Five mothers are invited by the US government to go visit their sons' graves in France. Well, a lot more than five ladies go, but the novel is the story of these particular mothers. As a mother, at times the plot is heart wrenching. As a woman, I found the story heart wrenching. As a human being, I found the novel heart wrenching. I loved it.
Two women come from New England, which were the most familiar characters to me. The others were from New York. Added to the stories of the mothers, were the stories of Lily and Thomas who were their "guides." Lily was a nurse, and Tom was career army. Eventually, all the characters will become enmeshed in tragedy--from the past and the present. I won't spoil the plot, for you, sorry.
The story that I found the most interesting was Lily. She became the scapegoat for a tragedy. The bad guy was General Perkins. I think this story interested me the most because I used to work for the government. The mentality of the general was all so reminiscent! When something went wrong, the first question was not "How do we fix this," but rather, "Who did this?" Somebody has to take the blame and more often than not, it wasn't fair. Lily, who was wrongly accused, was the one who took the bullet, so to speak. Poor Lily, simpatico!
I loved the book. It kept me up way beyond my bedtime, for a few nights. I learned history; I was entertained; and I fell in love with Girf. Griffin Reed was a character I didn't tell you about. That's because he's mine and I'm not sharing him.
Did I tell you I enjoyed the book?
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