The Meaning of Names

The Meaning of Names by Karen Gettert Shoemaker
Fiction
2014 Red Hen Press
Finished on May 4, 2017
Rating: 4/5 (Very Good)

Publisher's Blurb:

Stuart, Nebraska is a long way from the battlefields of Western Europe, but it is not immune to the horrors of the first Great War for Peace. Like all communities, it has lost sons and daughters to the fighting, with many more giving themselves over to the hatred only war can engender.

Set in 1918 in the farm country at the heart of America, The Meaning of Names is the story of an ordinary woman trying to raise a family during extraordinary times. Estranged from her parents because she married against their will, confronted with violence and prejudice against her people, and caught up in the midst of the worst plague the world has ever seen, Gerda Vogel, an American of German descent, must find the strength to keep her family safe from the effects of a war that threatens to consume the whole world.

I thoroughly enjoyed this historical novel and am only sorry I didn't read it sooner. I missed an opportunity to hear Shoemaker speak at our Barnes & Noble, although I did get a chance to talk with her on a few occasions, as she was a regular visitor to our store. I usually lean more toward books about World War II, but this novel about the First World War is a compelling read and Shoemaker is a skilled writer and one to watch. The Meaning of Names would be an excellent choice for a book club.

About the Author:

Karen Gettert Shoemaker is the author of the novel The Meaning of Names and the collection Night Sounds and Other Stories. Her novel was selected for the community-wide reading programs One Book One Nebraska, 2016, and Omaha Public Library’s “Omaha Reads” 2014. Her short story collection received a Nebraska Center for the Book Award in 2003. She is a faculty mentor at UNO’s MFA in Writing Program and founder of Larksong Writers' Place Workshops.