Helpful Score: 2
Loved this book - a little sight into a part of the war that I had not realised. Great characters, and even the ship becomes a character. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Helpful Score: 1
The plot was very interesting. I loved the present narrator, the "old" lady trying to keep up with her selfish granddaughter on a trip to England. They find a graveyard of ships, and when the old lady sees the name of one, she is overwhelmed by emotion.
Thus begins the story of the Ship Of Brides, 500 young women from Australia begin a journey to meet their spouses in England on a 6 week excursion on an aircraft carrier. It is mostly the story of 4 women I enjoyed reading about, but Frances was my favorite. She fell in love with one of marines, but she believed he was married, so never acted upon it. I skimmed a lot of the middle of the book which seemed to move very slowly.
Skipping to the end of the book, taking place in present times, I was so confused I reread the last chapter three times to see if I missed something. First it seemed that Frances, the "old" lady and "the marine" we knew as Nicol found each other again later in life. But then, they were together in the car with their granddaughter Jennifer. And Nicol's last words were "I am Henry"!
I have no idea what that meant.
Therefore, 3 stars from me.
Thus begins the story of the Ship Of Brides, 500 young women from Australia begin a journey to meet their spouses in England on a 6 week excursion on an aircraft carrier. It is mostly the story of 4 women I enjoyed reading about, but Frances was my favorite. She fell in love with one of marines, but she believed he was married, so never acted upon it. I skimmed a lot of the middle of the book which seemed to move very slowly.
Skipping to the end of the book, taking place in present times, I was so confused I reread the last chapter three times to see if I missed something. First it seemed that Frances, the "old" lady and "the marine" we knew as Nicol found each other again later in life. But then, they were together in the car with their granddaughter Jennifer. And Nicol's last words were "I am Henry"!
I have no idea what that meant.
Therefore, 3 stars from me.
Helpful Score: 1
Jojo Moyes continues to impress me with her high-quality writing! She is a master at pairing together an interesting storyline with well-executed writing... which is definitely not something to be taken lightly!
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In Ship of Brides, she weaves together the story of four women as they journey from Australia to England to meet their war husbands.
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By the end of the book, the four women become so familiar to you that you feel as if you had known them your entire life!
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This novel explores love, friendship, loss, regret, shame, and the resilience of human nature.
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There are several surprising twists that are precipitated by intriguing mystery along the way!
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In Ship of Brides, she weaves together the story of four women as they journey from Australia to England to meet their war husbands.
-
By the end of the book, the four women become so familiar to you that you feel as if you had known them your entire life!
-
This novel explores love, friendship, loss, regret, shame, and the resilience of human nature.
-
There are several surprising twists that are precipitated by intriguing mystery along the way!
Check out the full review at Kritters Ramblings
A boat full of navy men headed home after a long and dramatic war combined with 650 women who are war brides promised to men who will be at the end of this long journey. The test will be trying to keep these men and women separate and safe during this six week journey.
I loved that this story followed a few women and one of the men closely and it started before they got on the boat, so the reader knew what circumstances brought these characters onto the boat to England. I had never heard of brides crossing the ocean to meet the men that they had only known for weeks or so, so I absolutely loved learning a bit of history wrapped into fiction.
A boat full of navy men headed home after a long and dramatic war combined with 650 women who are war brides promised to men who will be at the end of this long journey. The test will be trying to keep these men and women separate and safe during this six week journey.
I loved that this story followed a few women and one of the men closely and it started before they got on the boat, so the reader knew what circumstances brought these characters onto the boat to England. I had never heard of brides crossing the ocean to meet the men that they had only known for weeks or so, so I absolutely loved learning a bit of history wrapped into fiction.
Beautifully written, I really enjoyed the story, it was interesting to learn about this time in history.
I really enjoyed this book. Though this is a fictional story, it is based loosely on an actual event during the WWII era where gals in Australia married British solders. After the war ended they were transported to England on retiring aircraft carriers to meet up with their husbands.
This book focuses on 4 girls who were dorm mates, all of very different backgrounds. Frances was my favorite but all had interesting stories to tell. Not only was this a romance between men and women, it was a love story of a captain and his ship and the sea, and in some ways a romantic look at the fragility of war and the cruelty of the social behaviors of that time period. Maybe I am putting way too much thought into this but those are the emotions the book evoked in me.
At first there were a lot of characters to keep up with but once you get settled with the rhythm of the book (kind of like the rhythm of the ship) it was very easy to follow. The ship almost became a character in itself. The descriptions were great and the history behind the brides and how that all came to be was fascinating.
I will say this....we've come along way baby in our thinking....whether that be good or bad is a matter of opinion. :) I am glad I read this book and look forward to reading more by Jojo Moyes.
This book focuses on 4 girls who were dorm mates, all of very different backgrounds. Frances was my favorite but all had interesting stories to tell. Not only was this a romance between men and women, it was a love story of a captain and his ship and the sea, and in some ways a romantic look at the fragility of war and the cruelty of the social behaviors of that time period. Maybe I am putting way too much thought into this but those are the emotions the book evoked in me.
At first there were a lot of characters to keep up with but once you get settled with the rhythm of the book (kind of like the rhythm of the ship) it was very easy to follow. The ship almost became a character in itself. The descriptions were great and the history behind the brides and how that all came to be was fascinating.
I will say this....we've come along way baby in our thinking....whether that be good or bad is a matter of opinion. :) I am glad I read this book and look forward to reading more by Jojo Moyes.
