Beneath the Wild Blue is a tremendous novel, compelling and gripping. I devoured the first 160 pages without stopping, on the evening I received it, and finished the book the next day. That's how gripping it is.
Most reviewers focus on the unique aspects of military life, and especially on the impact of that life on children. What I found riveting is the book's focus on the family. Everything about the military revolves around the family. Yes, there are the occasional officers who do not have children. Unlike civilian life, however, this does not give the childless person an advantage.
Wild Blue provides us with a stunning portrait of a family of six under the constant stress that is such a key element of military life. Temporary assignments ("TDY") can suddenly drop out of nowhere, requiring the family's service member to abandon his or her family without any notice, often for weeks at a time. The family is under so much stress that older children are routinely drafted as surrogate parents. The spouse of the service member is expected to accomplish the impossible, and if that doesn't happen, the resulting snafu is recorded on the member's "efficiency report," the key document that leads to promotions, plum assignments and higher pay.
One thing that comes across very clearly is the poverty of military families. "Food insecurity" is quite common, with senior officers' wives sponsoring food drives so that the lower ranking members' families can eat during the holidays.
Another is the incredible tension that echoes back and forth among the children, twisting and distorting their relationships with one another and with their parents. Even more intriguing is how these relationships can change just as a result of moving a couple thousand (or more) miles to a new base, especially an overseas base. We see examples of this several times in Wild Blue...the way one's emotional life depends on where one is located and how long one stays there.
Another very interesting aspect is the lack of racial prejudice in the military. This comes up several times. As all Brats know the military was desegregated under orders from President Truman, an order which has settled deeply into the hearts of military personnel. Brats are often very startled and dismayed when they discover how racist American civilian life can be.
Alongside this enlightened view, however, one quickly discovers that the military is not free from segregation; instead, the division of military society is nearly impossible to bridge, and is based on the difference between officers' families and enlisted personnel's families. This division is so strong that there are separate swimming pools and separate dining clubs for officers and for enlisted personnel.
I was actually shocked when that rigid rule was broken. Once one of the daughters dates a young Black enlisted man's son. I was unphased by the fact that a white girl was dating a Black boy, but I was shocked that an officer's daughter could date an enlisted man's son. Usually this is completely forbidden in military culture. (Try explaining THAT to your civilian friends!)
In the end what is the most moving about this magnificent book is the picture of an average family caught in the vortex of the tornado that is military life: a unique experience that is unknown to most civilians. There is no way to truly describe how and why this experience is so unique, but Marian McCarthy has done a brilliant job.
Wild Blue is well worth a read. I urge everyone to buy a copy of this powerful book.
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I'm a Military Brat and This Book Reads True
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2018
The author captures officers wives perfectly. My mom was the president for the Officers Wives Club at Hill AFB in Utah.The stories I heard then come out in the book. My mother, a straight-shooting New Yorker, and a former Air Force officer herself, would be proud of how these characters and situations are portrayed!The scene showing how officer wife Fritzi takes the news about her pilot husband’s orders to Korea is one of the best I've ever read. It had me laughing out loud. It felt so real. It sounded authentic. And it is what happens!My daughter-in-law took it that way when my son got orders in the Marines to go to Iraq.The author shows military wives the way they really are... not some patriotic mumbo-jumbo, but real with different personalities.The book captures the way the real military and their families and friends act in relationships. The dialog is excellent and matches the beat of the military.Thoroughly enjoyed the book. I'd recommend it for military, military brats, and non-military readers. Great entertainment!
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2018
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