Items related to Be Safe I Love You
This widely acclaimed novel about a female soldier who returns from Iraq haunted by a tragic mistake is “beautifully written...suspenseful and smart and tender in unexpected moments” (Miami Herald) and was named one of the 5 Best in Modern War Fiction by The Sunday Telegraph.
Before she enlisted, classically-trained singer Lauren Clay had been accepted to a prestigious music conservatory, but her family’s financial demands—worsened by her parents’ divorce and her father’s declining mental health—pushed her in another direction. Joining the army allowed Lauren to provide for her family—especially her younger brother Danny, whose quirky, heartfelt letters to her overseas are signed, be safe, I love you.
When she arrives home unexpectedly, it’s clear to her friends and family that something is profoundly wrong with Lauren. But her father is so happy to have her home that he ignores her odd behavior, as well as the repeated phone calls from an army psychologist. Things seem better when Lauren offers to take Danny on a trip to visit their mother upstate, but instead, she guides them into the glacial woods of Canada on a quest to visit the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, the site of an oil field that has become her strange obsession. What happens there will change Sergeant Lauren Clay’s family forever, as she must finally face what she saw, and did, in Iraq.
Be Safe I Love You is “a rare, illuminating glimpse into the distinctive experience and psyche of a female vet” (Boston Globe); “a riveting suspense story and a frank portrayal of war’s psychic damage” (Ms. Magazine); and “a painful exploration of the devastation wrought by combat even when the person returns from war without a scratch...this book is a reminder that art and love are all that can keep us from despair” (The New York Times Book Review).
"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.
Review:
Hoffman's prose is near perfect: intense and imaginative, each sentence heavy with meaning without feeling overwritten. She balances the tightrope of not flinching away from violence, but also not lovingly describing it . . . you'll find Be Safe I Love You to be brave, intelligent and unflinching (The List)
It would be a mistake to understand Be Safe, I Love You only as a war novel. This is also a book about broken families and class and the impossible choices the working poor are too often forced to make . . . Deeply moving and gorgeously written - raw in some places, tender in others . . . We see how a woman's life is shaped by experiencing war as a soldier . . . It is refreshing and so necessary to see a writer exploring this shift in fiction, addressing the unique sacrifices women must sometimes make (Buzzfeed)
Be Safe I Love You is so much more than a thriller; it's a novel about family and sacrifice, loss and redemption. Hoffman proves that words are often the real tools of survival in this flawed but still often golden world (Miami Herald)
Beautifully written and heart-wrenching (Marie Clarie)
Through Lauren, Cara Hoffman's thoroughly researched and carefully crafted heroine, Be Safe I Love You illuminates the distaff side of military service and the ways that life in uniform are at once different and, at times, uncannily similar for men and women (Washington Post)
A tense and stunning novel . . . exactly what a war novel should be: a tale of refreshing honesty about the harm war does to us all (Helen Benedict Guardian)
A finely tuned piece of fiction . . . Be Safe I Love You is a painful exploration of the devastation wrought by combat even when the person returns from war without a scratch. The story - written with such lucid detail it's hard to believe the main character is an invention - suggests the damage starts long before the soldier reports for duty . . . In crystalline language that conveys both the desolation of the Iraqi desert and the north country of New York State . . . this book is a reminder that art and love are all that can keep us from despair (Alissa J. Rubin New York Times Book Review)
A finely crafted and intelligent piece of fiction whose characters feel immediately real (Daily Mail)
Unflinching . . . Hoffman's skill is to embed her sleek sentences with hard-hitting themes . . . a vivid depiction of life for a female warrior (Anita Sethi Observer)
Thoughtful, subtle and tense (Sunday Times)
Book Description:
It would be a mistake to understand Be Safe, I Love You only as a war novel. This is also a book about broken families and class and the impossible choices the working poor are too often forced to make . . . Deeply moving and gorgeously written - raw in some places, tender in others . . . We see how a woman's life is shaped by experiencing war as a soldier . . . It is refreshing and so necessary to see a writer exploring this shift in fiction, addressing the unique sacrifices women must sometimes make (Buzzfeed)
Be Safe I Love You is so much more than a thriller; it's a novel about family and sacrifice, loss and redemption. Hoffman proves that words are often the real tools of survival in this flawed but still often golden world (Miami Herald)
Beautifully written and heart-wrenching (Marie Clarie)
Through Lauren, Cara Hoffman's thoroughly researched and carefully crafted heroine, Be Safe I Love You illuminates the distaff side of military service and the ways that life in uniform are at once different and, at times, uncannily similar for men and women (Washington Post)
A tense and stunning novel . . . exactly what a war novel should be: a tale of refreshing honesty about the harm war does to us all (Helen Benedict Guardian)
A finely tuned piece of fiction . . . Be Safe I Love You is a painful exploration of the devastation wrought by combat even when the person returns from war without a scratch. The story - written with such lucid detail it's hard to believe the main character is an invention - suggests the damage starts long before the soldier reports for duty . . . In crystalline language that conveys both the desolation of the Iraqi desert and the north country of New York State . . . this book is a reminder that art and love are all that can keep us from despair (Alissa J. Rubin New York Times Book Review)
A finely crafted and intelligent piece of fiction whose characters feel immediately real (Daily Mail)
Unflinching . . . Hoffman's skill is to embed her sleek sentences with hard-hitting themes . . . a vivid depiction of life for a female warrior (Anita Sethi Observer)
Thoughtful, subtle and tense (Sunday Times)
A novel about the casualties of war - on the front lines, and at home
"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.
- PublisherBrilliance Audio
- Publication date2014
- ISBN 10 1480586412
- ISBN 13 9781480586413
- BindingMP3 CD
- Rating
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