This was my first time reading a book by Urrea. I have heard of some of his other big title books, and I think this one will be right up there with the rest of them!

Forget about the story line for a second, because the writing alone was wonderful. I could picture every little detail mentioned and see the characters so vividly.
The story line was great. I've always been interested in the Red Cross history & stories of the women involved, and this exceeded any expectations I had for it. It's both entertaining & light, and emotional & informative. I mostly, enjoyed it because of the characters and Irene specifically. She is fun, humorous, headstrong, and dedicated.

I would recommend this book if you're looking to get into historical fiction as a genre, or somebody who has always loved the genre!

During World War II, the Red Cross recruited young women to work at the front lines of the European conflict zone, not to nurse but rather to operate military buses, called Clubmobiles, from which they dispensed donuts, coffee and a little bit of “home” to war weary GI’s. This is the story of two such women who become fast friends, trying to help each other survive the nightmare of the European front. Urrea’s prose, plot and characters together deliver a hard hitting picture of the drudgery, comradeship, deprivation, cruelty, heroics, stoicism, fear, sacrifice and idiocy that are war.

GOOD NIGHT, IRENE
BY: LUIS ALBERTO URREA

If ever a historical novel deserved all of the stars in the sky including the moon, this novel is it. It didn't just speak to me with words it sings. Exquisite and powerful writing is what you will get if you read this novel. It celebrates Luis Alberto Urrea's mother's experience in the Red Cross during World War II. War changes people. I have read an over abundance of World War II novels, but nothing as stunning and brilliant as this one. This talented author writes so intimately I felt as if I was a participant. I quite simply have never read anything like this before, and I loved it from cover to cover.

It is filled with momentum so that the pacing is fast, and packed full of action. It is also very suspenseful, representing the most perfect or typical example of quality or class. When I started reading this I said to myself this is my kind of book. The writing is extremely strong displaying this author as a gifted storyteller.

Irene is from New York City, and she decides after many jobs that are unsatisfying, that she wants to do something worthwhile. She joins the Red Cross as a Donut Dolly. She will be on the front lines with younger GI's driving around in what's called a Clubmobile. She is escaping a physically abusive relationship with her fiance who comes from a political family. She doesn't tell anybody that she joined the Red Cross, knowing she will miss New York in 1943, for the duration of the war. She has dropped her engagement ring down a storm drain into a New York City street intersection.

Irene still has to pass her training in Washington DC where all of the Red Cross volunteers are meeting. In Washington DC in her hotel she meets Ellie from Chicago who is her roommate and, along with Dorothy will turn out to be the three assigned together in the truck. Irene also meets Dorothy from Indiana who is mourning the death of her father, mother, and her brother. Dorothy is six feet, two inches tall and is nicknamed Stretch. Irene is nicknamed Gator. These three will make up the trio of making Donuts, and coffee. They also are to be comforting to the young GI's who they will serve. Their job is to make the Donuts and coffee in their truck serving any soldier who approaches. Their role is to be the girl next door, a mother or older sister giving an encouraging word before a soldier goes off to battle that he might not return from.

The women are told to dress warmly in case they end up on the front of the European theater. They are also told to dress light in case they are serving in the tropical Pacific. During a talk from a female Captain she tells the women to "Never Let them See you Cry."

This is just from the beginning, therefore not spoiler territory, and sounds mundane, maybe even trivial. What these women face during their tour will change them forever. I have read too many World War II books, and wasn't planning on reading more. When I saw that this was written by Luis Alberto Urrea, I made an exception. Prepare yourself to read the most uniquely written historical novel that will change forever how you think of World War II. There is so much detail written I guarantee that you will be changed after experiencing this roller coaster ride of a reading experience.
It is about the enduring bonds of friendships forged while experiencing being on the dangerous front lines of war. These women are in the thickest part of the action. The object of the tour of duty is to survive.

Who do I recommend this masterfully written, unforgettable, and by all means the most original historical novel to? Everyone! Both men and women will not be able to put this down once you start reading it. It is available soon, so be sure to pre-order this masterpiece that deserves to win an award. Add this to your to be read list, but make sure you don't skip this one. This author was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for a work of non-fiction called, "The Devil's Highway," now in its 30th paperback printing. He also was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is a recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award among many other honors. I have mentioned these accolades to assure you that this author can write.

Publication Date: May 30, 2023. Available very soon!

Thank you to Net Galley, Luis Alberto Urrea, and Little, Brown and Company for generously providing me with my digital copy in exchange for a fair and honest review. My opinions are entirely my own.

#GoodNightIrene #LuisAlbertoUrrea #LittleBrownandCompany #NetGalley

An utterly amazing and heartbreaking story of two women and a truck during WWII. The ARC Clubhouse truckers were amazing heroes who kept the men going, one sinker at a time!

Urrea's new novel, the second of his I've read, is said to be based on his own mother's experience as a Red Cross worker in Europe during World War II. The story is centered on two American women: Dorothy, a country girl from the midwest, and Irene, a New Yorker from a wealthy family who ran off from her family and her fiance after he apparently hit her (it's never made clear exactly what prompted her departure). These two, and numerous others, were trained to run mobile coffee-and-donuts stations, often near the front lines; the idea was to serve as a comforting reminder of home for the soldiers, a source of solace and good cheer..

Much of the book was slow-moving, and though it was filled with descriptive writing, there was a sense of distance between the reader and the characters and events described. The scene moved abruptly from boring inaction to explosive violence -- as is typical of actual war zones, I suspect -- which made it difficult to sustain engagement at times.

Overall, I found the novel interesting, but not compelling, and still, a worthwhile read for the knowledge imparted.

Such a fun read! This is a different take on WWII from the perspective of two Red Cross workers who drive around Europe providing coffee and donuts to the troops. Sounds mundane, but it is anything but, as they make friends, provide counsel, discover romance, and develop a tight friendship that lasts forever. Their often valorous and heroic efforts are way above and beyond their job descriptions, traveling from the Battle of the Bulge to Buchenwald. This fictional tale is based on the author's mother's experience and I am so curious to know which parts and how much were from her actual experiences. I have heard the speaker present and he is fabulous!

*4.5 stars rounded up. 'Women are called upon to piece the broken world together.'

Irene Woodward decides on the spur of a moment in October, 1943, to leave her cushy life in NY, as well as her rather abusive fiancé, to join the American Red Cross Corp on the 'chow and charm circuit.' These volunteers will be sent to the front lines in groups of threes to run clubmobiles from which they will pass out freshly made donuts and coffee to the GIs. But most importantly, to smile and flirt and keep up the men's morale.

Irene is joined by Dorothy, a 6'2" Indiana farm girl who is more interested in driving the vehicle than cooking. The third on their team is Ellie from Chicago who quickly decides this life is not for her after a few glimpses of the realities of war. So Irene (Gator) and Dorothy (Stretch) have to carry on short-handed for most of their stint of duty.

I knew little of what these Red Cross volunteers did during the war so this story was quite eye opening. These women were definitely heroes. They learn life lessons and grow as people, fall in love, and suffer losses, but for the most part, keep smiling. The author found a way to make the ending the best part of the novel. Just loved it!

Here's a link to a touching letter from Luis Alberto Urrea about meeting the Red Cross Clubmobile woman who worked with his mother, Phyllis McLaughlin, during WWII: https://mailchi.mp/e/donut-dollies-19...

Based on his mother’s service in the Red Cross during WWII, the author introduces the reader to the “Donut Dollies” whose assignment was making and serving donuts and coffee to soldiers by driving a modified big truck to the front lines thus providing a morale boost. This well written story of Irene and Dorothy chronicles not only the hardships and horrors of war, but the physical and emotional toll it exacts. The descriptions of locations, weather, and equipment really added body to the novel.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the ARC to read and review.

Wow….
“Good Night, Irene” is quite marvelous. I couldn’t have gotten into this book faster or with more reading gusto if I tried.
Ha….and I’ve been in a low mood…..
But, if ever a book got me out of my own miserable thoughts….(at least a temporary time-out), “Good Night, Irene” did the trick.

I’ve always said….in my own life > my most satisfying times have been when I’ve worked on an important project with others and ‘from’ our working hard together (in the trenches so to speak), real profound, meaningful friendships, developed.

I was reminded of that: POWERFUL friendships grow from
working our asses of with others….’together’.
But MY GOD…..Luis Alberto Urrea inspired me to no end…..
[he did in another way in “The House of Broken Angels”, too….a very different book]…. > the book where I ‘first’ marveled at his storytelling.
But in this novel……Urrea takes his inspiration (which becomes ours), from his own mother….and ‘her’ Red Cross experiences during WWII > and his STORYTELLING is OFF THE CHARTS…

JUST FABULOUS…..a very satisfying book that any die-hard reader will not want to miss……
It has everything!!!

I felt the full range of emotions. (even a little teary now)
I gasped frequently with emotions shifting rapidly….happy, sad, heartbreaking, heart-rendering…. moved by the experience of being so transformed …tossed into this story myself….feeling the courage, the fear, the devastating violence, the exhaustion, the friendships, the power, the unbelievable humanity.

I was overwhelming moved ….especially moved by the last chapters …..

THIS NOVEL HAS A BEAUTIFUL SOUL. DON’T MISS IT!!!

NON-SPOILER excerpts:
“I’m on my way to war. There. I said it”.
“What branch? WAC? WAVES?”
“Red Cross”.
“He seemed to relax. Bedpan commando. Still, nursing’s tough duty”.
“Not nursing”.
“Oh yeah? What, then?”
“Clubmobiles”.
“What the hell is that?”
“Mobile service. Comfort, moral support. As I understand it, we’ll be backing the troops in the field. We make coffee and donuts. In trucks”.
“You what?”
“Coffee. And donuts”.
“He laughed”.
“Clubmobiles, she explained. A red cross club….on wheels”.
“Donuts. He shook his head. I heard it all now”.

“Have you any advice?”
“Sure, he said. Don’t do it.”
“Thank you for your insight, she crossed her arms”
“Cover your ass, how about that?”
“Sorry to bother you”.
“Look, it’s no place—“
“For a girl?”
“She turned toward him. I intend to serve my country, she said, and this is what they’ll let me do. I have never made a doughnut in my life. I don’t know how to drive a truck. And the coffee I’ve made has been known to incapacitate its victims”.
“So tell me, Sarge—you’re the expert. How will I do?”
“Well, he said. You’ll do swell”.

“You’ll be shocked. You’ll think you’re strong, you’ll think you’re tough. You’ll think you can take it. You cannot take it. And then you will not be shocked anymore. That’s what war does so you so can keep on going. You will be in mortal danger besides our boys. You will do things, some of you, that should win medals”.

It turns out… It was not very easy to be able to produce donuts.
“That infallible donut machine splurted globs and wads of misshapen, over wet dough to splash into the hot grease, abominations that were then fried into donuts resembling golden underpants and topographical maps of ancient lands”.

Miller’s Law: “Never Let Them See You Cry”.

*The Red Cross “Coffee-Donut” girls came into existence in 1917…..during the Great War…..
when…..the boys (who lived in squalor and horror), once asked a group of ladies if they had anything sweet to eat.

Kudos to Luis Alberto Urrea > TERRIFIC worthy - deeply substantial book to write.

Memorable ….one of my favorites.

Urrea’s novel is historical fiction, but is based on the life his mother lived as a Red Cross Donut Dolly in WWII. Women who had no medical training volunteered with the Red Cross to provide a taste of home—coffee and donuts—to American GIs.
Irene Woodard from New York City escapes an abusive fiancé and joins the Red Cross to do her part in WWII. She befriends Dorothy, a 6 ft blonde from the Midwest, and the two of them drive a Clubmobile across Europe, following troops from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of a concentration camp at Buchenwald. But one night a horrific accident occurs, the Clubmobile goes over a cliff, and Irene has to live with the thought that she killed her best friend.

I choose to not read as much WWII historical fiction as I once did because all the plots were starting to blend together. However, when I read the synopsis of Good Night, Irene, I felt that instant attraction. This is the tale of two American women- Irene and Dorothy who join the American Red Cross and travel overseas becoming "Donut Dollies" making and serving doughnuts to men in uniform.

There is a good mix of humor and hardship in this book and only a dash of romance( thank goodness!) because a lot happens to these two characters. I liked that the author was inspired to write this novel because of his mother's own personal history with wartime and the Red Cross. The descriptions made me feel like I was journeying along with Irene, Dorothy, and the "ever-changing third girl." I imagine that the story will eventually make it to the screen. It's a good story!


#GoodNightIrene #NetGalley

Expected Review Date 30/05/23
Goodreads review published 14/05/23

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC!

Wow - this was powerful. Irene and Dorothy sign up for the Red Cross during WWII for their own personal reasons and meet during training. I had never heard of the women who had donut and coffee trucks to boos the soldier’s spirits and I have read a LOT of WWII fiction. Based on the author’s own mother, the two women experience the true horrors of the war like no other, while also discovering who they are and what they are capable of and building a friendship that will last a lifetime. Highly recommended.

We seem to be in the midst of an explosion of historical novels set in WWII. Whether a book is about people who survived despite incredible odds, carried out incredible feats of resistance, loved and lost and found relatives and other loved ones despite incredible odds, or carried out acts of atrocities, the spigot seems to pour out more and more until it's hard to tell them apart. Luis Alberto Urrea brings two important assets to the table in Good Night, Irene - his newest novel that's set in Europe during World War II - that differentiates this book from all the others. First he brings us a fascinating but little-told story of the Red Cross's Clubmobile service, staffed by young American wome, who were tasked to bring coffee, donuts ("sinkers"), smiles, and a bit of home - with some flirting thrown in - to the many soldiers who carried out the bulk of the fighting in the European Theater of Action. Second, he is able to bring to characters to life that is far superior to the superficiality that many other books in this genre offer. As "Donut Dollie" Irene and her Clubmobile colleague and eventual close friend Dorothy move from training in England to the battlefields of post-D-Day central Europe, readers are brought more and more deeply into the mud, the hardships of daily life, the life-threatening attacks through battle after battle, the hopes of a future life with a sweetheart who is off fighting in other places, and the horrors of a newly liberated German concentration camp. I do not want to spoil the ending but will say only that Urrea handles what could have been an overworked situation better than any other I've read. Highly recommended.

I received an electronic ARC from Little Brown & Company via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Opinions expressed in this review are my own.
This is the story of Dorothy and Irene, two women who joined the American Red Cross during World War II, as what soldiers referred to as Donut Dollies. Neither woman expected to experience combat. Their experiences changed them forever.
I did find the first part of this novel very slow. However, it all makes sense as to why it was that slow as you read the rest. It is a beautiful story that will stay with me.

"For all evils there are two remedies: time and silence." (Alexandre Dumas)

Luis Alberto Urrea presents a remarkable novel that spans through the tragic years of World War II. He touches so precisely on those hell bent on bringing their demented forms of evil in order to rain down their might on those caught in its midst. Urrea also brings honor to those who answered the call to protect and to defend.

It's October of 1943 in New York City. Women refused to be set on the sidelines. Some worked in the factories taking over jobs of welders and equipment building. Some answered the call of the Red Cross offering their services in the field in heavy war zones overseas.

Irene Woodward and Dorothy Dunford were complete opposites. Irene was escaping from a loveless engagement. She came from a well-to-do family who would be shattered if they knew what she just did. Dorothy, an unusually tall woman, hails from Indiana where she helped run the family farm. After the recent death of her parents and her soldier brother, Dorothy sells the farm.

And they both find themselves reporting to the War Department as volunteers in the Red Cross. The training is brutal and many of the women don't qualify. But both Irene and Dorothy have tenacity flowing through their veins. At first, the women are assigned to the Clubmobilers Corps in which they make coffee, fry donuts, and provide support to the soldiers. Dorothy drives the truck easily from her farm days driving a tractor. She even knows how to change a tire.

But eventually the stuff gets real. Really real. Both women find themselves under seige in a small French town where they almost become casualties themselves. They are caught up in the enormity of the loss of those who didn't return......those who are part of that silence......voices snuffed out by evil.

Luis Alberto Urrea should receive a standing ovation for Good Night, Irene. His character development is top-notch while introducing individuals that you won't soon forget. His dialogue is snarky and filled with good old-fashioned humor of the time. "It was jail or the army. I shoulda chose jail."

Although a work of fiction, Good Night, Irene allows us to sit with these individuals and to form faces and personalities that emulated flesh and blood soldiers, sailors, and air corps pilots who sacrificed all for a cause that seems so foreign and long ago to us now. And, sadly, it still remains with us as power mongers lean heavily on the innocent. Of this, we know only too well today.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to Little, Brown and Company and to the talented Luis Alberto Urrea for the opportunity.

I received this from Little, Brown and Company for a review. I love Irene and Dorothy. Such strong women. I haven't read a historical fiction based on the Red Cross. This was new and exciting for. It shows the dangers and strength they had to go through. Highly recommend!

Irene Woodward, a daughter of privilege, leaves her abusive fiance to join the Red Cross during World War II. During training, she meets Dorothy Dunford, known as Dot, and they become close and loving friends.

During training they are taught how to make donuts and coffee and, more importantly, ways to cheer up the soldiers. They operate a 'clubmobile' on the harrowing fronts of the war, putting themselves at risk as they follow the troops. Incessantly making donuts and coffee for the men, they themselves are in imminent danger.

They are brave, determined women. They endure bombing, explosives, shooting, and all the acts of war that can be imagined. Their experiences are horrific and they both are lucky to escape some incidents that could have ended their lives.

Both Dot and Irene have fallen for soldiers. Irene's soldier is a pilot bomber who sings songs to her before they make love. As planes fly over, Irene imagines her pilot in the sky above her and worries about his safety.

Most people don't know about the role of women during the war. As in many avenues of life, now and then, the work of women is silent and in the background. Urrea modeled this novel on his mother's Red Cross service.

Without spoilers, I want to say that this novel brought me to tears, both of joy and pain. The writing, especially in the last half, is powerful and intimate. I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for giving me access to an advanced review copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

One of my favorite things about reading—historical fiction, in particular—is learning more about a specific event or time period. And when the story delivers a powerful punch in the emotional department, it soars to the top of my list. Good Night, Irene is one of those special books.

The soul of this book is friendship, the kind of friendship that irrevocably binds two people together as surely as genetics. Those forever heart-friendships are rare and precious and when you have one, you know you’re connected beyond the constraints of this lifetime. In the deft authorial hand of Luis Alberto Urrea, the characters of Irene Woodward and Dorothy Dunford become real. He paints a beautiful, honest, insightful portrait of two women who find this rare gift of heart-friendship in an ARC Rapid City Clubmobile, making donuts and coffee for soldiers they may only see once.

My favorite aspect of the book is how Urrea brings the two protagonists to life with tender and sometimes raw honesty. The women and their friendship are imperfect. They get on each other’s nerves at times. They argue. They misunderstand each other. All parts of real friendships.

In addition to friendship, themes of sacrifice, courage, integrity, love, and, of course, the horrors of war develop over the book’s 416 pages. While always well-written, the sheer number of details slowed the plot down for me.

This book is a monumental tribute to a group of women I never particularly considered to be crucial to the war effort in the 1940s. The Red Cross Donut Dollies—“Don’t call me Dolly!”—were critical morale boosters for soldiers. I loved learning that the author’s own mother served in the Red Cross, which inspired this book. And reading this deeply personal story made me wonder how many other groups of people have sacrificed without recognition. Just when I thought I’d read every type of story there is about World War Two, I found Good Night, Irene. I’m so glad I did.

Thank you to NetGalley and Little, Brown and Company for the e-ARC.

The best read of 2023, so far. Uttea’s writing is deep and his skillful slow development of characters is forefront of this story of WWII. I have never read about the Red Cross coffee and donut trucks that followed the troops in Europe, what a great history lesson. Unspeakable violence, unspeakable fear, met with endless courage and humanity. I laughed, was sad, and had to stop reading at times. Two women volunteer for the Red Cross Clubmobiles, to do their part in the war but also to escape their lives. They meet and begin an odyssey they would never have dreamed of.

With cinematic verisimilitude and deep emotional understanding, Urrea (The House of Broken Angels, 2018) opens readers’ eyes to the female Red Cross volunteers who served overseas during WWII, delivering donuts, coffee, and homestyle friendliness to U.S. troops. The author’s mother, herself a minor character, was one of these women, who were nicknamed Donut Dollies. Fleeing a violent relationship, gregarious Irene Woodward gets partnered with tall Indiana farmer Dorothy Dunford, cementing a tight bond of sisterhood. Their personalities and the writing itself crackle with energy as Dorothy drives their truck across England and the continent, following orders to go where they’re needed most. The servicemen greatly appreciate their work on the front lines, and the novel’s sense of realism grabs hold as the women become trapped in a French town crawling with Nazis. War engulfs everyone in its path, as does the mental strain of constant danger, though Irene’s romance with a fighter pilot boosts her inner strength. WWII fiction fans, who have an abundance of options, should embrace Urrea’s vivid, hard-hitting novel about the valiant achievements of these unsung wartime heroines. (published in Booklist, April 1, 2023)