Review of Elmer & Virginia

[Harty Muli]

[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Elmer & Virginia" by John Odell.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Lately, the proliferation of phone dating apps has seen users connect easily with their potential mates. Swiping right in online dating has become the first step towards someone meeting their likely match regardless of social hierarchy. However, at a time when such electronic contrivances were unheard-of, a guy had to rely on raw talent to draw a girl’s attention. When the girl in question was rich, even so, such an endeavor was more daunting from the outset. This was because strictly observed social circles ensured such an opportunity never saw the time of day. John Odell’s memoir, Elmer & Virginia: A World War II Romance in Letters, takes the reader to a time when romance was old-fashioned, sweet, and innocent.

Odell’s parents, Elmer and Virginia, grew up in adjacent towns and met formally after their high school graduation in 1939. By this time, Virginia had a boyfriend, George Hall, whom she met in her junior year in high school. As Virginia (Ginny) was from a wealthy background, it’s safe to tell her meeting with Elmer was never in the cards. However, as Odell observed, his father, Elmer “Crazy Legs” Odell, was “a master practitioner” of a dance style known as Lindy (it’s really crazy, you gotta see it on YouTube to believe it!). Like a siren, therefore, Elmer captivated Ginny with his dance moves the moment she set her eyes upon him.

I liked the unique presentation the author (compiler) adopted for his book. It’s composed of a series of chronologically arranged love letters written by the author’s parents and spanning the years 1939 to 1945. As a result, the memoir is interspersed with a lot of historical information relating to WWII. I was surprised that two years after the war broke out, life among the civilian population in the U.S. was still normal. The war appeared foreign and of little consequence to them. This is reflected in a letter Elmer penned to Ginny dated November 27, 1941. In the letter, Elmer thought that the war had been “built” by John Bull. A little more than a week later, however, after Pearl Harbor was bombed, Elmer was to regret those very words in yet another letter he wrote to Ginny. After this incident, Elmer, just like other eligible young men, enlisted into the U.S. Army for service overseas.

In summary, Elmer’s decision to enlist created a conflict that had to be resolved. His future with Ginny was in jeopardy as he was not sure of leaving the war alive. On the other hand, what I disliked about the compilation was that sometimes the characters' point of view was drifting. This was due to the presence of events or characters that were unknown to me, e.g., neither does the letters nor the compiler explain what a Colgate weekend/night was. I guess this was expected because the compiler’s contribution to the storyline was minimal. For this reason, I didn’t have any editing errors to report, except one case of a wrong word used in a sentence (by the compiler). Despite the mentioned weakness, I didn’t penalize it because the story had a powerful resolution. I, thus, rated it 4 out of 4 stars.

Lastly, I recommend this book to anyone who wants a ride back into time. The reader will be surprised to discover true love amid inconceivable tragedies and joyous victories. At the same time, it may be less suited for readers who dislike strong language in their book.

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Elmer & Virginia
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[Tarie07]

I always find old fashioned romance to be quite fascinating. I bet I would love reading this book. Thank you for the great review.

[Nqobile Mashinini Tshabalala]

I can already tell that Elmer and Ginny didn't have it easy and were met with resistance. But I'll have to read the book to confirm my suspicions. Awesome review!

[Saint Bruno]

This sounds like an intriguing memoir to both entertain and educate the reader. Thanks a lot for the terrific review and recommendation.

[CLightWriter]

The mention of “Crazy Legs” Elmer grabbed my at. My parents met in part because my father was a great jitterbug dancer. The romance between two people from different backgrounds always makes for an interesting story and I look forward to reading this one.