Camile DiMaio is an author well known for giving her readers beautifully-written, well-researched books centered on historical events while providing a story all her own.
Until We Meet brings together two close-knit sets of friends during World War II. Margaret, Gladys and Dottie have very different personalities, but they all work at the Brooklyn Shipyard, doing jobs that were done by men before the war. Gladys, an early feminist, believes women are capable of doing anything. Dotty, a “traditional” woman, loves with Margaret’s brother. Their wedding is postponed because he’s drafted. After he leaves, she learns she’s pregnant. When her parents kick her out, she depends on her two friends for support. Margaret, the primary point-of-view character, blends feminism and tradition; she’s practical but thrilled she has so many job opportunities. These women help build the last of the great battleships, the Missouri, and the newest generation of naval ships, the aircraft carrier. They spend their free time knitting socks for soldiers, even writing letters, to keep up the mens’ morale. Margaret starts writing to one of the men and he shares his life with her. She wonders if she’ll meet him in person after the war.
The three men, John, Tom, and William, meet in military training and stay together when they go to war, becoming their own “band of brothers” as they complete their paratrooper training in Great Britain before heading to war. Their feelings as they face enemy troops is beautifully written. War scenes are not overly graphic, but allow the reader insight into what these young men experience. The reader sees the war through their eyes and through the letters they exchange with family at home.
Until We Meet deftly combines the feelings of the women left at home and explores the life-and-death emotions of men at war. Overall, the book is about kinship, love, and friendship with a hint of romance between the various men and women.
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Until We Meet (Forever, March 1, 2022) is available through:
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Camille’s other books are available through the same merchants.
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