Until We Meet
A Glen Miller playlist will put readers “In the Mood” for Until We Meet by Camille Di Maio. This World War II epistolary novel begins in September 1943 with three best friends doing their bit at the Brooklyn Naval Yard. Filling roles of the men gone to war are Dottie, Margaret, and Gladys, who learn to knit socks while listening to tunes on the radio. Meanwhile, three airmen in the Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne are bunking at the Browns’ farmhouse near Aldbourne, England. When William hasn’t received any letters from family, Margaret’s brother, John, pleads with her to write to him. At this turning point in the novel, Margaret decides to write a note and slips it into a pair of socks for William. The plot now moves through the letters of Margaret and William.
Di Maio creates great anticipation as bonds are formed through letters that take weeks to cross the ocean. Through the girls’ Naval Yard experiences and encouragement from Gladys to become involved in women’s causes, Di Maio captures the burgeoning interests of women in politics and business. As readers follow the three airmen from training in the U.S. to England, themes of loyalty and family expectations are aptly explored as Virginian Tom Powel, only son in a military family, reminisces about his upbringing and decision to become an airman. The movements of the Screaming Eagles are reported through letters, including details of the Battle of Normandy, with foreshadowing of lives lost and the Eiffel Tower’s symbolism as a monument of human endurance. Di Maio’s forthright handling of grief, facing it and moving on, is empathetic and realistic. The touching analogy of “joy and sorrow like seats on a playground teeter-totter” is also perfect for Until We Meet.
