Good Night, Irene

(Hardback)

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This "powerful, uplifting, and deeply personal novel" (Kristin Hannah, #1 NYT bestselling author of The Four Winds), at once "a heart-wrenching wartime drama" (Christina Baker Kline, #1 NYT bestselling author of Orphan Train) and "a moving and graceful tribute to heroic women" (Publishers Weekly, starred review), asks the question: What if a friendship forged on the front lines of war defines a life forever

"Urrea's touch is sure, his exuberance carries you through . . . He is a generous writer, not just in his approach to his craft but in the broader sense of what he feels necessary to capture about life itself." -Financial Times

In 1943, Irene Woodward abandons an abusive fiance in New York to enlist with the Red Cross and head to Europe. She makes fast friends in training with Dorothy Dunford, a towering Midwesterner with a ferocious wit. Together they are part of an elite group of women, nicknamed Donut Dollies, who command military vehicles called Clubmobiles at the front line, providing camaraderie and a taste of home that may be the only solace before troops head into battle.

After D-Day, these two intrepid friends join the Allied soldiers streaming into France. Their time in Europe will see them embroiled in danger, from the Battle of the Bulge to the liberation of Buchenwald. Through her friendship with Dorothy, and a love affair with a courageous American fighter pilot named Hans, Irene learns to trust again. Her most fervent hope, which becomes more precarious by the day, is for all three of them to survive the war intact.

Taking as inspiration his mother's own Red Cross service, Luis Alberto Urrea has delivered an overlooked story of women's heroism in World War II. With its affecting and uplifting portrait of friendship and valor in harrowing circumstances, Good Night, Irene powerfully demonstrates yet again that Urrea's "gifts as a storyteller are prodigious" (NPR).

Reviews

"A magnetic read . . .Urrea has crafted a masterful work of fiction drawn from his mother's firsthand experience in the war. A love affair, friendship, and intense war scenes make this read impossible to put down. It serves as a reminder why we need to read historical fiction."

--Kathy Detwiler, Buttonwood Books, Cohasset, MA

"Beautiful, flowing language illustrates the bonds between women serving in a little-known capacity in the European theater of WWII . . . As rewarding as historical fiction gets."

--Jamie Fiocco, Flyleaf Books, Chapel Hill, NC

"Great read with Urrea's signature ear for unique, fast-paced dialogue. This lost slice of history in the well-worn tracks of WWII novels is fascinating!"

--Nancy Shawn, Island Books, Mercer Island, WA

"I cried at the end of this incredible novel, it is so good. And tells a story of stalwart, brave, ballsy women . . . Good Night, Irene is a spectacular novel of immense literary merit. I loved it."

--Annie Philbrick, Bank Square Books, Mystic, CT

"I loved discovering a new area of WWII history . . . Good Night, Irene tells the story of two women facing the war and their fears, developing friendships in brutal conditions, discovering love in the midst of war, and seeing firsthand the horrors that mankind can create."

--Elizabeth Barnhill, Fabled Bookshop, Waco, TX

"Just when you think you have read all of the stories to come out of WWII, the brilliant Luis Alberto Urrea astounds you with this breathtaking and personal novel . . . Good Night, Irene captures every nuance of these heroic women and their battle-tested friendships in a sweeping novel full of heart and grace."

--Luisa Smith, Book Passage, Corte Madera, CA

"Thank you, Luis Alberto Urrea, for introducing me to another group of amazingly brave and overlooked women of WWII . . . A truly remarkable novel that I will recommend to anyone."

--Debbie White, Well-Read Moose, Coeur d'Alene, ID

"This powerful novel will be with me forever . . .Urrea brilliantly explores the psychologically damaging effects of war even while he conveys how the days of two Red Cross volunteers become ordinary."

--Sarah Bagby, Watermark Books, Wichita, KS

"Urrea never disappoints. This WWII historical novel is based on Urrea's mother and her work with the American Red Cross during the war. His writing is beautiful and you will fall in love with Irene--her grit, determination, and strength."

--Annette Avery, Bright Side Bookshop, Flagstaff, AZ

"Urrea presents the story of a deep friendship in the midst of a war-torn Western Europe, images of combat that strangle the heart, and a love for life that warms it. Good Night, Irene is a wonder!"

--Wendy Labinger, Prairie Lights Books, Iowa City, IA
"Urrea bends a fertile bough from his own family tree in Good Night Irene, a sweeping novel loosely based on his mother's experiences as a plucky, rebellious Red Cross volunteer with the so-called Donut Dollies on the battlefields of WWII, and the love stories -- both romantic and platonic -- that followed her home."
--Entertainment Weekly
"With cinematic verisimilitude and deep emotional understanding, Urrea opens readers' eyes to the female Red Cross volunteers who served overseas during WWII, delivering donuts, coffee, and homestyle friendliness to U.S. troops . . . 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."--Booklist
"Good Night, Irene is a marvel of storytelling, wrenching at times, breathlessly entertaining at others, a testament both to Urrea's sublime talent and to his mother's incredible life, which inspired this extraordinary novel."--Jess Walter, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Beautiful Ruins
Praise for The House of Broken Angels

"A moving and graceful tribute to friendship and to heroic women who have shouldered the burdens of war."

--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Good Night, Irene is a beautiful, heartfelt novel that celebrates the intense power and durability of female friendship while shining a light on one of the fascinating lost women's stories of World War II. Inspired by his own family history--and his mother's heroism as a Red Cross volunteer during the war--Luis Urrea has created an indelible portrait of women's courage under extreme adversity. Powerful, uplifting, and deeply personal, Good Night, Irene is a story of survival, camaraderie, and courage on the front line."--Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds
"Epic . . . Rambunctious . . . Highly entertaining . . . Sorrowful and funny . . . Cheerfully profane . . . The quips and jokes come fast through a poignant novel that is very much about time itself . . . A powerful rendering of a Mexican-American family that is also an American family."--Viet Thanh Nguyen, New York Times Book Review
"Good Night, Irene isn't just a marvelous novel, though it is indeed marvelous. It's a marvelous novel that returns the brave Donut Dollies and the WWII Clubmobile Corps to their rightful place in history. With grace and compassion, Luis Alberto Urrea makes their story soar again."
--Ann Hood, New York Times bestselling author of The Knitting Circle
"A heart-wrenching wartime drama, a rich portrait of friendship, and an exploration of the trials and triumphs of the human spirit, Good Night, Irene is historical fiction at its finest. Using the little-known true story of women who worked behind the front lines for the Red Cross during World War II, Luis Alberto Urrea weaves a novel about the enduring bonds, devastating losses, and heroism of ordinary people who put their lives on the line for freedom. This is a story that needed to be told and remembered."
--Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Orphan Train and The Exiles
"Every once in a while the universe opens its heart and pulls out a book like this novel, gifting it to the cosmos. In Good Night, Irene, a new element has been created, and the literary world is reborn in the image of Luis Alberto Urrea. His voice comes alive on every page of this magnificent novel."--Jamie Ford, New York Times bestselling author of The Many Daughters of Afong Moy and Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet
"A raucous, moving, and necessary book...Intimate and touching...The stuff of legend...There's deep heart and tenderness in this novel.The House of Broken Angels is, at its most political, a border story...Chillingly accurate, they're heartbreaking, and infuriating."--Alexis Burling, San Francisco Chronicle
"An immensely charming and moving tale...Urrea deftly inhabits many points of view, dreaming up an internal voice for each...It is a testament to his swift and lucid characterizations that one does not want to leave this party...A novel like The House of Broken Angels is a radical act. It is a big, epic story about how hard it is to love with all of your heart, and all of your family--regardless of which side of the border they live on."--John Freeman, Boston Globe
"The House of Broken Angels is a big, sprawling, messy, sexy, raucous house party of a book, a pan-generational family saga with an enormous, bounding heart, a poetic delivery, and plenty of swagger...More than once while reading the novel, I thought of James Joyce's 'The Dead, ' another kaleidoscopic fable of family life that skillfully mixes perspectives...The House of Broken Angels is a book about celebration that is, itself, a celebration."--Michael Lindgren, Washington Post
"Urrea's gifts as a storyteller are prodigious...The book's spirit is irrepressibly high. Even in its saddest moments, The House of Broken Angels hums with joy...The noveloverflows with the pleasure of family...And all that vulnerability, combined with humor and celebration and Urrea's vivid prose, will crack you open."--Lily Meyer, NPR

Author Bio

A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for his landmark work of nonfiction The Devil's Highway, now in its 30th paperback printing, Luis Alberto Urrea is the author of numerous other works of nonfiction, poetry, and fiction, including the national bestsellers The Hummingbird's Daughter and The House of Broken Angels, a National Book Critics Circle Award finalist. A recipient of an American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, among many other honours, he lives outside Chicago and teaches at the University of Illinois Chicago.