My Rating: 4.5 stars
2019 hasn't started off too well for me, as I've been sick since the end of December and have been dealing with some issues at home the past few days -- all that plus the usual "busy-ness" with work and a bunch of other things going on in my life -- have managed to put me in a not-so-pleasant mood as of late. Whenever I encounter these types of "dark periods" in my life, I turn to books as my solace, as the one source that allows me to escape from my problems, even if only briefly, and immerse myself into another world entirely. In keeping with the goal I set for myself this year to make a stronger effort with staying on top of my ARC list, I picked up Lynda Cohen Loigman's sophomore novel The Wartime Sisters to read, though given my mood, I will admit that I was a bit apprehensive with this choice, as I knew from reading the brief synopsis that the story would be set during the WWII time period, so I was expecting an emotional, heart-wrenching read that would leave me feeling even more sad and depressed. Fortunately, this book didn't turn out that way at all – in fact, I found the story to be an uplifting one that actually helped brighten my mood a bit.
The story starts off with Ruth and Millie, estranged for 5 years, reuniting at an armory in Springfield, Massachusetts – Ruth lives an idyllic life at the armory with her officer husband and twin girls while Millie, penniless and desperate, arrives there as a war widow with a young son. The sisters have a rocky relationship, harboring jealousy and resentment toward each other going back to their childhood growing up in Brooklyn, under the tutelage of parents who loved them but treated them very differently. There are also secrets, things that neither sister wants the other to find out, as it would put further strain on their relationship. In alternating chapters, we are taken back to the 1920s and 30s in Brooklyn, to the sisters' childhoods, and as the story evolves, we learn the many (and at times complicated) reasons why the two of them were driven so far apart. Interspersed between the sisters' narratives are those of Lillian, the wife of the armory's commanding officer, and Arietta, the cafeteria cook with a feisty personality and a previous career as a singer – these two wonderful women became my favorite characters in the story.
I really enjoyed this excellent, well-written work of historical fiction that centered on strong yet flawed female characters, with a story that didn't have a lot of fanfare, but was still engaging and kept my attention from beginning to end. Though set during WWII, this was a story where the war played more of a periphery role to the main, in-depth, absorbing character-driven story of sibling rivalry and the impact of family dynamics in shaping both past and present, while at the same time, highlighting the importance of friendship and standing together in times of adversity, giving each other hope and the will to survive. The historical aspect was also well-depicted, as was the sense of time and place, both in the past timeline with the sisters growing up in Brooklyn as well as the present one with them living together again at the armory. I also enjoyed reading through the Author's Note at the end of the book and understanding the differences between the real life events and where liberties were taken in depicting armory life and other historical events.
In the way that this book portrayed strong women contributing to the war effort in their own ways through an ultimately uplifting, inspirational story, this reminded me of Jennifer Ryan's The Chilbury Ladies' Choir, which I had read 2 years ago and had enjoyed just as much. After finishing this book, I realized that Loigman is the same author who wrote The Two-Family House, which has been on my TBR for awhile and I even own a copy of the book, but never got the chance to read it – looks like I should rectify this sooner rather than later!
Received ARC from St. Martin's Press via NetGalley
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