May 17, 2015

Army Wives by Tanya Biank

Title:  Army Wives:  The Unwritten Code of Military Marriage
Author:  Tanya Biank
Pages:  261
Genre:  Non Fiction
Publisher:  St. Martin's Griffin, 2006

Synopsis:  Army Wives goes beyond the sound bites and photo ops of military life to bring listeners into the hearts and homes of today’s military wives.

Biank tells the story of four typical army wives who, in a flash, find themselves in extraordinary circumstances that ultimately force them to redefine who they are as women and wives. This is a true story about what happens when real life collides with army convention. Army Wives is a groundbreaking narrative that takes the listener beyond the army’s gates, taking a close look at the other woman – the army itself – and how its traditions, rules, and wartime realities deeply impact marriage and home life.

Review:  As a huge fan of the Lifetime Television series based on this book, I was prepared to be either thrilled with this book or disappointed by it.  I knew there wouldn't be a middle ground.

The book is okay, but certainly not the same great story as shown in the television series.  Ms. Biank is a news reporter and it shows in her writing style.  While I understand that this is a factual account, her writing style comes across as cold and detached, which may be right for a newspaper but is just not quite good enough for a book.  I'm glad the book wasn't any longer.  I was losing patience and interest.

However, the importance of the book is clear.  It surely must have helped open the military's eyes to the fact that quite a few military marriages were unhappy.  And that, unfortunately, that unhappiness led to deaths in several cases.  I can only hope that now, almost 10 years later, the military has addressed these issues and made some kind of reliable system to help those in need.

I wouldn't read it again but I'm not sorry I read it.

Rating:  2.5 / 10

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