Home Front
Kristin Hannah
St. Martin’s, Jan 31 2012, $27.99
ISBN: 9780312577209
Michael and Joleen Zarkades have been married for a dozen years. They have two small children who round what seems to be a perfect family. However, the two adults are discontented with their relationship and considering a divorce.
Jo jointed the National Guard before she married Michael. Her unit is activated and depleted to Iraq. Their separation widens the fractures of their marriage. As Michael worries about his side’s safety while he remains on the Home Front caring for their kids, Jo looks back at her crumbling marriage trying to understand why as she knows she still lives her civilian spouse.
This is an excellent profound look at the impact of deployments on a marriage and a family. Michael and Jo have drifted apart and her mobilization provides a duality of reactions as her going overseas to the Iraqi theater of operation further widens their relational gap at the same worrying about her safety and the effect on the kids. Home front is a compassionate poignant character driven tale that reminds readers who truly sacrificed for the nation.
Harriet Klausner
