Oh, That I Had Wings Book

I received the book through Goodreads, which was exciting in itself, and I also received a note from Pawley, which was very kind! Although I received it early in the year, I was bogged down by my graduate work to be able to read anything for fun, so finally getting to enjoy this was a real pleasure. The plotline tracking Jack through his childhood to his marriage reminded me a lot of a male version of Jane Eyre, and I liked Pawley's way of showing his emerging character. However, that said, I felt that in many ways the book was too predictable. Although I liked Alice's character (quite a bit actually, though perhaps her unfailing strength was a tad unlikely), I was a little unimpressed by the ease of their relationship. Even though I like the idea that Jack dreams of his future wife before marrying her, I felt like it was too easy and very unlikely in real life (although I understand that fiction is NOT real life). I was very disappointed in the implausible reunification of Jack and his red-headed love when he returns from the war, and I had to fight against my urge to not finish the book. I felt like the arc of the story ended there, even though there were several chapters that followed with other small conflicts. I found myself wishing that Jack had not found her again.
In terms of the other minor characters, I thought Henry was the most fleshed out. I felt like even in the small scenes we had of him, we were able to infer such a depth in his character that we don't have in many of the others. I also liked the Esme plot, and I felt that the scenes in which Jack was in the war and in Paris were the most riveting. As another reviewer mentioned, I too was distracted by the grammatical and syntactical errors in my copy of the book, but it is possible that the version I received through Goodreads was an earlier version of the novel.
Overall, I think Pawley did a great job on the plot. Her delving into the mind of Jack Langdon was a feat that she pulled off well. I found myself rooting for him even if I didn't want to at times, and ultimately, his happiness made me thrilled, which, as far as literary absorption goes, is in my opinion, a huge success. Though I haven't read any of her other works, I have no doubt that they are filled with as much heart as Jack Langdon is, and as much faith in humanity as this book proved to have.