The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy (a letter)

The Soldier’s Wife
by Margaret Leroy
copyright: 2011
publisher:  Hyperion
format:  paperback ARC
pages:  392
format: paperback ARC
source:  publisher

Back Cover:  As World War II draws closer and closer to Guernsey, Vivienne de la Mare knows that there will be sacrifices to be made. Not just for herself, but for her two young daughters and for her mother-in-law, for whom she cares while her husband is away fighting. What she does not expect is that she will fall in love with one of the enigmatic German soldiers who take up residence in the house next door to her home. As their relationship intensifies, so do the pressures on Vivienne. Food and resources grow scant, and the restrictions placed upon the residents of the island grow with each passing week. Though Vivienne knows the perils of her love affair with Gunther, she believes that she can keep their relationship and her family safe. But when she becomes aware of the full brutality of the Occupation, she must decide if she is willing to risk her personal happiness for the life of a stranger.

 

Dear Suey,¹

I know that you are on vacation, or just coming back from your trip. I hope you had a great time, and cannot wait to hear the details.

I must tell you, I have recently read a beautiful breathtaking story. I have to tell you about it because I know that you like character driven stories and stories that deal with emotions; love.  It is a book for a summer morning while sitting outside enjoying the quiet moments before the day starts or maybe even better for when the day is about to end. It is a book for those quiet moments that also happen while sitting inside during a rainstorm or maybe even on a cold winter’s night.  I think it is a perfect book to suit the mood for a quick read that also has layers of emotion. It is a book that beckons you to leave behind your busyness while it immerses you into the world of Vivienne de la Mare, a fictional character whose story takes place on the Isle of Guernsey during World War II, living under German occupation.  It is an endearing, and soulful story² that relays truths of life; the beautiful and bitter.

You may be thinking; “Deanna, how can a book centered around World War II be a perfect book for a quick read that satisfies the mood for a story layered with emotions?” My answer is; The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy is a story that lulled me into its depths and before I realized, I was immersed. I was unable to come up for breath as the story beckoned me to remain steadfast. It was a quick read as it flowed in perfect rhythm of life; it did not require much thought only immersion.   I was swept away by the emotions within these pages; responsibility, loneliness, wrong choices, friendship, love found, sadness and relationship connections and lack thereof.  This story is truly one of relationships with facets of the 1940’s subtly and smoothly woven throughout. 

Without doubt, The Soldier’s Wife is a breathtaking story that gripped me; had me holding my breath, gut wrenched with emotion, and thoughts intertwined with Vivienne’s.  This story fully enveloped my being. Sure there is some predictability, and yes, at times you must just go with the story when the believability was slightly shaky, but I did not find that hard to do.  For me, the author's writing was fabulous as she wove together historical fiction laced with relationships and love; giving me a piece of time which was revealed bit by bit throughout the story, and done seamlessly. My heart thumped with pleasure and intensity over the relationships within this beautiful yet lulling story; breathtaking.  Have you noticed that I keep using the word breathtaking? I cannot help its use; it fits, and best describes my experience.

I felt empathy toward Vivienne. Empathy toward her incompatible ill marriage. Empathy towards her loneliness and responsibilities. Empathy towards a love found.  I liked her, but did not always agree with her choices. I found myself at one point filled with sadness over a decision, and wondering how things would/could/should be.³  There were aspects that I wished to be different within these pages. Upon reflection, these wishes are even stronger.  For these reasons, I would like to find fault with the story, and for a brief moment, I did.⁴  But, ultimately, I cannot. The Soldier's Wife is of life circumstances, and the bitter truth is; life does not always grant our wishes.  We must make choices; right or wrong.

I was not only swept away by the story of The Soldier’s Wife, I found myself utterly absorbed by the world of Guernsey. I found the dynamics of this island of interest besides the fact that I was woefully unaware of its existence.  Yes, the story is a little lean on revealing the hard times of the islanders, but for me, Margaret Leroy’s writing gave me insights; visualization of setting and atmosphere, style of clothing, social attitudes/expectations, food, rationing, and the tension of war. I gained a sense of this time in history.

Suey, the bottom line is;  You should be ready to spend an evening with The Soldier’s Wife because this is an un-put-down-able book. Scrumptious chocolates and a box of tissue is in order during this read as your heart will thump with overwhelming emotion. A fantastic, subtle historical fiction woven within intricate relationships of life and love that relays truths of life; the beautiful and bitter.

I hope that you will enjoy this book as much as I did. I think this book will suit you, and I am very curious if you will agree.

I must run now; Isaiah and Grace must be put to bed. They don’t seem to yet be able to tend to their nightly needs without me hanging over them. sigh.

Anxiously awaiting your thoughts,
-Deanna-

P.S. What do you think of the book cover?  I like it. I think the subtle colors with the woman looking towards the sea conveys the beauty and soulfulness of the story.

P.P.S. There is a cool bit about the Isle of Guernsey in the back of the book. I appreciated this part greatly; enlightening.

P.P.P.S. I was going to send you my copy of this book, but am finding myself attached. I may read it again down the road.  Because I loved the book, AND want you to read it too, I am going to send you a book via Amazon. This actually is easier for me anyway, I hate making trips to the post office; my lazy butt just does not want to be annoyed with waiting in line. How come they are so slow with service?   Besides, I want to support this author.  Anyway, be on the lookout for it to arrive at your home in the next week or so.⁵

 Footnotes:

1.  I read a post by Caspette at The Narrative Causality where she reviewed a book by writing a letter. I thought it was an interesting way to read about her thoughts. With that in mind, I have decided, now and then, I will write a letter to a friend, acquaintance, family, or fellow blogger to express my thoughts on a book read. I plan to try and choose a person that I think the book would appeal to.  I hope you enjoy this format of sharing my thoughts.

2. I must warn you, be ready for this to be a tear-jerker; have tissue on hand. Also, if you are one to be easily embarrassed, then maybe you should not read this story in public especially towards the end.  Another warning, be ready for time to slip away because it will and it does so without any regrets, at least no regrets from me.

3.   SPOILER WARNING:

The decision that Vivienne made to leave Gunther really tore at my heart. I found myself a bit angry at her. How could she? And without confronting him.  I really loved their  relationship.  I liked how Gunther respected and treated Vivienne. I liked him.  Even though I did feel for them and felt them well matched, I wonder.... would their relationship fare well once the war ended or would that have been the end of their relationship too?  They both were married so did they truly love one another or were they filling a void that should have remained empty? I think they did love one another. I would like to think they would have lived life together once the war was over.  The truth is, I doubt they would have.  In ways, I felt Gunther was the stronger of the two with deeper and truer feelings.  A sad story. They were doomed from the start, and what is even more sad is that Vivienne had to go on in life empty; without Gunther. Although, she was blessed, and that, by the way, was one of the saddest moments for me when it was revealed that Vivienne and Gunther had a child;a son. The saddest moment because Gunther died not ever knowing of this child; even that Vivienne was pregnant.

4. SPOILER WARNING

The faults that I would like to find are... Vivienne and Guenther lacked in way of communication. I wished they were open with one another regarding their feelings. I wish Vivienne confronted Guenther with her suspicions that he turned her into the authorities because at the very least they could have parted ways with hope instead of disappointment and sadness. I wish Guenther confronted Vivienne with his truth. I also wish he shared with her his saddest moment; his son’s death. Truly, I wish they were more willing to be vulnerable with one another in regards to speaking truth, and questioning.  That could have saved a time of hurt during their last weeks of living in the same location.  Upon reflection, I realized that many relationships find themselves with a barrier which impedes communication. Life does not always grant us our wishes and the story certainly was told realistically; the beautiful and bitter.

5. For anyone else who may read this letter; if this type of book appeals to you then you must read it too. I do not think you will be disappointed. If you do read the book, then please let me know your thoughts as I am always interested.

6. Suey is a blogging friend whose friendship has extended beyond our blog comments. She is one fantastic woman, AND we have very similar reading taste. You can check her blog out at It's All About Books

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I just saw that GoodReads is giving away 50 copies. The giveaway runs until July 18th. Details Here