Sisters of the Great War

August 2, 2021
A vivid WWI setting elevates the mostly predictable romance in Feldman’s tale of two sisters (after Absalom’s Daughters) who flee their oppressive Baltimore home to help the British on the Western front. In August 1914, nursing student Ruth Duncan longs to attend medical school, but her widower physician father refuses to allow it. An attraction sparks between Ruth and family friend John Doweling, a doctor who’s just enlisted with the British, and their relationship deepens through the letters they exchange as John trains for his medical deployment. Ruth soon volunteers along with her younger, mechanically inclined sister, Elise. They’re stationed in Belgium, where Ruth is assigned to a hospital near John, who supports her plan to become a doctor and finds ways to teach her physician-level skills, while Elise confronts the horrors of the battlefield as an ambulance driver and finds love with Hera Montraine, another female driver. As the war enters its final fierce months, John suffers a life-changing wound, which jeopardizes his future with Ruth. Elise and Hera, meanwhile, are discovered in a compromising situation, forcing Elise to decide how Hera will fit into her life. Feldman’s rendering of the Western front is unsentimental and unsparing, making this an effective war story despite the slow plot movement. This doesn’t break any new ground, but it does keep readers invested.

September 1, 2021
It's 1914 and war is raging in Europe like never before. Battling in their Baltimore home with their father, Ruth and Elise Duncan decide to volunteer for the war effort in Europe. Ruth volunteers to be a nurse, even though her true desire is to become a doctor, like her father. Elise is good with working on cars and is stationed as an ambulance driver. Together the sisters witness the horrors of war and realize that not everyone can be saved. Feldman ruthlessly describes the injuries of war on the body and mind. War tears people apart, but for Ruth and Elise, they also find light amid the darkness. Ruth's journey is about gaining independence and knowledge, learning that she is skilled enough to be who she wants to be. Elise's journey is finding herself and answering questions she had always been afraid to answer. Both of the sisters' journeys include finding love in the midst of the depravity of war. This novel is about the resilience and strength of women in war, but also about love.

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