Finished January 29
The Ship of Brides by Jojo Moyes
This novel follows four young women on their trip as Australian war brides, traveling from Australia to England in 1946. This trip really occurred, with the war brides traveling on an aircraft carrier that had been partially converted to create cabin space for them.
The history was interesting. The girls we follow include a farm girl well along in her pregnancy, a society girl, a nurse, and a very young bride of sixteen. Margaret, the farm girl is very down to earth and direct. She is friendly and comfortable with men. Avice, the society girl, has planned out her future, from picking her husband, moving the marriage up, and getting herself onto the ship. But she can't control everything as well as she thinks. Frances, the nurse, is a quiet and practical young woman, who has seen the worst of war in her nursing of POWs. She also has a sad past that she is escaping, but it keeps following her. Jean, the young wife, has also had a hard life, and has taken to marriage as her first chance for love. Her inexperience and longing for love may also be her undoing. The captain of the ship has issues as well: guilt, resentment, and discomfort. He gains more from this voyage than he anticipated.
With happiness, sadness, and a great story, this novel has a lot going for it.
Lots of good history, with the occasional lapse of fact that doesn't detract from the storyline.
This book is the last one for my Chunkster Challenge of 2010 which runs to the end of the month. I just squeaked it in. It is 482 pages.
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