Next to Love: Summary and book reviews of Next to Love by Ellen Feldman, plus links to an excerpt from Next to Love and a biography of Ellen Feldman.

Set in a small town in Massachusetts, Next to Love follows three childhood friends, Babe, Millie, and Grace, whose lives are unmoored when their men are called to duty. And yet the changes that are thrust upon them move them in directions they never dreamed possible - while their husbands and boyfriends are enduring their own transformations. In the decades that follow, the three friends lose their innocence, struggle to raise their children, and find meaning and love in unexpected places. And as they change, so does America - from a country in which people know their place in the social hierarchy to a world in which feminism, the Civil Rights movement, and technological innovations present new possibilities - and uncertainties. And yet Babe, Millie, and Grace remain bonded by their past, even as their children grow up and away and a new society rises from the ashes of the war. Beautifully crafted and unforgettable, Next to Love depicts the enduring power of love and friendship, and illuminates a transformational moment in American history. Published in hardcover in July 2011.

Some of the recent comments posted about Next to Love. Join the discussion! You can see the full discussion here.

All three women are relatively wealthy but do not spend excessively. What do you think this says about the beginning of the most prosperous period in America’s history and our own era?
I agree with ElizabeyhW. My parents were of that generation and nevertheless were always fearful that the depression would return. - pschulze

Any characters in the book you think were intentionally named according to their personalities in Next to Love?
Morris may, or may not have been intentionally named. In my opinion that name isn't a go-for-it hero's designation. Makes me think a rather wish-washy person. - Suzanne

Can you sympathize with King's heartbreak and loss despite his poor treatment of returning vets?
I agree. He was not a good man to start off. The interesting question is shuffle brief talk with Jack. - Peggy H

Considering the era, do you think Babe could have found better ways to cope with Claude’s problems?
Thank you, Suzanne, for the story about your brother. I cannot tell you how many e-mails I have had from readers telling about their fathers and uncles and grandfathers who came home from the war, seemingly all right on the outside, but who ended... - EllenFeldman

Do you think Grace and Millie really believed that they were protecting their children, or were they merely justifying their own predilections?
michellleh -- I found that interesting as well. Perhaps she felt it was necessary to get the reader's attention. Their responses certainly reflected their own feelings of grief and loss. And she also showed us the effect on the children -- which... - kathrynk

Do you think Grace, Mac and Morris would have behaved differently today?
I was rooting for Mac and Grace to find happiness but then what would have happened to Amy? Would it help ro know more about why Morris acts like he does? - Peggy H

Do you think the recent spate of books and movies about women’s friendship romanticize the relationship?
I do think that many novels romanticize the "bonds that women share". I think a lot of those types of friendships depend upon whether you choose to work and live in the community in which you where raised. Having moved many times during my... - malindan

Ellen Feldman answers questions about Next To Love
Malindin, I'm so glad you felt so close to Millie. I agree that she wasn't a bad mother at all. She just made some unfortunate choices, which, given the times, made sense. I saw her as a fierce survivor. She had known tragedy as a small child... - EllenFeldman

For nine years, Babe keeps a terrible secret. How much of a toll do you think it takes on her?
I was in shock over what had happened to Babe. A sad side to the history during WWII. I never realized how vulnerable women were. It seemed a time women were strong, gaining jobs never offered them before and earning a respectable living. The guilt... - dlpiano

Is Grace really so devoted to Charlie’s memory or is she afraid of a new relationship?
I think the answer to this question has been well-addressed by the previous comments. I just wanted to add Grace married Charlie at such a young age, during a time marriages were running rampant, as they always do right before troops ship out to... - lisag

Is Millie callous or a fierce survivor?
Millie was a survivor. All these women were pretty tough; they had to be. They dealt with the realities of life and got on with it how ever they had to. - bettyt

Our era considers openness as a cure, or at least a form of solace; but in the era of the book, silent suffering was seen as a virtue. Do you think the women would have had an easier time if they'd shared their problems?
Having just yesterday posted on my personal journey through deep, bipolar 2 depression, it's so obvious how different things are today. How isolating things would have been in the period of the novel. Sad, really. - lisag

Overall, what did you think of "Next To Love"?
I started out not liking the book too much but ended up ready to recommend it o friends. I particularly liked the way she placed the lives of the characters in the historical setting. Having a relative who faced similar demons after Kore as Claude... - Peggy H

Were you surprised at how hidebound America was a this time? Since then, have we changed as much as we think?
I was born in 1941 so much of this is the era I grew up in when women could be teachers, nu4ses, or secretaries. We lived close to Sioux city where B24pilots, including my uncle, trained. He flew out of Italy and another uncle was s medic in the... - pschulze

What do you think motivated Grace to create a wall of photographs of Charlie?
I have widowed friends who cannot part with things that belonged to their partner and they need something solid. This may have ben Grace's purpose. - Peggy H

What thoughts did the ending of NEXT TO LOVE invoke?
I think Claude and Babe epitomize what the world is like - brief moments of peace interspersed with periods of war. Claus 's "imagine" seems to voice a hope for the dream and for their future together. - pschulze

Media Reviews

Publishers Weekly Feldman's portrait of an era, and its women, is both well drawn and frustrating.   Booklist Starred Review. At turns brave, frustrating, and fragile, Feldman's characters live and love with breathtaking intensity, and her deft juggling of several zigzagging plots makes the pages flow past with the force of a slow but mighty river.   Library Journal Starred Review. A lustrous evocation of a stormy period in our past; highly recommended for lovers of World War II fiction. Kevin Baker, author of Dreamland Next to Love is a beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking story about love and war and what comes after. A breakthrough work by a writer who has already established herself as one of our best historical novelists. Stacy Schiff, author of Cleopatra: A Life A powerful, haunting, deeply ambitious novel about love and war, impeccably executed, impossible to put down. Robert Olen Butler, author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning A Good Scent from a Strange Mountain Next to Love is a remarkable novel driven by the powerful engine of most great literature: the yearning for a self. These three deeply, compassionately evoked women seek their own individual identities as the world and the people they love undergo profound change. But they have each other and they have their capacity to love, and Ellen Feldman brilliantly shows us how those things prevail.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by Gigi
a good read
Brought back memories of that time, ie. asking husband if wife wants a job, husband saying no wife of mine will ever work outside the home. However, I didn't like the technique of taking each character by date and using it as a chapter in the book.   Read More

Rated of 5 by Kat
Disappointed
I was so looking forward to receiving this book but it didn't deliver on it's promise. As Claude might have put it - it did not live up to it's potential. I felt I was reading book jacket description of any one of the character's lives. Each...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Denise B-K
“War…next to love, has most captured the world’s imagination”
Received this book as an advance copy from Random House “War…next to love, has most captured the world’s imagination” – Eric Partridge, 1914 (believe he is a famous lexicographer and author who served in the Australian Imperial Force during...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Molly
I'd like to read more by Feldman
Next to Love is well-written, which makes the potentially maudlin subjects presented here interesting and thought provoking.  With Feldman's clean, spare writing, the reader is allowed to think independently.  Her writing is varied and interesting,...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Dorothy T.
Not quite finished
The home front during World War II and into the 1950’s has always interested me, but with this novel I think Ellen Feldman takes on too much and doesn’t fulfill her ambitions. She wants the reader to become involved in the lives of the three...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Louise J
Great World War II Story
The book begins in 1944 and ends in 1964. It tells the tale of three best friends: Babe, Grace, and Millie and how they cope with their trials and tribulations and the husbands they love. It is a deeply moving story about war, friendships, and...   Read More

...36 More Reader Reviews

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