Rating: 
Summary: Historically interesting, but otherwise unbelievable
Review: Historically, I found this book to be very interesting and educational. I had no idea about the imprisonment of women during the Civil War. Totally Fascinating! But as far as the rest of the story goes, none of it is believable. I want to say that things worked out too well for the main character, but obviously she was imprisoned and had other hardships so 'well' probably isn't the correct word. I guess I just don't believe that someone can experience that number of coincidences and lucky turns. When one day she found her stollen horse after all the traveling and time that had past I almost put the book down. Probably the most unbelievable part of the book was the romance. Even factoring in that wartime is different that other times does not make that storyline any more believable. As stated earlier, I really liked the historical lesson I received reading this book. The rest of it is was just OK.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging....
Review: I thought this was a wonderful book...I couldn't put it down, and stayed up late many a night wanting to finish. The story was wonderful, the characters believable, and the descriptions made me fell as if I were there.I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to read about a strong central heroine.
Rating:
Summary: A History Lesson mixed with Fiction.
Review: Others here have told the crux of the story before me. I will only add that for a first novel, Paulette Jiles has done herself proud. She has told about the Civil War from the perspective of people living in SE Missouri, and she has woven in a fictitious soldier and young girl from the area to carry the story line. Jiles' style of writing is fascinating & while not unique, it certainly is not common either. She has a delightful, whimsical way of expressing herself, especially through the voice of the girl, Adair Colley. I am glad I bought the book and I will recommend it & loan out my book many times, I am sure.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Fine Journey, Indeed
Review: Jiles writes sparely and beautifully about an ugly time. You are in the hands of a master-poet with a diabolically keen wit and clear eye. You will be enthralled by this classic tale about a little-explored aspect of the Civil War. Her sensibilities shine through without a hint of pretense. Her heroine is a spirit for the ages.
Rating:
Summary: gritty, resolute heroine emerges in naturalistic war epic
Review: Adair Colley, the resourceful and resolute focus of Paulette Giles' engrossing "Enemy Women," faces evey horror guerilla warfare unceasingly hurls at her as she attempts to impossible task of trying to control her own destiny. Set in the chaotic, brutal and traumatic final months of the Civil War in ravaged southeast Missouri, the novel brilliantly portrays both the undaunting courage of a solitary heroic protagonist and the ghastly indifference of war and nature to the human folly of control and order. "Enemy Women" is at once a harrowing account of the consequences of fraternal warfare and an inspiring epic of a woman's quest for life. It is a deeply satisfying and compassionate portrait of the possibilities of love. The author has compressed the enormity of social cataclysm into a narrative of loss, exile and reclamation. Adair Colley, as a headstrong, visionary eighteen-year old, resonates to the "smoke of her internal fire...every breath was a letter to the world." No sooner does her beloved father present her with a stunning horse, whose symbolic presence and absence permeate the novel, than she is forced to witness her father's degradation at the hands of a lawless, renegade band of quasi-legal federal soldiers. War making is far from glorified in "Enemy Women," although Jiles does permit Adair's brother, John Lee, to articulate warfare's lure to men. The "great, silent driving forces" which inspire John Lee provoke vicious, atavistic violence in others. Aswirl in this rip tide of detruction, Adair loses control of her life, fails to protect her sisters from depradation and finds herself in jail, the result of false denunciation. Wrongfully imprisoned, she discovers love in the person of her interrogator. Deeply conflicted himself, Major William Neumann discovers authentic feelings for Adair. This discovery compels him to undertake his own existential journey, one which will lead him through both philosophical and physical challenges. He pays dearly for his understandings. Written in spare, poetic and tough language, "Enemy Women" is above all a work about costs. Once Adair and William shed their naively antiquated notions of human beneficence, once they strip away their previously held and now preposterous notions that humans can control destiny, they discover the enormous toll the world takes on good people. Civilization is little more than a "thin tissue...a willed invention," little thicker than the "fabric on a sail." Jiles' naturalistic descriptive skills highlight this dark interpretation of life. Yet, Adair and William, squeezed by physical want, disease and human depravity, emerge with newly burnished selves, inspired and inspiring. Paulette Jiles goes to great pains to establish authenticity, beginning each chapter with first-hand Civil War documentation. Judicious editing would have served her well, as the evidence becomes repetitious and excessively lengthy. This minor flaw, however, does nothing to diminish this brilliant novel. "Enemy Women" is an incredible debut novel provocative, moving and compelling, it introduces a marvelous protagonist who is everything but an enemy.
Rating: 
Summary: Haunting novel
Review: This was a haunting novel that opened my eyes to the atrocities committed in SE Missouri during the war, and war in general.
It wasn't always a page-turner; there were chapters that had a dream-like feel; there were also scenes that touched me deeply. Adair was a very positive, strong heroine. I am thankful to the author for assisting me in learning more about this great country of ours! If this were another place on Earth, we could well still be fighting the Civil War. Think of Somalia or Bosnia, and ask yourself why the next generation of Southerners did not continue to take up arms. It's not because the Civil War was a humane war!
Rating:
Summary: A Fabulously Poetic Read PLUS Scrupulous Historical Research
Review: What a book! Loved it. It's rare you get this lyrical kind of writing, juicy plotting, & great characterization alongside carefully researched historical depth. Wow. I have such a rich new understanding of what it was like to live in the schizophrenic state of Missouri during the Civil War. And we think we have it tough now????
Rating: 
Summary: Enemy Women
Review: I just want to add a ditto to the report written by Norma S. Grove from Tucson, AZ United States. However, I felt even less enchantment with this book than she. I felt the redeeming quality was that it heightened one's awareness of the horrors in SE MO. during the Civil War and the boneheaded ignorance of some of those folks that really didn't have any idea what the country was going through OR why. I grew up in Saline County, MO. and knew that the state had been badly divided during that war time, but not how poorly the Ozark areas had fared. By the way we only pronounced it Missour"ee" (as spelled) in all my years - none of this "uh" on the end business that seems to have become "popular" with some. Do they say Mississipp"uh" now too?. I was given this book to read by a fellow High School graduate and had to force myself finsh it with a lot of hurried "skimming". During the reading I felt depressed and mired in the horrors of man's inhumanity to man plus a little resentful over so much of the story that just did not ring true to any logical reasoning. I neither enjoyed the book, nor did I care for the writing style. I wonder a bit if the rave reviews are not a case of "The Emporer's New Clothes"...am I the only English minor-college educated, thinking individual with this negative opinion? If so, sorry, but I still stand by my poor rating. I'm from Missouri and you still have to "show me" if something is really good - and believable!
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Summary: Historical Women's Civil War
Review: When I started to read this novel, I had no idea the impact that women had in the civil war. The entire concept was void for me! I was astonished to learn that for many of the southern women their very lives were threatened with imprisonment and indeed suffered the incredible horrors of incarceration. Unless they confessed to the aiding and abetting of the enemy, they were incarcerated, often to the end of their lives. Imagine the confessions of mothers, wives and sisters to their loved ones....."I did not give food, shelter, monetary or emotional support."............meanwhile, their livestock were being slaughtered, crops harvested for 400 horses, their very homes ransacked and property burned. However , this is not the entire story of this novel. It is a gritty, tough betrayal of a young woman trying to pull her family back together in the most trying of times in the history of the United States. Stern lines were drawn politically, militarily, and personally. It was not an easy time to negotiate. Adair is no common woman. Strong, an intense horse woman she rises above some extreme obstacles to live for tomorrow, This is an incredibly interestingly important novel . I enjoyed it immensely and find it to be one of the most important women's historical novels written. These were severe transgressions. They were used by the union military to initimidate confederate relatives and sympathizers. This novel brings to life those years that tore the country apart.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! Highly recommended
Review: I won't say this book is without flaws, but it is excellent and beautifully written. Whereas "Cold Mountain" was plodding in several areas, this book never lost my attention or interest. Adair is a wonderful character that represents so much about the Missouri people and the Civil War overall. I hope more readers will pick up this book and truly enjoy it.
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