In the middle of World War II, Irene Woodward escapes an abusive fiancé to join a little-known organization: the American Red Cross Clubmobile Service. She and other women travel just behind the battle lines to deliver hot coffee and fresh doughnuts to soldiers and airmen. It might sound a bit frivolous but Irene’s experience (and historical evidence) shows that the women of the ARC clubmobiles genuinely improved morale wherever they went. In Good Night, Irene, Luis Alberto Urrea shares Irene’s story as she escapes New York, travels to England, then accompanies troops from the Normandy landings, the Battle of the Bulge, and the fight across Germany in the last months of the war.
We never really learn why Irene chooses the ARC Clubmobile Service, instead of one of the other American women’s auxiliary services or becomes a nurse. Perhaps it’s because the training is minimal (she just has to learn to use the doughnut machine and drive the massive clubmobiles) and she can quickly make her escape across the Atlantic. Thankfully, Irene lands on her feet. She finds unexpected reserves of pluck and endurance. She also finds friends who really see her. Sure they tease her for her silver-spoon background and bicker after long hours serving in the close quarters of the clubmobile, but they never tell her to be a proper lady and uphold the family name.
Urrea took inspiration from his mother’s experiences working in the ARC clubmobiles during World War II, which I suspect explains the highlights reel vibe of Good Night, Irene. This book gallops through the last eighteen months of World War II. No grass grows under Irene’s feet as she and her fellow ARC servicewomen are posted, first, to England, and then continental Europe after D-Day. There are even cameo appearances by General George S. Patton.
Even though the plot races, Urrea has a gift for capturing the panic and chaos that women like Irene might have felt when they found themselves on the front line instead of just behind it. Urrea also builds a strong theme of the hectic romance that can develop when any day could be one’s last. Intense attraction fights with the fear that lover might never see each other again. It’s hard not to read the goodbyes in this book without fretting for the characters. The emotional weight of battle and love anchor the fast-paced plot.
I think what I appreciate most about Good Night, Irene—apart from the excellent scene-setting—is its honesty. Irene and her cohorts make mistakes. Characters die and are mourned. Irene has to learn how to cope with what we would now call post-traumatic stress disorder. But among all the harrowing and intense scenes, there is banter and light as the characters cram as much life into the time between battles as they can. There are also endless gallons of coffee and innumerable doughnuts to lift the spirits in dark places like Bastogne and England’s air bases. This book played on my emotions like a fiddle.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley, for review consideration.