The lives of these three women are braided together, their stories gathering tremendous power as the ties that bind them become clear, and the body of the unknown soldier moves closer and closer to its final resting place. But when he utters the name of her son, Ada is jolted to the core. Then one day a young man appears at her door, seemingly with notions to peddle, like hundreds of out-of-work veterans.

Helpless, her loving husband has withdrawn from her. Ada is beset by visions of her son on every street, convinced he is still alive.

Embittered by her own loss, she looks for solace in her adored brother, who has not been the same since he returned from the front. Evelyn works at the Pensions Exchange, through which thousands of men have claimed benefits from wounds or debilitating distress. But there is something distracted about him, something she cannot reach. One night Hettie meets a wealthy, educated man and finds herself smitten with him. Many are still haunted by the war: Hettie, a dance instructress, lives at home with her mother and her brother, who is mute after his return from combat. The city prepares to observe the two-year anniversary of Armistice Day with the burial of the unknown soldier. Wake: 1) Emerge or cause to emerge from sleep. Anna Hope’s brilliant debut unfolds over the course of five days, as three women must deal with the aftershocks of World War I and its impact on the men in their lives.

Wake by anna hope