THE BASICS
- Title: The Nightingale
- Author: Kristin Hannah
- Genre: Historical Fiction
- Structure: Third-person linear narrative with interlocking first-person perspective
- First Line: “If I have learned anything in this long life of mine, it is this: In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.”
Synopsis: In love we find out who we want to be. In war we find out who we are. FRANCE, 1939 In the quiet village of Carriveau, Vianne Mauriac says goodbye to her husband, Antoine, as he heads for the Front. She doesn’t believe that the Nazis will invade France…but invade they do, in droves of marching soldiers, in caravans of trucks and tanks, in planes that fill the skies and drop bombs upon the innocent. When France is overrun, Vianne is forced to take an enemy into her house, and suddenly her every move is watched; her life and her child’s life is at constant risk. Without food or money or hope, as danger escalates around her, she must make one terrible choice after another. Vianne’s sister, Isabelle, is a rebellious eighteen-year-old girl, searching for purpose with all the reckless passion of youth. While thousands of Parisians march into the unknown terrors of war, she meets the compelling and mysterious Gäetan, a partisan who believes the French can fight the Nazis from within France, and she falls in love as only the young can…completely. When he betrays her, Isabelle races headlong into danger and joins the Resistance, never looking back or giving a thought to the real–and deadly–consequences.
THE GOOD
You know you have a really fantastic friend when they buy you a book simply because they want you to do this review. You also know that you’re the shit friend when you take a million years to do it because your TBR list is a 7-ft bookcase and a half (the only way to measure it at this point). And, I wish I read it sooner because it was such an amazing book! Hannah’s work with this book makes really look forward to reading her latest, The Great Alone, and her other books. Which have nothing to do with The Nightingale, by the way, but I’ve heard her other works are fantastic, too.
- Kristin Hannah is one of the first authors that I’ve read in awhile that did not make me want to peel out my eyeballs with a spoon at one point or another due to shit writing. Everything is beautifully done. I get so absorbed by her writing that I feel like I’m there in the scene. When I read, I feel like I’m actually in the French country side or Paris during the War and not sitting in my living room. Her writing doesn’t tell a story; it makes you live it.
- Hannah wastes no time getting to the story. You’re in it and there within the first couple of pages. And then, the best freaking part, is that you never leave. The book seemed daunting to me at first because it’s over 500 pages. There are very few books I’ve come across (if ever) that maintained a truly great story for all 500+ pages. I was consistently surprised while reading this book. Even whenever we hit the climax point and I thought “okay, it’s all downhill from here”, nope. The story continued to delve deeper and rope me in more.
- I can get emotional when watching TV shows and movies. But, books? Meh. I never really do because there’s a certain distance to them. However, 20 pages into this one, bawling my fucking eyes out. The characters are so relatable and their stories and situations are something that we’ve either experienced or hope never to experience.
- I thoroughly enjoy reading historical fiction centered around World War II, especially if it’s set in Europe. However, out of all the historical fiction that I’ve read in that sub-genre, I have yet to come across a work that centers on how World War II was a woman’s war. I thought this perspective was really interesting, not only because it was true, but also because it’s a viewpoint that’s rarely blatantly acknowledged and researched. When the men went off to fight, the women were the ones left behind to deal with the Nazi invaders and to try to protect the children while surviving the unimaginable.
- This is one of those books that forces you to take pauses because what you just read was so philosophically profound. Or resonated so deeply within you that you have to take a step back and examine its roots. I adore books like these: the ones that have unexpected moments where they touch something that goes to your core that you didn’t even know was there.
THE UNFAVORABLE BITS
The one thing that I think cheapened the work is that there were flash forwards to the “present” (1995) sprinkled throughout. I don’t think they should’ve been removed entirely. Rather, I think they would’ve served the story better if it was told as one fluid epilogue at the end. The story already has a lot going for it; it did not need some added “mystery” in between.
As always, I give you a heads up about strong language or graphics in case you’re sensitive, or if the person you’re recommending the book to is sensitive. This book does not have anything that’s too graphic or language that’s too strong. I think it’d be a great book for high school and beyond.
CONCLUSION
I rate this book an easy 5/5 stars. If you’re in that place where you want a really, really fantastic book that sucks in you without a second chance, this is it. It transports you to a completely different world. The story is so gripping you’ll fly through half the book in one sitting and won’t even realize how it happened. This is a book that I think everyone should keep on their bookshelves for those days when you want to get cozy with a big blanket, hot mug of tea, and a book to take you into a different universe.
