the homefront. The home front is covered in London and the United States and France.
I am part of the postwar baby boom so missed any participation in this era of history. I knew from the history that Jews were denied entry into the United States at a time when they were being annihilated in Europe. But I did not fully understand and appreciate the anti-Semitism that was present during so much of that period of history. It is however very effectively presented in this book. It should not remain an untold part of history.
I am part of the postwar baby boom so missed any participation in this era of history. I knew from the history that Jews were denied entry into the United States at a time when they were being annihilated in Europe. But I did not fully understand and appreciate the anti-Semitism that was present during so much of that period of history. It is however very effectively presented in this book. It should not remain an untold part of history.
November 18, 2016
I love any historical fiction around WWII, but this was simply too long. It covered 10 characters and their work/struggles during the war and each one was interesting. However, I didn't love any of the characters enough to want to leaf ahead and see what happened to them. - which to me is the test of a GREAT book. That being said, it was educational and had some depth. I do recommend it, if someone wants to take on an epic length book
June 11, 2008
Amazing book. Follows a myriad of characters through World War II. Americans, French citizens, Jews and Gentiles. Citizens, prisoners, and soldiers. Lots of points of view to consider. 700 pages long and more than worth the read. I will truly miss some of these characters. I wish Marge Piercy would follow up on some of them - most especially Bernice, Naomi, and Jacqueline.
February 24, 2017
Quite something. A panorama of how even a great war was massive grief for just about all concerned.
February 28, 2022
Excellent! Marge Piercy is always phenomenal!
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