The Wives of Los Alamos

The Wives of Los Alamos TaraShea Nesbit 4 / 5	Published 2014 First Sentence "Over the Black Sea, the Mediterranean, the Pacific, the Arctic, the Atlantic; in sewers, in trenches, on the ocean, in the sky: there was a war going on."
Publisher's Description: Their average age was twenty-five. They came from Berkeley, Cambridge, Paris, London, Chicago—and arrived in New Mexico ready for adventure, or at least resigned to it. But hope quickly turned to hardship as they were forced to adapt to a rugged military town where everything was a secret, including what their husbands were doing at the lab. They lived in barely finished houses with a P.O. box for an address in a town wreathed with barbed wire, all for the benefit of a project that didn’t exist as far as the public knew. Though they were strangers, they joined together—adapting to a landscape as fierce as it was absorbing, full of the banalities of everyday life and the drama of scientific discovery.  And while the bomb was being invented, babies were born, friendships were forged, children grew up, and Los Alamos gradually transformed from an abandoned school on a hill into a real community: one that was strained by the words they couldn’t say out loud, the letters they couldn’t send home, the freedom they didn’t have. But the end of the war would bring even bigger challenges to the people of Los Alamos, as the scientists and their families struggled with the burden of their contribution to the most destructive force in the history of mankind. The Wives of Los Alamos is a novel that sheds light onto one of the strangest and most monumental research projects in modern history, and a testament to a remarkable group of women who carved out a life for themselves, in spite of the chaos of the war and the shroud of intense secrecy.
Dear Reader, This book was so interestingly done, and surprisingly good despite its unique approach.  The author wrote the book from the second person, inviting the reader into the "group" through the use of "we" and "us" - which also positioned the wives as a group, and I really liked that.  This wasn't a story about one person's experience, but rather a kind of study about the situation that the families of Los Alamos experienced in the early 1940s.  Los Alamos being, of course, the main project site for the development of the atomic bomb during WWII.  I was fascinated by the shroud of secrecy that (understandably) surrounded the place.  The government went so far as to make the scientists and their families go by different surnames, particularly if they had very foreign-sounding names like Fermi or Bacher (they became Farmer and Baker, respectively).  The wives had no idea what they were getting themselves into, and no matter how close they were to their husbands, the men would not divulge anything related to their work.  I can't imagine being in that situation as a wife and mother - uprooting your family in the middle of regular life, bringing them halfway across the country to a remote locale, being told nothing, simply obeying with the understanding that your husbands are working on something vital to the war effort.  The women had to leave their parents and siblings behind (and could only communicate with them through censored letters; they were not allowed to leave to visit family members unless someone died).  They had to say immediate goodbyes to the lives and homes they had established, as did their children.  I suppose the lucky thing is that they were all in this same situation, and so while of course there was pettiness and gossip at times, there was also a strong sense of camaraderie between these women, no matter their backgrounds.   They supported each other through such surreal times.  They fought to make the best of a very strange situation - this included starting fights with the officials regarding the supplies and furniture they were allotted. I just can't imagine what it would be like to live in "Sha-La," as they jokingly referred to this ultimately horrific site: short for the paradise of Shangri-La.  These women kept their heads up and retained their sanity despite the close quarters, poor housing, uncertainty, new climate, and totally foreign landscape (in more ways than one).  You may not agree with the Los Alamos project or what these people did there, but I guarantee you'll be as fascinated as I was when you read about it!  I learned so much. I'm including below a few pictures of the site at the time; it has since been developed into a modern atomic testing laboratory site.  Note the dryness and the baking sun, especially! from Los Alamos National Laboratory from The Manhattan Project from National Nuclear Security Administration If, like me before reading this book, you are largely ignorant about Los Alamos?  Do yourself a favor and read Ms. Nesbit's book. If only for the amazing history lesson. Yours, Arianna

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The Bird Sisters

The Bird Sisters Rebecca Ramussen 4 / 5	Published 2011 First Sentence "Used to be when a bird flew into a window, Milly and Twiss got a visit."
Publisher's Description: When a bird flies into a window in Spring Green, Wisconsin, sisters Milly and Twiss get a visit. Twiss listens to the birds' heartbeats, assessing what she can fix and what she can't, while Milly listens to the heartaches of the people who've brought them. These spinster sisters have spent their lives nursing people and birds back to health. But back in the summer of 1947, Milly and Twiss knew nothing about trying to mend what had been accidentally broken. Milly was known as a great beauty with emerald eyes and Twiss was a brazen wild child who never wore a dress or did what she was told. That was the summer their golf pro father got into an accident that cost him both his swing and his charm, and their mother, the daughter of a wealthy jeweler, finally admitted their hardscrabble lives wouldn't change. It was the summer their priest, Father Rice, announced that God didn't exist and ran off to Mexico, and a boy named Asa finally caught Milly's eye. And, most unforgettably, it was the summer their cousin Bett came down from a town called Deadwater and changed the course of their lives forever. Rebecca Rasmussen's masterfully written debut novel is full of hope and beauty, heartbreak and sacrifice, love and the power of sisterhood, and offers wonderful surprises at every turn.
Dear Reader, This was a sweet little novel about two old sisters who have lived together all their lives.  They are known as the "Bird Sisters" because they can be called upon to doctor any injured bird that is brought to them (albeit with varying levels of success).  They are known throughout the area as slightly eccentric but sweet women who have simply always lived where they do, treating birds and serving teacakes. However, their history has much more depth than one might imagine.  The story of their lives and how the two ended up spinsters together is quite a complex tale of family, love, loss, joy, and heartache - at many times, all at once.  The book takes place in the late 1940s, and follows the story of the two sisters - Milly and Twiss - and their slightly-off-kilter family, the land upon which they live, their colorful neighbors and townsfolk, and - most importantly, and most life-changing - their cousin Bett, who comes to visit for one fateful summer. The story switches between the perspectives of the two sisters, and slowly unravels the mystery behind why they lean so heavily on each other in old age.  This book is chock full of vibrant and memorable characters, from the minister who leaves his flock to seek out drink and gambling, to the bitter snapping turtle who lives in the nearby lake.  All of these larger-than-life personalities clash with one another at various points, creating the backbone behind the story of Milly and Twiss.  While I can't call this a favorite, it's a book I am very glad I read and that I know will stick with me for a long time to come.  Those characters which Rasmussen introduces you are certainly unforgettable! Happy reading, Arianna

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