It has been a little while since this blog has looked at a book that deals with the front lines of World War II. Luis Alberto Urrea's Good Night, Irene follows a young woman who decides to give up her comfortable lifestyle in 1940s New York, along with her abusive fiancé, and enlist with the Red Cross to serve in Europe.
The Situation: It is 1943, and Irene Woodward has decided to leave it all behind, including the engagement ring. Done with waiting for her fiancé to find a reason to lose his temper again, Irene has decided to sign up to serve with the Red Cross in Europe. No one knows she is going, not even her mother, and Irene is more than a little pleased with herself at being able to pull off this disappearing act. In training, she meets Dorothy Dunford, a tall woman with a big mouth from the Midwest, who could not be more different from Irene. But the two become friends, and end up being assigned to the same vehicle as the begin their military service as Donut Dollies. Together, they will serve coffee and donuts to the men on the front lines, offering a small comfort to soldiers who are far from home.
The Problem: Serving coffee and donuts during a war may sound like a pretty sweet assignment, but it brings Irene and Dorothy to heart of the battle. Their vehicle, a Clubmobile named the Rapid City, may have been outfitted to make coffee and fry donuts, but it often ends up seeing more action than either woman had bargained for. The women will see the war up close, witness battle first hand, and even come face to face with a German soldier while he contemplates killing them both. When the war is not raging around them, both women will experience strange moments of calm and peace, some of which allow Irene to meet and fall for an American fighter pilot. If Irene does manage to survive the war and make it back to New York, she knows she will never see coffee and donuts the same way again.
Genre, Themes, History: This is a historical fiction novel set in the early 1940s, primarily in and around France as WWII takes its toll on the country. The author used his mother's experience serving with the Red Cross as inspiration, highlighting the often over-looked contributions of women during the war. While each Clubmobile was supposed to have three women inside, Irene and Dorothy often found themselves on their own inside the Rapid City, but they make it work. Despite the circumstances, the two women figure out how to do the jobs they were trained to do; put up with the bad jokes and constant advances from the soldiers; dodge literal fire as it falls from the sky; and continue on when faced with the unimaginable horrors of war.
My Verdict: From the beginning, the two main protagonists are set up nicely. The reader is given a thorough, but not at all drawn out backstory for both Irene and Dorothy before they ever set foot in Europe as part of the Red Cross. From there, it is a well-paced story with a balance between adventure and contemplation, with both elements sometimes taking place at the same time as bombs drop, and the women must quickly figure out their next steps. It would be easy to wonder what kind of action a 'Donut Dolly' could possibly see from the inside of a truck, while serving coffee and donuts, but Urrea answers that question through Irene and Dorothy, while painting a picture of an enduring friendship that is tested through circumstances most of us will never know.
Favorite Moment: I loved seeing the list of the Clubmobiles, all given incredibly patriotic names. There is the Rapid City, the Cheyenne, the Annapolis, the Albany, the Boise, the Atlanta, the Empire State, and the Wolverine. I have named every car I have ever owned, so this practice appeals to me.
Favorite Character: Before she signed up to serve with the Red Cross, Dorothy had already seen enough in life to be angry with what was happening in the war. She says what she thinks, is not afraid of much, and was beyond excited to learn to drive the Rapid City and move it through the war zone that is France.
Recommended Reading: This book has been compared to Kristin Hannah's The Nightingale, and I can certainly see why. I would also recommend The Rose Code by Kate Quinn.
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