An enjoyable read about the families stuck at Los Alamos. ( )

The Wives of Los Alamos tells the stories of the women who moved to Los Alamos, New Mexico, to be with their scientist husbands as they were working on the Manhattan Project during World War II. The story is told in a unique manner as the author has woven the various voices into one chorus so we experience all their emotions and personalities at once. I have experienced this first person plural style once before, in the novel The Buddha in the Attic by Julie Otsuka. In both cases, this style is quite effective and engaging, but it does keep the characters at arms length and I did find myself getting a little tired of it by the end of the book.

Writing in this manner, Nesbit is well able to show both the similarities and the differences between the various wives, as some loved living in the remote New Mexican desert while others hated it. The women were kept pretty much in the dark as to what exactly their husbands were working on and the secrecy of the project was a dominant force in their lives. Although she changed many of the names, the characters were based on real people and the information passed along was accurate. Once the atom bomb was dropped, the mixed feelings of the wives is simply stated, “We felt ashamed, we felt proud, we felt confused”.

The Wives of Los Alamos is a poetic yet real look at the complicated and secretive life that these women shared for three years. This is a story of community rather than one about individuals and the author has successfully given us a panoramic view of this strange desert outpost that has such a significant history. ( )

The use of "we" instead of a specific character is a different approach to this book. There are no specific characters although, several of the first names are used more than once. Interesting book and interesting time when their husbands were developing and sometimes testing the atomic bomb, but the wives knew nothing of what they were doing and were constantly speculating about what was so "top secret". They could not leave the state of New Mexico and could not see their loved ones during this time. ( )

TaraShea Nesbit's novel The Wives of Los Alamos is told in first-person plural, and yet it never seems like an experiment in a creative writing workshop. By describing how we came to Los Alamos by train, and car, and airplane, or how the water shortage left us unable to wash our hair, the narration is simultaneously small and large. It's a chorus of individual experiences, telling one story. Throughout the book, she blends details of daily life, like a husband tired and cranky after a long day at work, with the work going on all around, creating the bombs that killed millions.

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3.5 stars.

The Wives of Los Alamos is an interesting look into the lives of the scientists and families who lived in Los Alamos during the development of the atomic bomb. Using a very unique storytelling technique, TaraShea Nesbit describes the hardships and frustrations the wives experienced while living in seclusion as their husbands carried out their work in secrecy.

The point of view in The Wives of Los Alamos is not from a specific individual. Instead, it is written in first person plural ("we") which makes for a very unusual reading experience. I think I understand why Ms. Nesbit chose this particular viewpoint-the wives were pretty much stripped of their identity upon their arrival, making everyone indistinguishable from the others. But it also makes for a frustrating reading experience when coupled with the attempts to show individuality from a group perspective. Every possibility for every situation is included in the narrative and the delivery is so impersonal it is virtually impossible to connect with any of the characters.

While the POV was frustrating, their overall experience is quite fascinating. The entire project is shrouded in secrecy right from the beginning and the majority of the wives had no idea what their husbands were working on. The living conditions were austere and harsh. Mail was heavily censored and there were no phone calls in or out. No visits from extended family were allowed and in fact, once most families arrived, they did not leave except for the occasional day trip to Santa Fe. Many of the wives are highly educated, but their skills are sadly underutilized. Surprisingly a few of the wives did take jobs, but their wages were practically non-existent.

TaraShea Nesbit's The Wives of Los Alamos provides an intriguing look into the lives of the people who were involved with a huge moment in American history. While the collective "we" takes getting used to, in the end, it is the most effective way to tell this incredible story. ( )