I enjoyed this. Young men often fight wars whose purpose they often do not understand nor do they care about. The bonds between them are what matters. Even after they return on leave, hanging out with their mates can take precedence over family time. ( )

The story a group of women married to military men. These women must cope with the army rules, the loneliness and readjustment of husband's coming home. I like this book because it about the English military and the stress of deportment on the family. It told the good and bad of military life. ( )

Maybe 3.5 stars. This is at its heart a perfectly competent Joanna Trollope novel. It delivers most of the things a Joanna Trollope fan has come to expect in her books. It is somewhat reminiscent of Trollope's [b:Rector's Wife|201227|Rector's Wife|Joanna Trollope|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201412s/201227.jpg|1533887]in that at the centerpiece is a woman whose own dreams and ambitions are thwarted by the expectations and restraints placed on her by her husband's career. The difference though is that in The Soldier's Wife we are told rather than shown most of the constraints on Alexa. I know a little bit about the life on a military base from a friend of mine--although she is American--and the Pressure to Conform is palpable, nearly from all sides, but especially from the other wives and families. In The Soldier's Wife first of all while the need to conform was clearly understood by everyone, it wasn't shown. Secondly, virtually everyone--the wives, his husband's superiors, her parents, her in-laws--was sympathetic to Alexa's situation even though most just assumed she would ultimately "go along to get along". When she missed an important event to address a situation with her daughter at school, I thought "Well, now she's going to be hounded by questions and comments from all sides," but instead there was hardly any mention of it after the fact.

As I said, still a pretty satisfying Trollope novel although I think The Rector's Wife did a more interesting job with much of the same material. ( )

Maybe 3.5 stars. This is at its heart a perfectly competent Joanna Trollope novel. It delivers most of the things a Joanna Trollope fan has come to expect in her books. It is somewhat reminiscent of Trollope's [b:Rector's Wife|201227|Rector's Wife|Joanna Trollope|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201412s/201227.jpg|1533887]in that at the centerpiece is a woman whose own dreams and ambitions are thwarted by the expectations and restraints placed on her by her husband's career. The difference though is that in The Soldier's Wife we are told rather than shown most of the constraints on Alexa. I know a little bit about the life on a military base from a friend of mine--although she is American--and the Pressure to Conform is palpable, nearly from all sides, but especially from the other wives and families. In The Soldier's Wife first of all while the need to conform was clearly understood by everyone, it wasn't shown. Secondly, virtually everyone--the wives, his husband's superiors, her parents, her in-laws--was sympathetic to Alexa's situation even though most just assumed she would ultimately "go along to get along". When she missed an important event to address a situation with her daughter at school, I thought "Well, now she's going to be hounded by questions and comments from all sides," but instead there was hardly any mention of it after the fact.

As I said, still a pretty satisfying Trollope novel although I think The Rector's Wife did a more interesting job with much of the same material. ( )

Maybe 3.5 stars. This is at its heart a perfectly competent Joanna Trollope novel. It delivers most of the things a Joanna Trollope fan has come to expect in her books. It is somewhat reminiscent of Trollope's [b:Rector's Wife|201227|Rector's Wife|Joanna Trollope|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1309201412s/201227.jpg|1533887]in that at the centerpiece is a woman whose own dreams and ambitions are thwarted by the expectations and restraints placed on her by her husband's career. The difference though is that in The Soldier's Wife we are told rather than shown most of the constraints on Alexa. I know a little bit about the life on a military base from a friend of mine--although she is American--and the Pressure to Conform is palpable, nearly from all sides, but especially from the other wives and families. In The Soldier's Wife first of all while the need to conform was clearly understood by everyone, it wasn't shown. Secondly, virtually everyone--the wives, his husband's superiors, her parents, her in-laws--was sympathetic to Alexa's situation even though most just assumed she would ultimately "go along to get along". When she missed an important event to address a situation with her daughter at school, I thought "Well, now she's going to be hounded by questions and comments from all sides," but instead there was hardly any mention of it after the fact.

As I said, still a pretty satisfying Trollope novel although I think The Rector's Wife did a more interesting job with much of the same material. ( )