Rating: 
Summary: I didn't even finish it!
Review: I really didn't like this book. I read the first 100 pages, and stopped. I found it very hard to understand what was going on a certain points (and I am an avid reader), however, that may have been due to the fact that I had a hard time concentrating! It was a very boring, dry read, and my mind did keep wandering on to other things...
The story was told in a strange sort of way...I can't quite describe what it was with the book, but I had to stop reading.
I guess my recommendation would be that if you are looking for a fast paced, exciting book, with character development, this is not it.
Rating: 
Summary: Captivating Story...
Review: This book had me hooked by the first few lines and did not disappoint me at all. Though, I have to agree with another reader that the lack of quotation marks did make reading it a little less enjoyable. I hope the author uses them if she is to write another book. The other problem I had was that I did not know if I liked Adair. I found myself sometimes pulling for her and other times hoping she would get caught. I really did like the letters that preceeded each chapter. Nice touch Ms. Jiles!
Rating: 
Summary: Incredible!
Review: An incredible read! The subject of this novel was an interest of mine, but even if it wasn't I would still recommend this book to anyone. What a tough, amazing, quick witted young lady to make it through such tough circumstances. A very strong book and very entertaining. Could not put it down. Great!!!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Enemy Women
Review: This is a very worthwhile work of historical fiction.Inevitably comparable to Cold Mountain because of its civilian focus and mountain setting, Enemy Women is, I believe, a better book. Research is nearly impeccable, and the documentary quotes at the chapter headings are generally well chosen and placed, though the heavy quotation of Fellman's study (a secondary source, obviously) is a little ingenuous. Nothing in the book seemed unbelievable or incorrect to me. Jiles' use of language is clear and literary, though the opening of the book is a little distanced. I saw no good reason to eschew quotation marks for dialogue, which was occasionally confusing. Other than that I was impressed. Descriptions of horses and landscape are particularly gorgeous here. Adair Colley, the main character, is a true survivor: selfish and self-centered, with no apparent loyalty to either side, or in fact to anything other than first herself, then her horse, and last her family. Despite not being the most attractive person in the world, she's reasonably fun to read about. Strong female historical fiction characters who are believable products of their time aren't exactly in huge supply, after all. I'm going to be honest here and admit I prefer my Civil War books to be about soldiers and battles, which this isn't. (Why is it so hard to find the literary language use coupled with the active plot? Howard Bahr, write another novel, already.) The romantic subplot here isn't quite my thing, but it's believable, without melodrama. Again -- like Cold Mountain, without the jerk-the-rug-out ending. And I love the horses. I certainly recommend this.
Rating:
Summary: Understanding the nature of my Ozarks home
Review: Enemy Women highlights a part of the country and the Civil War's effects on the region and its people. Her novel's treatment of the Missouri Ozarks and the mostly Appalachian settlers who lived there in the early part of the 19th century illuminated the closed-in, suspicious nature of a place and the people who settled there. Most Civil War history tends to give the Missouri region short shrift, because there were few major battles fought on the western front. But what writers like Shelby Foote tended to overlook was the war's impact on the civilian population of the Ozarks. The southern Missouri counties had few slaves, and most of the white people living in this rugged country just managed to get by economically. Civilization as the eastern states classified was just beginning to arrive in southern Missouri when the war brought outsiders to take property, livestock, and men off their farms. Enemy Women begins with an event that is often repeated in war - a Union militia arrives to remove one of the few links to legal and economic civilization in the heroine's home area. Her father, the judge and school teacher, a lawyer, is taken from their home one night. The son disappears into the woods, and eventually joins up with a CSA unit. The three daughters head north, seeking to find their father. The oldest daughter, Adair, is not one to mince words. Her independent nature is evident from the start as she argues with her brother about who gets to ride the family's newest horse. Adair is stubborn, pragmatic, and tends to learn the hard way that human nature is basically savage. This novel expresses how thin the veil of civilization is, with men who were once neighbors torture each other to death, burn homes, steal, and generally destroy a society in an effort to control the path of the war. The novel begins with a lyrical passage about Adair Colley and her new horse, then quickly descends into the banal horror of a long foot journey where Adair is gradually desensitized to the point where separating from her younger sisters seems as banal as losing a pair of shoes. Her survival skill seems to be to save her grief for a more convenient time. The writer changes the style from a dialogue format with quotations and paragraphs to express what is happening to a narrative style that reminded me of old letters from that era. The chapter headings are also styled like novels from the late 19th- and early 20th century, with lengthy chapter headings quoted from historical documents that forecast what will happen in the next chapter. I found it to be easy to follow. I grew up in these hills, and I know there were still places where we were uneasy because the people were so distrusting of strangers that they might actually shoot at you. That was in the 1970's, and after reading this novel, I have a better understanding of why some people in the place I call home are so xenophobic. For almost 200 years, the coming of a stranger has always been bad news. And the Ozark hills allow a person to have so little, that getting anything taken away is pretty much losing it all. There are some weaknesses in the novel, for example, the sisters and their brother never reunite although the narrative indicates that they all survive. Adair's love is carefully directed towards the horse, perhaps as a way to husband her strength. The love story does not ring true, because of so many references to Adair's ambivalence about marriage and a domestic life. Parts of the story read more like a screen play treatment designed to guarantee a sequel. I can almost see the divorce in the next book. But, I'm a sucker for the historical novel, especially one set in a part of the country that I know and love so much. I finished the book in one sitting, and I closed the book hoping Adair got her horse farm someday.
Rating:
Summary: civil war women
Review: Jiles combines a poetic sensibility with an unsentimental telling of lives caught up in the Civil War. It brought home the destruction and disruption of ordinary lives in this conflict amidst a daily uncertainty that is difficult for modern Americans to understand. Of particular interest is the setting she creates of the imprisonment of the novel's protagonist (Adair Colley) in a women's prison in St. Louis. I am not a fan of Civil War literature. However, Jiles creates a riveting authentic-feeling setting, wonderful dialogue, a heroine you care about, a thread of romance and weaves them into a well-paced narrative that is difficult to put down. A sequel would be greatly appreciated.
Rating:
Summary: Women and War
Review: Adair Colley is a young woman whose life is forever changed by the events of the War between the States. Adair lives with her widowed father, one brother and two sisters on a farm in southeastern Missouri. Mr. Colley is a schoolmaster and justice of the peace, who has remained neutral in the conflict. In the third of year of the war, November 1864 Adair was eighteen when the Union Militia appear on the farm and brutally beat her father with a wagon spoke before arresting him. They made an attempt to burn the house down, but the heavy rain saved the house from being completely burned. The Militia also shot the dogs and took as many chickens, geese, and pigs as they could catch. They rode off with her father in a wagon with his hands tied behind his back. John Lee, Adair's brother, had a withered arm, and had fled to the hills earlier. Adair and her two younger sisters set out on foot into the mountains. Along the way they walked with other refugees as if they were white trash. Adair was denounced by some of refugees to the Yankees for enemy collaboration. She was forced to leave her sisters and is sent to a women's prison in St. Louis. The living conditions are horrible, but she endures. The women dislike her and try to make her life unbearable.
Major William Neumann is the commanding officer at the prison. He is embarrassed to be interrogating women and has requested a transfer to a fighting unit. Major Neumann interrogates Adair. He asks her to give him some information so she can be released, but Adair gives him a story written about her life. Major Neumann falls in love with Adair. It's her beautiful spirit that touches his heart. When he receives his reassignment he proposes to Adair. Despite the situation Adair is in love with him also. He asks Adair to escape and promises to find her after the war. He presses twenty-five dollars gold pieces in her hand to use to purchase her freedom. Adair escapes from the prison and travels alone on foot. She heads south through enemy territory to find what might be left of her home and family. She faces many trials and tribulations along the way, but it was her determination and spirit that helped her to survive. Major Neumann is sent to the front lines in Alabama to fight in the war. When the war is over, Neumann sets out to find Adair. He keeps his memory of her close to his heart. Jiles based her story on a little-known chapter of Civil War History, about the incarceration of women. Her strong characterizations and descriptive scenes give life to this novel. Beginning with the prologue, Jiles keeps you glued to your seat. Each chapter is prefaced with actual personal letters and facts of events that happened during this period. The storyline flows easily. I enjoyed reading this novel based on the Civil War. I loved the main character Adair Colley. Adair's journeys made me laugh and cry. Enemy Women is the first novel that I've read about the Civil War. This is one novel that will be long remembered. Reviewed by Dorothy Cooperwood
Rating:
Summary: Good despite the Coincidences
Review: I enjoyed this novel although not unreservedly. Jiles maybe tries a little too hard to fill it with historical information - a long prologue and opening parts to chapters that give historical information. It's interesting, this stuff, but I don't necessarily think it serves the novel that well. Also, there are a few too many coincidences that move the protagonist's story forward. I know that chance events can add surprise and heighten a story, but here some of them just seem to be easy ways to get the story going where she wants it. Another historical novel out just now, "Walk Through Darkness", has a secret built into it that sort of seems like a coincidence, but actually it's not. It's there from page one and the whole story springs from it - it's just that it takes the reader a while to figure out. Ms. Jiles situation is a bit different. But, I tend to find it easier to complain than to praise. I am giving this book four stars because I found it enjoyable despite these small problems. I generally agree with the praise others are throwing her way. It's an amazing moment in our national history and the author brings it to life well.
Rating:
Summary: YOU MUST READ THIS BOOK!
Review: I wasn't going to read this novel. I'm not big on the Civil War or history or stories that take place pre-1900, but Anna Quindlen and Kaye Gibbons raved about it so I thought I'd give it a try. Thank Heavens I did. I could not get enough of this novel. Paulette Jiles pulls you right into Missouri and takes you through an exciting journey with Adair Colley. Jiles' writing is so crisp that you can feel the wind and the sunlight she writes about, you can hear the horses galloping in the woods, you will fall in love with the Missouri wilderness (and will Col. Neumann, too!) But this is more than I love story. The history of the Civil War is absolute throughout. I cannot imagine a single soul that would not find this novel to be worth the read.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting premise but very unsatisfying read
Review: I must have read a different book than the other reviewers. While the book is filled with interesting facts (perhaps too many), I was disappointed by the lack of plot and character development. I found the storyline to be very disjointed. There are scores of superfluous minor characters who show up briefly and then disappear. And, when minor characters do reappear (like her sisters via correspondence), I just didn't care. It was as if the author were trying to cram too many vignettes and too many characters into this first novel. More often than not, I wondered why the characters were there at all. Even the main characters were relatively unsympathetic. The book didn't come together for me at all. I found it a very unsatisfying read.
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