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A review by samanthafab
The Nightingale by Kristin Hannah
5.0
4.5
So many feels.
This book tells the story of two very different sisters; Vianne, a mother whose greatest concern is to survive and keep her daughter safe, and her younger sister Isabelle who wants nothing more than to make her mark in the war and prove that women can be just as useful as men.
I found myself often thinking of this story long after I stopped listening every day. Not only are you attached to these characters, but also to the truth behind their story: of France during World War II. We all know the horrors that occurred to the Jewish people and the concentration camps, but I never really thought about the people in France. They lived for years under German occupation trying to go about every day life with the constant fear of the Germans who took control of their towns and even lived in their houses.
I constantly felt a bit of anxiety while listening, knowing how the war would progress, but not knowing what would happen to these characters. Who would live and who would die? Towards the end of the war, I just wanted to yell at them to hold on just a little longer!
At first I didn’t particularly care for Isabelle. I loved that she was so passionate about helping in the war, and her love of France. But I found myself disliking her recklessness for her own safety and others. In the same way, I disliked Vianne for erring on the extreme side of caution. As the story and these characters progressed I fell in love with them and their strong portrayal of women in WWII. Women have never really gotten any recognition for their roles in wars, and that’s a big theme of this book. Women played such an integral part in this war, but they never received awards, or had their stories told.
I like that this book also shows that there are good and bad people on both sides of a war. There are those who knew what they were doing was wrong, but were in fear of their lives. There were German soldiers who had their own families at home that they wanted to return to, and were just following their orders. Then there were the people who took advantage of the war to do malicious acts for their own gain, like the Frenchmen who turned on their own people and willingly helped the German soldiers.
When I finished, I had to look up the story behind the Nightingale to see if it was based on a true story. I found this great interview with author Kristin Hannah that tells all about her inspiration for this novel and the true story of the Nightingale; a young women who really did help many allied airmen escape to Spain:
http://www.bookweb.org/news/qa-kristin-hannah-author-february%E2%80%99s-1-indie-next-list-pick
I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s an emotional roller coaster that shows so much human compassion in a time of such human evil and how fragile, yet resilient the human body and soul are.
Side Note: Listening to this at work was rough. “Don’t mind me, I just have something in my eyes”
So many feels.
This book tells the story of two very different sisters; Vianne, a mother whose greatest concern is to survive and keep her daughter safe, and her younger sister Isabelle who wants nothing more than to make her mark in the war and prove that women can be just as useful as men.
I found myself often thinking of this story long after I stopped listening every day. Not only are you attached to these characters, but also to the truth behind their story: of France during World War II. We all know the horrors that occurred to the Jewish people and the concentration camps, but I never really thought about the people in France. They lived for years under German occupation trying to go about every day life with the constant fear of the Germans who took control of their towns and even lived in their houses.
I constantly felt a bit of anxiety while listening, knowing how the war would progress, but not knowing what would happen to these characters. Who would live and who would die? Towards the end of the war, I just wanted to yell at them to hold on just a little longer!
At first I didn’t particularly care for Isabelle. I loved that she was so passionate about helping in the war, and her love of France. But I found myself disliking her recklessness for her own safety and others. In the same way, I disliked Vianne for erring on the extreme side of caution. As the story and these characters progressed I fell in love with them and their strong portrayal of women in WWII. Women have never really gotten any recognition for their roles in wars, and that’s a big theme of this book. Women played such an integral part in this war, but they never received awards, or had their stories told.
I like that this book also shows that there are good and bad people on both sides of a war. There are those who knew what they were doing was wrong, but were in fear of their lives. There were German soldiers who had their own families at home that they wanted to return to, and were just following their orders. Then there were the people who took advantage of the war to do malicious acts for their own gain, like the Frenchmen who turned on their own people and willingly helped the German soldiers.
When I finished, I had to look up the story behind the Nightingale to see if it was based on a true story. I found this great interview with author Kristin Hannah that tells all about her inspiration for this novel and the true story of the Nightingale; a young women who really did help many allied airmen escape to Spain:
http://www.bookweb.org/news/qa-kristin-hannah-author-february%E2%80%99s-1-indie-next-list-pick
I can’t recommend this book enough. It’s an emotional roller coaster that shows so much human compassion in a time of such human evil and how fragile, yet resilient the human body and soul are.
Side Note: Listening to this at work was rough. “Don’t mind me, I just have something in my eyes”