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Aug 30, 2011

Toni rated it:

Loved it! Something about books with an island setting always draw me in. I've become greatly intrigued with The Channel Islands in particular ever since reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. This book only served to reinforce that fascination.

The Soldier's Wife had so much to say - about human dignity and perseverance and the make-do spirit and compassion (and yes, passion too). Sure, the inhabitants of Guernsey Island who survived the Nazi occupation between 19 More...

12 comments like (9 people liked it)

Sep 17, 2011

Meg rated it:

I loved "Potato Peel Society" when I read it a few years ago, so when I saw that this novel was set on Guernsey during WWII I had to read it--and I'm glad that I did. It is a richly written novel with a bit more serious narrative than "Potato." I did not want the book to end and it was worth every page. Well drawn characters, a believable plot and appealing setting description make this a memorable novel.

1 comment like (3 people liked it)

Aug 10, 2011

Debra rated it:

Thank you Goodreads for letting me win this book!
I had never heard of Guernsey until I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society which is a book I love. Like the Potato Peel Pie Society The Soldier's Wife also takes place in Guernsey during the German Occupation in WWII. Vivienne, who is a resident of Guernsey and has a husband who is a soldier fighting for Britain is left to care for her 2 daughters and mother-in-law while he is away. When Germany occupies Guernsey German s More...

6 comments like (1 person liked it)

Sep 27, 2011

Amanda rated it:

Actual Rating: 3.5/5 stars
Level of Recommendation: Recommended
Recommend to: fans of historical fiction

Truthfully, I found it a bit difficult to get into the story in the beginning, but the prose is simple enough that I continued reading. This book was told in first person, but I honestly thought it could have been told in third person without detracting from the story. Many lines seemed like something you would read in a third person perspective novel, but then I'd see " More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 15, 2011

Barbara rated it:

I was glad I was on vacation when I started this book because I couldn't put it down. It is beautifully written. The descriptions of the sights and smells of the island make you want to visit, but it is easy to imagine what it is like. It also shows that not all German soldiers are monsters like are portrayed in most. WWII stories. Some are kind people who had normal lives and had no choise about serving. If you enjoyed Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society, you'll love this book.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Aug 04, 2011

Alison rated it:

A quick read, and WWII novels always provide such potential for melodrama. After reading the Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society I enjoyed getting another Guernsey point of view. Vivienne and her daughters were loveable and I enjoyed the suspense of not knowing whether Gunther was good or bad.

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Feb 05, 2012

Jodi rated it:

This was a book that I read on my Kindle. It is not a book that I would normally read. It was about wartime and how things that people thought was important in the time of war dont matter. The woman Vivienne has a husband who cheated on her and then went to fight in the war. She has two young children in the home and a mother in law who is losing her mind. The woman tries to be friendly to all and learn the new rules of wartime. She meets a man and instantly feels a connection. He appears severa More...

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Dec 29, 2011

Deb rated it:

The Soldier’s Wife by Margaret Leroy

The old saying, “All’s fair in love and war” takes on a new meaning when reading "The Soldier’s Wife" by Margaret Leroy. It is the summer of 1940 and Vivienne’s husband Eugene has gone to London to join the fight, while she remains in Guernsey, a small channel island, with her mother-in-law Evelyn and her daughters Millie and Blanche.

When the soldiers have all left the island, it is clear the island’s occupants must evacuate t More...

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Dec 20, 2011

Booksintheburbs rated it:

This is a story that will evoke emotions from you and you will either love this book or hate it. While there are many issues that can get nit-picked, I overall loved this story. True, there are situations in this book that are not very believable and will certainly cause a reader or two to really question the authenticity of this storyline. However, I really fell in love with Vivienne and her daughters. While the love affair between Vivienne and Gunther didn’t seem very plausible and the end More...

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Dec 16, 2011

Emily rated it:

Coming back into reality can be horribly startling at times. That's the best way to discern an excellent book from a simply okay book. It's the excellent books that make you forget where you are in time and space, entirely blocking out the clock, one could spend hours reading an excellent book and think it was only minutes. Perhaps, of course, in my particular office this may be a problem, but it's all worth it in the end.
I hadn't, in a very long while, read a book that made me forget mysel More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 24, 2011

Felice rated it:

Ever read The Summer of My German Soldier by Bette Greene? It’s about a Jewish teenager named Patty whose town in Arkansas is to house a German prisoner of war camp. Despite the ill will and fears regarding the German nation, Patty befriends one of the young soldiers in the camp. Her friendship with him is an escape from her hard home life and from loneliness but when their relationship is discovered Patty has to choose between popular opinion, her family and this soldier who means so much to More...

2 comments like (3 people liked it)

Jul 04, 2011

Erika rated it:

Set on the English Channel Island of Guernsey during the Nazi occupation of WWII, The Soldier’s Wife is the story of Vivienne de la Mare, her affair with a German soldier, and her relationship with her family and neighbors. When we meet Vivienne she is caring for her mother-in-law and her two daughters while her husband is away fighting for the allied forces in London. From the onset, Vivienne is faced with agonizing decisions; the first of which is whether or not to get on the last boat to Lond More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jun 18, 2011

Nancy rated it:

My take: I had no idea there were these little cow islands between the British Isles and the continent until I read The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society a few years ago. Now I just want to go visit them. But definitely not during a war. Even more definitely not during a time they are occupied by another country working on a little genocide. Just to summarize, there are a few little islands nobody really cared much about that happened to be strategically located between the European More...

1 comment like (4 people liked it)

Jun 09, 2011

Danielle added it

Love and Occupation

The Soldier’s Wife, by Margaret Leroy, tells the story of Vivienne de la Mare, an allied soldier’s wife living on the island of Guernsey during the German occupation of that island. Vivienne cares for her two daughters, Blanch and Millie, as well as her mother-in-law, who suffers from dementia. Deciding to remain on the island when the Germans come to occupy the island proves to be a decision with bittersweet results for Vivienne. German officers take residence nex More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

May 09, 2011

Sally rated it:

Vivienne de la Mare is not your usual protagonist because she is not a hero with preconceived opinions but as a real person that struggles with all the same shadowy doubts that we encounter.
Vivienne de la Mare’s dilemmas start in her spontaneous announcement that she and her daughters are leaving the Island, because the Germans are coming, to her looking at that little ship and turning around in an about face.
The story is about the occupation of Island of Guernsey by the Germans More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 30, 2011

Sara rated it:

3.75 Stars. Vivienne de la Mare lives in an old farmhouse with her two daughters on Guernsey in the Channel Islands during WWII. Her husband is away fighting in the English army, and it quickly becomes apparent to the reader that Vivienne's marriage is a loveless and unhappy one. The island suddenly becomes occupied by German troops, some moving in in the house beside her own. Even though Vivienne tries hard to remain aloof for the sake of loyalty (to her country and husband), she eventually ent More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Apr 28, 2011

Jeannie rated it:

Margaret Leroy’s upcoming summer release of The Soldier’s Wife will surely be one to be read and discussed in many book club groups, as it is a story that offers a lot to contemplate.

Vivienne de la Mare, living on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands just off the coast of England, is a housewife raising two young daughters just after WWII breaks out and takes her husband away to war. Not thinking that their island will be affected, the islanders get a rude awakening one day More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 17, 2011

Emily rated it:

Margaret Leroy's The Soldier's Wife takes place during the Nazi occupation of the island of Guernsey during WWII, and its third person narrative follows Vivienne de la Mare, a woman who must daily walk the fine edge between patriotism and practicality. After her husband enlists, it falls to her to keep her daughters and her ailing mother-in-law safe in a world that has suddenly become alien to her. When German officers requisition the house next door and turn out to be rather neighborly, Vivien More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Jan 06, 2012

Judy rated it:

What an awesome book this is! I understand it's a first from Margaret Leroy, and I'm waiting patiently to read her next novel.

The Soldier's Wife tells of the wife, children and mother of a Guernsey man who goes to fight in WW11, and how they cope while he's away. Guernsey was an occupied island, and in many cases, Guernsey residents found German soldiers moved into nearby houses. Thought the resident reaction to the occupation is overtly negative and barely complaint, situtions arise More...

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Jan 04, 2012

Patricia rated it:

This novel reminds me a LOT of the BBC miniseries Island at War. Beautiful writing - lots of sensory details like smells, sounds, and tastes.

What I loved most about this novel, and what many others have criticized, is how it focuses mainly on the mundane life of a woman who is a mother and a caretaker to her husband's ailing mother. Margaret Leroy has written about an ordinary woman, but has written her beautifully. The story of the occupation of Guernsey is naturally is compelling, bu More...

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Oct 26, 2011

Regina rated it:

Vivienne de la Mare lives a quiet life on the tiny island of Guernsey with her two daughters, teenager Blanche and young, precocious Millie. She also cares for her aging mother in law, who suffers from dementia. Her husband is fighting for the Allies in England. Vivienne is torn between leaving the island before the German occupation to possibly keep her children safe or staying in familiar surroundings and suffering the consequences. When she spots the tiny ship that has been sent to take her f More...

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Sep 16, 2011

Heather rated it:

Hmm...I am kind of conflicted about this book. It tells the story of Vivienne de la Mare, an allied soldier’s wife living on the island of Guernsey during the German occupation of that island. Vivienne cares for her two daughters, Blanche and Millie, as well as her mother-in-law, who suffers from dementia. Deciding to remain on the island when the Germans come to occupy the island proves to be a decision with bittersweet results for Vivienne. German officers take residence next door to her home More...

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Sep 12, 2011

Jaclyn rated it:

Vivienne de la Mare is just trying to get by. It is 1940 and her husband Eugene is off fighting for Great Britain when their peaceful island of Guernsey is invaded and occupied by German soldiers. A group of soldiers moves into the house next door to Vivienne's family and Vivienne finds herself drawn to one of them in particular. As Vivienne's cautious friendship with Gunther blossoms into a love affair, she struggles to keep their relationship secret from her friends and neighbors and to con More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Jul 14, 2011

Katie rated it:

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here

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Feb 18, 2012

Amanda rated it:

I was very excited to read this book based on the description - I always love books set during World War II and I've always had an interest in the home front. This book seemed to cater to both of these likes, as it was about Vivienne who lived on Guernsey (a small island off of France) during the German occupation. According to the description, Vivienne falls in love with Gunther, a German officer who has taken up residence in the house next door.

My problem with the book is that noth More...

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Dec 13, 2011

Emily rated it:

To celebrate the end of the semester, I picked up a lighter read. The Soldier's Wife has a very interesting premise - Vivienne and her two daughters live in Guernsey, while her husband (whose love for her runs less than warm) fights for the English during WWII. When the Germans occupy the island, they commandeer the house next door and Vivienne falls in love with one of the German soldiers.

While it was interesting to learn more about the German occupation and I like how Leroy gives More...

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Oct 10, 2011

Diane rated it:

Sleeping with the enemy.

Margaret Leroy has written a familiar story about the trials and tribulations of English citizens during WWII. This book focuses on forbidden love during the German occupation on Guernsey. Vivienne de la Mare is a forty-ish mother with two daughters (ages 14 and 4). She's unhappily married to a soldier who is fighting somewhere on the front. Her mother in law, Evelyn, lives with her and is suffering from dementia. Vivienne is mildly attentive to her famil More...

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Jul 03, 2011

Virginia rated it:

I have just read a wonderful book which brought home to me how precious freedom really is, and how high the cost is of preserving that freedom. "The Soldier's Wife" by Margaret Leroy is a thoughtful, well-told tale based on the true German occupation of the small Channel Island of Guernsey during World War II. After I read the novel, I researched the facts of the occupation, and the real story is just as compelling as the fictional account. Reading them both enhances the collective sto More...

0 comments like (1 person liked it)

Apr 28, 2011

Cheryl rated it:

It seems to me that conflicts reveal the most about who we are. Margaret Leroy's historical novel, THE SOLDIER'S WIFE presents a plethera of decisions, some life or death, allowing character development between the binding of the book and internally in each reader's imagination. What would you do? Vivienne's conflicts range from loyalty to her soldier husband to a forbidden love with the enemy who occupies her Island in 1940. What about risking her family to feed a starving stranger in the Germa More...

0 comments like (2 people liked it)

Sep 14, 2011

Haley rated it:

I feel like this book tried and failed at being a love story. So I will classify it as women’s fiction. It is written in first person from the point of view of Vivienne de la Mare. Vivienne lives in an old farmhouse with her two daughters on Guernsey in the Channel Islands during World War Two. (Before this book I had not read much about the Channel Islands.) Her husband is away fighting in the English army.

After the island suddenly becomes occupied by German troops, some moving in the More...

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