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1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
 Author tackles Race, Religion, and Rank in story about Rookie Officers' Wives Oct 20, 2009
Phyllis Zimbler Miller is an author with guts. She tackles the tough topics of race, religion and rank in her novel about four young rookie officers' wives in 1970 while the Vietnam War rages on. And don't forget about the "Rules." While men are dying in an unpopular war overseas, these four young women with very different backgrounds are thrown together into a world where white gloves and the right outfit are expected attire for the proper officer's wife. If only white gloves could protect Sharon, Kim, Wendy and Donna from the harsh realities of military life and the cruel dark places that sometimes exist in the human heart.
Although this story takes place almost 40 years ago, it is so relevant today. Rank still has its privileges, soldiers still die in battle, and some people still cling to outdated rules and old prejudices. Despite some of the unsavory aspects of military life, this novel captures how quickly friendships are made and how most military spouses learn the ropes quickly and are stronger women for it. "Mrs. Lieutenant" is well written and these four main characters will grab your heart and you will come to think of them as friends. You will care about them long after you've finished the last page and closed the book.
Kathleen M. Rodgers -- author of the novel "The Final Salute: Together We Live On"
 Wonderful insight into the scary world of being a new service spouse! Dec 26, 2008
MRS. LIEUTENANT is a well-written, easy-to-read book about four young women who come together as young Army wives. Though very different in culture, race, religion, and background, they have one thing in common: They are all terrified that their husbands will deploy to Vietnam and not come back. Though fiction, it is obvious the author draws on own real experiences as an Army wife to develop her characters and give them substance. Ms. Zimbler-Miller wonderfully portrays the uncomfortable feeling of arriving at a new post, the uncertainty of being around the military for the first time, the passion of young love, and the fear of losing a spouse. In addition, she should be commended on developing such rich characters from so many different backgrounds (a Jewish war protester, a poor Southern Baptist, a well-to-do black woman, and a Puerto Rican woman already widowed once). This is not possible without research and significant effort to get the little things right. In addition, though the book is almost 500 pages, the writing style make this an easy and enjoyable read. This book will be appreciated by any military spouse, but also by anyone interested in interpersonal relations and diversity. Definitely recommended.
Mrs. Liuetenant: A Novel Perspective Sep 08, 2008
Phyllis Zimbler Miller's novel, Mrs. Lieutenant: A Sharon Gold Novel, takes a unique look at how young men seeking alternatives to the draft opted for Armor Officer's Basic (AOB) training, while their wives tagged along to Ft. Knox, Kentucky, where the training was held.
Unlike many of the other novels and non-fiction books I have read about the Vietnam War, including those examining the politics of the war, this novel sheds light on how wives, especially new wives, deal with the commitments of their husbands to the military. The novel provides a varied examination of how these women--one Jew (Sharon Gold), one Puerto Rican (Donna Lautenberg), one African-American (Wendy Johnson), and one Southern White Woman (Kim Benton)--struggle with their own convictions regarding the war, their husbands' decisions about their role as soldiers, and how their ethnicity impacts their actions and decisions.
From Sharon's feelings against the war to Donna's experiences as an "army brat" turned officer's wife, this novel takes the reader inside these women's lives and the emotional roller coaster they experience beginning with Day 1 at Ft. Knox. Whether it is dealing with racial discrimination or anti-semitism or just the basic human need to belong, these women struggle against their own biases to find friendship with one another.
The bond these women create at a turbulent time in history is admirable not only because the bond crosses racial lines, but also because it transcends their own fears about their roles as Mrs. Lieutenants and wives.
The novel also sheds light on the thought processes of army officers' decisions to either extend their obligations with the army as part of involuntary definite or the regular army.
Miller's writing technique draws the reader into each character's plight easily, and it is hard not to be pulled into their triumphs, sorrows, and fears. As a former Mrs. Lieutenant herself, it is not surprising that this novel is emotional. The way in which Miller incorporates elements of actual events into her fictional novel is admirable, and it is wonderful to see excerpts from the manual provided to AOB wives, also called Mrs. Lieutenant by Mary Preston Gross.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Great true-to-life story! Sep 02, 2008
This novel is about four young army officers wives who meet when their husbands are all assigned training at Ft. Knox, Kentucky in the summer of 1970. They are very different women from very different backgrounds but the circumstances they find themselves in help them to draw together and form unique friendships that they would not have dreamed of in their pre-army life.
Sharon Gold is a Jewish girl from Illinois with a journalism background. She is an anti-war protester but couldn't resist falling in love with an ROTC cadet while she was at Michigan State.
Kim Benton is an orphan from North Carolina who, with her younger sister, was raised in foster care. She has no self-confidence and is married to a controlling, jealous young man.
Wendy Johnson is an African American from South Carolina whose father is a physician. She has been sheltered by her parents her whole life and has little idea of the amount of prejudice in the world.
Donna Lautenberg is Puerto Rican but has lived all over the world because her father is enlisted in the army. She is having trouble adjusting from enlisted life to different social strata of an officer.
These women are only together for nine weeks but in that time they experience situations and deal with issues that break down the barriers of race, religion and class to allow them to form bonds of friendship and trust. In that short time they all grow, change and learn important lessons.
It's a compelling story that seems so real it made me wonder how much is based on actual experiences. I'm looking forward to reading the next Sharon Gold novel!
A fascinating book Aug 15, 2008
They had their whole lives to look forward to - if only their husbands could survive Vietnam.
I requested a review copy of Mrs Lieutenant by Phyllis Zimbler Miller because I was interetsed in these women's lives and, not knowing much about the Vietnam war and the events surrounding it, I was curious to learn more. Ms Miller was kind enough to send me a copy and to stop by this blog a few times.
Set in the spring of 1970, Mrs Lieutenant deals with the stories of four young women whose husband are called to go on active duty as officers on the US army. They find themselves together at Ft. Knox while their husbands undergo nine weeks of training. Different as though these four womes are, they have one thing in common: the fear that their husbands coudl be sent to Vietnam to fight - the fear to become war widows themselves.
These four women have very different backgrounds: Sharon is a Northern Jewish anti-war protester who fell in love with a ROTC cadet; Kim is a Southern Baptist whose husband is intensely jealous; Donna is a Pertorican who grew up in an enlisten man's family; and Wendy is a Sourthern black whose parents have sheltered her from racism in the US.
The main them of the book is feeling different--each of these women feels that she is different from all others: Sharon because she's a Jew; Kim because she's an orphan and has no family apart from her husband; Donna because she's Puertorican; and Wendy because she's black and doesn't know very much about the harsh reality of racism in America.
Another relevant theme in the book is overcoming prejudices: in the process of becoming friends, the four women have to overcome their prejudice, share their depp secrets and fears, and be initiated into their new lives as army officers' wives during the hard Vietnam war period.
This book is very different from what I usually read, but I enjoyed it a lot. I love reading about women's stories and femal friendships. This book is something to be reckoned with - a novel about the Vietnam war period seen from the perspective of women fearing for their husbands' lives.
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