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60th out of 423 books
—
613 voters
Gone to Soldiers
by
Marge Piercy
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 SOLIDERS is an unforgettable reading experience and a stirring tribute to the remarkable survival of the...more
Paperback, 773 pages
Published
April 12th 1988
by Fawcett
(first published 1987)
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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 thi...more
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 (see - told you I like that perio...more
Jul 28, 2012
Cathy Benedetto
added it
In the 1980s, while writing and editing a newsletter for the WMST program at the University of Maryland, College Park, I interviewed a woman professor who had done research on women in the military. I was surprised at how fascinating the subject was. Shortly afterwards I came across this novel, which I really enjoyed. I just found the title again and am looking forward to re-reading it.
I liked that this novel featured several very strong, independent women. 30 years later, I remember them as se...more
I liked that this novel featured several very strong, independent women. 30 years later, I remember them as se...more
I don't re-read books very often, but this is a book I can read over and over again. It is in my permanent top ten and is one of my most recommended books. I loved it so much I adapted part of it into a play in second year University that was produced at a festival of new work. This book is so much more than 'just another WWII story,' it is an incredibly well-imagined and developed tapestry of a number of individuals from all walks of life during the second world war. A young French actress who...more
Really good. Interesting characters, structured plot, and included tons of historical detail without seeming clumsy about it. WWII is a beast of a subject, but this book managed to cover a lot of it thoughtfully - from combat, resistance, refugee, American, French, Jewish, female, male perspectives...it's pretty impressive.
Took off a star because the beginning was a little slow, and the prose was just a little bit awkward in some parts. Also, the version I read was one of those paperbacks that l...more
Took off a star because the beginning was a little slow, and the prose was just a little bit awkward in some parts. Also, the version I read was one of those paperbacks that l...more
GONE TO SOLDIERS is a timeless story about WWII that proves once again why Marge Piercy is a masterful story teller. A 770-page novel encompassing the lives of eight major characters and two minor, but no less important characters, Duvey and Murray, it's an epic story spanning the critical war years between 1939-1945. GONE TO SOLDIERS is more than a story about war and its atrocities; that is, it's not gorified guts and glory - sure there are plenty of searingly, painful scenes (and you'll feel...more
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 his...more
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 his...more
1 like · like · see review
I just finished this book yesterday and it is a lot to digest. I'm not sure if it should get a 3 or 4 star rating but I'm being positive today and going with the 4. One thing is for sure: it will stick with me for a long time.
Positives: interesting characters, great storylines for all the characters, WWII history presented in an interesting way, the story moved along quickly, well written. I liked how the home front was included into the war effort because the women/families in the States certai...more
Positives: interesting characters, great storylines for all the characters, WWII history presented in an interesting way, the story moved along quickly, well written. I liked how the home front was included into the war effort because the women/families in the States certai...more
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.
I read this book before sometime in the 1990's. Before I starting my BOB. Book of books!
This time it took me over a year to read it as it was my upstairs book when the current hard cover was too heavy or a purse book as my copy is paperback.
I did remember all the characters and some of the incidents that happened to them. This is a sprawling novel that covers all of the years of World War 2 with many characters from all arenas who were impacted by this war:
A Jewish translator of Japanese transmi...more
This time it took me over a year to read it as it was my upstairs book when the current hard cover was too heavy or a purse book as my copy is paperback.
I did remember all the characters and some of the incidents that happened to them. This is a sprawling novel that covers all of the years of World War 2 with many characters from all arenas who were impacted by this war:
A Jewish translator of Japanese transmi...more
Semi-entertaining read, but the feministic worldview of the author was distracting. The women had more of a 2000's mindset than 40's, and it just didn't read realistically. Some would do and say things that would've worked in an episode of Sex and the City. I understand that the WWII era was an important time for women's independence, but in my opinion, the book didn't accurately portray the difficult aspects of the transition for women in society. The men were mostly pigs and thought of nothing...more
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.
2 likes · like · see review
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.
I loved it. The story centered on a Jewish family in the US with men at war in both the European and Pacific theaters. My father never talked about his experiences in the South Pacific, as part of the horrendous "mopping-up" operations, taking back territory one small island at a time; Piercy's portrayal of the god-awfulness of a soldier's life really helped me to understand my father's own unwillingness to recall memories from that time. This was not a glorious war. It was like a street brawl i...more
Gone to Soldiers is easily in my top 10 of all books ever read. It is a sprawling novel with the backdrop being WWII about women (and men) and the part they played in the war effort-either in the US or abroad. There are more than a half dozen central characters and many of them interweave with each other in different ways to add some cohesion to the entire story.
It is a great story, but it is also an excellent look at the impact of women during WWII and how they were working to assist in the wa...more
It is a great story, but it is also an excellent look at the impact of women during WWII and how they were working to assist in the wa...more
Very good epic read, though a bit slow at times. Marge Piercy is phenomenal at characterization . She uses this skill well by telling the stories of 10 people and how their lives take shape over the course of WW11 and it's aftermath.
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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.
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I wanted to rate Piercy's novel a 5, but slowish start impeded that.
Took me a long time to read Gone to Soldiers, but it was time well-spent.
It is an epic tale, interweaving the stories of six women and four men, in the US and Europe, in concentration camps and military facilities, in Detroit and DC and NYC - the geographical scope is huge.
As is the scope of plot, the interworkings of fiction and history, the depth of characterization, the breadth of research.
So much more to say, but for now, I'...more
Took me a long time to read Gone to Soldiers, but it was time well-spent.
It is an epic tale, interweaving the stories of six women and four men, in the US and Europe, in concentration camps and military facilities, in Detroit and DC and NYC - the geographical scope is huge.
As is the scope of plot, the interworkings of fiction and history, the depth of characterization, the breadth of research.
So much more to say, but for now, I'...more
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Of the many WWII novels I’ve read, this is one of the best – possibly because it encompasses what’s going on from multiple narrative points of view and covers the war from many angles. The novel intertwines the stories of at least eight major characters all of whom are dealing with the uncertainty and danger of the war but in different places and from different perspectives. Because the action continually shifts back and forth from one location to the other - the War in the Pacific, the fate of...more
Mar 13, 2010
Mary JL
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Historical fiction fans/ Historians also
Recommended to Mary JL by:
None--found while browsing
Shelves:
fiction-classics
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 tensio...more
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 tensio...more
2 likes · like · see review
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,...more
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,...more
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Just discussing this book with a Goodreads friend & remembered how much I loved it. It has stayed with me for probably 15 years now and is still one that I recommend to various people when they're looking for a good war-time story.
I loved the way the characters and their families intertwine in this book and how all these "normal" people (on both sides) find themselves caught up in the war and with each other.
Thinking I'm going to have to read it again!
I loved the way the characters and their families intertwine in this book and how all these "normal" people (on both sides) find themselves caught up in the war and with each other.
Thinking I'm going to have to read it again!
This epic novel about roughly a dozen people's interrelated WWII experiences is one of my all-time favorites. Like in all of Piercy's works, the characters feel so realistic and evolve so convincingly you won't believe they don't actually exist. The story's research and craft impress me more every time I read it. The book is quite long, but if you are going to read just one novel about WWII this is the one to pick.
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Fantastic novel of WWII told from the viewpoints of several different characters. Very dramatic and compelling. Piercy does an incredible job of jumping from voice to voice. I've read a lot of WWII fiction, and I always think nothing else can happen to these people. They've suffered enough. Humanity couldn't possibly think of one more creative way to brutalize itself, and yet it always does. Really glad I read it, but my brain needs a break.
I read this several years ago after two very different people told me independently of each other that this is their all time favorite book. I wasn't at all impressed. I didn't find the characters or the storytelling all that compelling, and forced myself to finish it. To me it read like a romance novel. That's not a bad thing, it just wasn't what I was expecting from a book which many rave about.
It was interesting to read this novel in parallel with a re-read of The Winds of War [Wouk]. I have read Wouk's book many times and thought I would see what a different novelist could do with the subject. Not as deep a read as Wouk's, Piercy's book was nonetheless an enjoyable read...she is a good writer and the book showed some depth of historical research although not so broad as Winds of War. Her characters are also more superficial than Wouk's, although overall more pleasant...kind of WWI Li...more
Nov 23, 2010
Mary
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
everyone
Recommended to Mary by:
generally in the air
Shelves:
political,
historical-fiction
Very engrossing; well-developed characters. I like her writing style. Very long, but highly recommended. Read the reviews of others; they speak for me. One thing I also liked, among others, was how some of the characters were related to others but didn't know it. Kind of like facebook. We are all one degree of separation, or two, or three, but we are inter-related. So, characters who seemingly were entirely unrelated, actually had a tie, and one that they may never know about. So it is true for...more
Possibly the best book I've ever read. A bit confusing at first keeping all of the characters straight, but well worth the effort. It was amazing that Piercy was able to weave together each of the characters in a meaningful way. Take your time and savor every sentance in this book - you won't want it to end.
I am, perhaps, easily impressed by writers who can manage a large number of story lines well. Marge Piercy shows how it should be done in this rich novel, which covers years, continents, and quite a few characters.
I especially appreciated that although some characters had happy endings, an equal number had unresolved or indifferently resolved endings.
I especially appreciated that although some characters had happy endings, an equal number had unresolved or indifferently resolved endings.
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“Nobody hates us as ourselves. In their minds we're not human... They don't hate us because we did something or said something. They make us stand for an evil they invent and then they want to kill it in us.”
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Feb 05, 2013 08:50am