The Wives of Los Alamos by TaraShea Nesbit

I received a free copy this Kindle book from NetGalley in return for an honest, unbiased review. I finished reading the book some weeks back but procrastinated on writing a review. I just don't like having to write a bad review. Even though this novel had some good points, on the whole the style of writing was such a turn off that I found it difficult to read past the first chapter. The following is the review I posted on NetGalley and Amazon.com. I was very excited to see this book come out and could hardly wait to read it. I have read a lot about the Manhattan Project as well as the scientists and military officers involved. There is only a dearth of information about their wives, children, and the living conditions at Los Alamos so this book sounded. The book is written in first person plural. Throughout the book, the characters are referenced as “we” or “some of us”. Although some may find this entertaining, it began to wear very thin with me before I completed the first chapter. To say I was disappointed in this book would be an understatement. The book does provide a fairly good overview of life in Los Alamos but next to nothing about specific individuals. Unfortunately, this along with the execution left me cold. I am sure there were a considerable number of very nice women who did their best to cope with all of the challenges living at Los Alamos threw at them as well as the war rationing. Grouped together with one voice, the wives came across as self-centered, arrogant, catty, and petty. The book made these wives sound like the kind of women you hope you don’t end up working with, living next door to, or belonging to the same organization with. In other words, these wives came across as the type of women who give women a bad name. The wives complained that “those women” who were considered favorites had a bath tub while all they had was a stall shower lined with zinc. The wives begrudged the other women being able to soak in a tub. They complained about the WAC’s having both shower stalls and bath tubs. The wives complained that the WACs who assigned housing and maid service had favorites who received better, larger housing and more frequent maid service. They “did not like taking orders from girls in khaki”. They complained about the limited water supply, the quality of food in the commissary, and the WACs who worked there being rude. They complained that some got to go into town more frequently. They held parties and gossiped about the other wives and their husbands co-workers. They expressed jealousy over what others had or other husband’s positions. The wives were asked to work and some tried it but found it to be too much of a hassle for too little money so stopped. Nothing seemed good enough for these women and a large part of the book seemed like a “pity party”. As I read through the first few pages, I kept hoping that Tarashea Nesbit would change voice and start telling the story of some of the wives individually. This never happened so as it was, the book ended up just glossing over the lives of these women and provided even less information about the children. I became very annoyed with her choice of voice by the time I finished the first chapter. I was afraid that I might end up throwing my Kindle across the room if I continued to read it. Outside of the use of first person plural narrative, the book is generally well written. I am sure Ms. Nesbit put a lot of effort into writing this book. I just wish she had chosen a different narrative technique to tell her story. The narrative annoyed me so much that if was all I could do to finish reading it. If I hadn’t felt an obligation to read the book and provide a review, I doubt that I would have read more than the first few pages. It is obvious the book was well researched and that Ms. Nesbit has a talent for writing. I am; therefore, sadden to have to write a less than glowing review. Unfortunately, I just didn’t like the writing style Ms. Nesbit used. I am sorry to say that I could not recommend this book. I would not be surprised if many of those who pick this book up without any knowledge of how it is written will end up putting it down in disgust after only a few pages.