thedrifter
05-19-07, 06:54 AM
DREAM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING BLUE
Elizabeth Berg
Random House
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1400065100
ISBN-13: 9781400065103
In April 1943, Kitty Heaney's boyfriend, Julian, joins the Marines and departs in order to fight in the Pacific, leaving the young Rita Hayworth look-alike not only fearful for his life but wondering about the nature of their relationship. Julian has never said he loves Kitty or that he's committed to their future together. In high contrast, her sister Louise's boyfriend, Michael, leaves with the Army but makes crystal clear that he's madly in love with Louise.
Kitty's hopes are raised during Julian's leave-taking when he asks her to go by the jeweler's. Kitty is positive that this is his sly way of proposing, but after she picks up the jeweler's package, her position in Julian's life remains a mystery.
Kitty and Louise continue to accompany their brash and beautiful youngest sister Tish to the USO dances where Kitty meets Hank, who is good-looking, a deep thinker and truly interested in hearing Kitty's thoughts and opinions on important subjects. Kitty promises to write to him --- and she seems to have more to write about to Hank than to Julian, although she continues to pine for her beau and to tell Hank they are simply friends. Tish shocks Kitty by announcing that she believes Kitty is in love with Hank, not Julian. But then, doesn't Tish seem just a bit too interested in Julian?
Hank encourages Kitty to apply for a defense job, as so many women have, and she's ecstatic when Douglas Aircraft hires her. She'll earn a whopping 60 cents an hour! But her parents are appalled: she'll ruin her hands and her reputation, and she'll have to wear slacks.
Her dream job turns out to be a nightmare, thanks to hard, filthy work and disrespectful male co-workers. Kitty yearns to have her old life back, full of attentive, handsome young men, good food and leisure time that is not spent writing letters to servicemen. In spite of the war, life on the home front continues: Kitty's brothers are worrisome, each in their own way; her father pressures Kitty to act patriotically in spite of herself; and sister Louise's romance continues to outshine anything Kitty has experienced. Everyone Kitty knows is affected by the tragedies and grim realities of wartime.
As always, Elizabeth Berg's storytelling genius creates a complete world, peopled with flawed but lovable characters. DREAM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING BLUE is filled with tons of minute and realistic period details, which bring the times alive in full living color, giving depth to those vague movie-inspired romantic notions about the World War II home front. Setting predominates early in the book until the reader is well-absorbed into the times. Kitty's rambunctious family members are true to life, and although Kitty herself is not always a fully sympathetic character, she intrigues us as she grows and changes, her personality deepening.
Readers will either embrace or despise the story pace, which is a leisurely stroll complete with lots of descriptions. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the stunning twist at the end; I truly did not see it coming, and it felt a bit out of left field. However, the characters and the storyline combine to pack an emotional wallop that will linger long after the reader reaches "The End."
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
Ellie
Elizabeth Berg
Random House
Fiction
ISBN-10: 1400065100
ISBN-13: 9781400065103
In April 1943, Kitty Heaney's boyfriend, Julian, joins the Marines and departs in order to fight in the Pacific, leaving the young Rita Hayworth look-alike not only fearful for his life but wondering about the nature of their relationship. Julian has never said he loves Kitty or that he's committed to their future together. In high contrast, her sister Louise's boyfriend, Michael, leaves with the Army but makes crystal clear that he's madly in love with Louise.
Kitty's hopes are raised during Julian's leave-taking when he asks her to go by the jeweler's. Kitty is positive that this is his sly way of proposing, but after she picks up the jeweler's package, her position in Julian's life remains a mystery.
Kitty and Louise continue to accompany their brash and beautiful youngest sister Tish to the USO dances where Kitty meets Hank, who is good-looking, a deep thinker and truly interested in hearing Kitty's thoughts and opinions on important subjects. Kitty promises to write to him --- and she seems to have more to write about to Hank than to Julian, although she continues to pine for her beau and to tell Hank they are simply friends. Tish shocks Kitty by announcing that she believes Kitty is in love with Hank, not Julian. But then, doesn't Tish seem just a bit too interested in Julian?
Hank encourages Kitty to apply for a defense job, as so many women have, and she's ecstatic when Douglas Aircraft hires her. She'll earn a whopping 60 cents an hour! But her parents are appalled: she'll ruin her hands and her reputation, and she'll have to wear slacks.
Her dream job turns out to be a nightmare, thanks to hard, filthy work and disrespectful male co-workers. Kitty yearns to have her old life back, full of attentive, handsome young men, good food and leisure time that is not spent writing letters to servicemen. In spite of the war, life on the home front continues: Kitty's brothers are worrisome, each in their own way; her father pressures Kitty to act patriotically in spite of herself; and sister Louise's romance continues to outshine anything Kitty has experienced. Everyone Kitty knows is affected by the tragedies and grim realities of wartime.
As always, Elizabeth Berg's storytelling genius creates a complete world, peopled with flawed but lovable characters. DREAM WHEN YOU'RE FEELING BLUE is filled with tons of minute and realistic period details, which bring the times alive in full living color, giving depth to those vague movie-inspired romantic notions about the World War II home front. Setting predominates early in the book until the reader is well-absorbed into the times. Kitty's rambunctious family members are true to life, and although Kitty herself is not always a fully sympathetic character, she intrigues us as she grows and changes, her personality deepening.
Readers will either embrace or despise the story pace, which is a leisurely stroll complete with lots of descriptions. I'm still trying to decide how I feel about the stunning twist at the end; I truly did not see it coming, and it felt a bit out of left field. However, the characters and the storyline combine to pack an emotional wallop that will linger long after the reader reaches "The End."
--- Reviewed by Terry Miller Shannon (terryms2001@yahoo.com)
Ellie