Gone to Soldiers

A friend recommended this book, and she was spot on about its excellent research, writing, and insight into human nature, relationships, and society. Piercy shows so much without saying it outright. The chapters are long enough to move the character development and story along without forgetting all the other storylines. I loved the interwoven plotlines. The subject matter was weighty, making me wonder sometimes if I really wanted to keep reading. But I always did. It took me weeks to finish, unusual for a novel I'm enjoying, because it is simply a very long book.

Downsides: For me, this book has way too much sex, in often Too Much Information detail. Piercy did use this aspect to illustrate relationship and social dynamics, rather than show more just to titillate. Still, it was kind of embarrassing. And the treatment of Lousie's recent divorce, troubled teen daughter, and attitude toward her writing career felt a bit dated, like the movie 9 To 5 meets World War II. Despite these flaws, it's worth reading if you can bear it.. show less

This book is so good, I need to re-read it every few years. Each chapter takes a look at some lives on the Homefront and Battlefronts of the Second World War. Many of the characters intersect...

I loved this book! The characters were great and it was easy to get lost in their lives. The only thing that I had a little bit of a hard time with was placing which character this chapter was about. But, luckily, each chapter also clearly had a heading that this was about Daniel, for instance. I would think for a split second and come up with, "Okay, Daniel. He's the code guy." But it was a great big novel that made me think about these men and women of the "greatest generation" and how they really deserve that title.

I enjoyed this book. The author did a wonderful job of developing diverse characters who were experiencing the war from all sides - U.S, France, London and even in the South Pacific. Following along with 10 different characters who were intertwined made the story very interesting. IT was fascinating to read of their intense struggles to survive in each of their own situations.

One of my favorite books of WWII. period. The characters are rich and the details of the era are nearly perfect.

Excellent historical fiction, really pulls you into the world of World War II America. It's a big read and it does have an agenda.

Piercy wrote that nothing happened in this novel that did not happen to someone, somewhere in real life. That is a level of research--impeccable!--that all writers of historical novels should aspire to.