Thank you Harper Audio for the ALC and Bibliolifestyle & William Morrow Books, #partner, for the finished copy of Switchboard Soldiers in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow / Harper Audio
Published: July 19, 2022
Summary:
From New York Times bestselling author Jennifer Chiaverini, a bold, revelatory novel about one of the great untold stories of World War I–the women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, who broke down gender barriers in the military, smashed the workplace glass ceiling, and battled a pandemic as they helped lead the Allies to victory.
In June 1917, General John Pershing arrived in France to establish American forces in Europe. He immediately found himself unable to communicate with troops in the field. Pershing needed operators who could swiftly and accurately connect multiple calls, speak fluent French and English, remain steady under fire, and be utterly discreet, since the calls often conveyed classified information.
At the time, nearly all well-trained American telephone operators were women–but women were not permitted to enlist, or even to vote in most states. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army Signal Corps promptly began recruiting them.
More than 7,600 women responded, including Grace Banker of New Jersey, a switchboard instructor with AT&T and an alumna of Barnard College; Marie Miossec, a Frenchwoman and aspiring opera singer; and Valerie DeSmedt, a twenty-year-old Pacific Telephone operator from Los Angeles, determined to strike a blow for her native Belgium.
They were among the first women sworn into the U.S. Army under the Articles of War. The male soldiers they had replaced had needed one minute to connect each call. The switchboard soldiers could do it in ten seconds.
The risk of death was real–the women worked as bombs fell around them–as was the threat of a deadly new disease: the Spanish Flu. Not all of the telephone operators would survive.
The women of the U.S. Army Signal Corps served with honor and played an essential role in achieving the Allied victory. Their story has never been the focus of a novel…until now.
My thoughts:
I have been a fan of Jennifer Chiaverini’s historical fiction novels for quite some time. Her attention to detail never ceases to amaze me and the amount of research she puts into her books is always evident. I was thrilled to get this latest book, especially as WWI is an area I definitely am not as well-read in.
So many times after I finish reading historical fiction on topics that I know I learned about in school – why so much was left out. Yes, we learned about WWI, but nowhere in anything I learned was there anything about women on the forefront or having any role that I can remember. Had this been included in textbooks, I would have been so much more interested! Why is it that women are repeatedly left out? Thank goodness there are authors like Jennifer Chiaverini who are bringing these stories to life.
And not only that, but these women joined at a time when they didn’t even have the right to vote. Let that sink in for a moment. They were putting their lives on the line, like the young men who were in battle – they had to go through some military training, learn how to properly put on gas masks and know when to use one, and they had to deal with the Spanish Flu. That last one really hit home as we have just come out of our own pandemic and while not going through it while in the midst of a war, it definitely puts things in perspective.
I loved the bravery of these women. They took their roles seriously and did their jobs to the best of their ability. So when I got to the author’s note – and this is why I always read them! – I was so upset to learn that these women were denied any of the benefits that the men were given. It wasn’t until years later that this was justified. I’m appalled that this happened. These women were right there and yet because they technically weren’t soldiers, they weren’t given the same honors. Unforgiveable!
I loved being in this world of the telephone operators and highly recommend this to any historical fiction reader. Once again, Jennifer Chiaverini has given us an enlightening and captivating read and I’m thrilled to add this one to my collection.
Audio thoughts:
I alternated between the print and audio of this one, especially when I saw that it was being narrated by my favorite narrator, Saskia Maarleveld. She has such a way of bringing the story to life and her characterization is amazing.
