‘In love we find out who we want to be; in war we find out who we are.’
Wow… what a completely epic and powerful story this book was! This is a book that is subtle in its brilliance, it’s one of those books that gets even better the more you sit and think about it. I’m still kind of in awe as I sit here and reflect back on the sheer magnitude of everything that happened over the course of this book. This isn’t the type of book I typically read but I’ve heard so many people talking about it and with nearly 14,000 5-star reviews, how could I not check it out? I’m very glad I did because it was such a moving experience and it really makes you reflect on your own life and certainly will make you thankful for the freedoms we enjoy each day. It wasn’t over the top or gratuitous but it was a very real and honest portrait of life for women in France during WWII and the journey of two sisters as they set out on two very different paths towards survival and freedom in this horrific era.
The story centers around two sisters, Vianne Mauriac and Isabelle Rossingol. Vianne, the older and more responsible of the two is living a peaceful and happy life with her husband and daughter in the French countryside. At the threat of impending war, her life is upended when her husband, Antoine, is sent off the fight for France. As Germany begins to occupy France, Vianne is forced to learn how to survive in these new times and protect her young daughter, Sophie. Meanwhile, Isabelle, the younger more rebellious sister has spent much of her childhood being bounced from one boarding school to the next. After the death of their mother when she was just 4, Isabelle has been largely abandoned by her sister and their father. Neither one knowing how to handle the rambunctious girl. As the war starts, Isabelle is not content to sit back and watch as her beloved city of Paris is overtaken by the enemy. Longing to make a difference in the war, Isabelle makes some shocking choices that will forever alter the trajectory of her life.
“Tell my sister I asked about her. We parted badly.”
He smiled. “I am constantly arguing with my brother, even in war. In the end, we’re brothers.”
Vianne and Isabelle’s war-time experience was vastly different, but I was fascinated and inspired by each. Their situations and choices, combined with their tumultuous history, was the source of much conflict between the two. But I loved that when push came to shove, they were still sisters and that’s a bond that is pretty hard to break. I loved seeing how their paths would intersect over the course of the book, even when it was heartbreaking. As I read, I found myself waiting for the time when they would cross paths again. Their relationship was so complicated and well written, I was 100% invested in each of their journeys as well as the evolution of their relationship with each other.
“Kiss me,” she whispered. “Make me forget.”
“It’s not forgetting we need, Vianne,” he said, leaning down to kiss her. “It’s remembering.”
I found myself relating with Vianne on many levels. I can’t imagine having to live what she lived through, but I could picture myself making some of the same decisions she did. She was cautious and was one to try to fly under the radar in order to not draw attention to herself or her daughter. She did what she had to in order to survive but she wasn’t one to take unnecessary risks. There were few exceptions to this rule as time goes on, however, and I was so proud of some of the things she was able to do. Of course my heart also broke time and again for the things she had to endure or do. She was certainly a hero in her own right for the part she played in the war, and I think she deserved just as much recognition as her sister. And both of them deserved as much recognition as the men on the front lines. I was fascinated by all of the complicated relationship dynamics at play with her and the various men in her life, from Antoine, to Beck to her father and Von Richter. It was all so well done, I know I’m not doing any of it justice here!
“I hope you never know how fragile you are, Isabelle.”
“I’m not fragile,” she said.
The smile he gave her was barely one at all. “We are all fragile, Isabelle. It’s the thing we learn in war.”
We may all be fragile, but Isabelle did not let that stop her or hold her back from setting out to make a difference in the war! She was a fighter and pretty fearless. Many of her decisions gave me anxiety but I also had huge respect for her for all that did was doing and the risks she took to try to free her country. She may have been impulsive and reckless a lot of the time but her passion and love for her country radiated from the pages of the book, I could feel it in my soul. Her relationship with Gaetan was heartbreaking and beautiful all at the same time. It really captures the risks of giving your heart to someone in a time of war. As I said, her journey was very different from her sister’s but her experiences were equally (if not more) horrific as her sister’s. But it was her strength and her will to survive that captured my heart and inspired me throughout the entire story!
I struggled with how I was going to review this book, and I know that I haven’t done a great job of capturing the depth and impact of this book. It’s really one that you have to experience for yourself. It’s painful and heartbreaking at times but it’s also inspiring and uplifting. While this is a work of fiction, it’s hard to think that people actually had to live through this during the actual war. I can’t even imagine, but like I said earlier, it’ll definitely make you thankful for the lives we have now. This book deals with loss, hardships and personal and human atrocities but it’s in the message of survival and redemption where it truly shines. I loved how it all comes together at the end, it’ll really hit you right in the heart! It was just perfectly done. I really enjoyed this book and would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a story with an epic feel that features very real relationships and celebrates the strength and resiliency of the seldom talked about heroes of the war, the women!
“It’s hard to forget,” she said quietly. “And I’ll never forgive.”
“But love has to be stronger than hate, or there is no future for us.”
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A richly rewarding novel about family bonds, the power of words, and the resilience of mothers and daughters in 1930s Appalachia. | Learn more
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Popular Highlights in this book
I always thought it was what I wanted: to be loved and admired. Now I think perhaps I’d like to be known.Highlighted by 20,206 Kindle readers- “But love has to be stronger than hate, or there is no future for us.”Highlighted by 11,999 Kindle readers
- “Don’t think about who they are. Think about who you are and what sacrifices you can live with and what will break you.”Highlighted by 10,680 Kindle readers
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2.5-Stars: Tragic & Triumphant, But Tropes Weigh it Down
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
Since 'The Nightingale' by Kristin Hannah has been out for over three years and is much reviewed, I won't go deeply into the plot. Rather, I'll simply point out what I liked, and things that I felt brought the book down to the usual trappings of historical fiction. Overall, I found that Hannah's writing style isn't complicated: it's straight-forward, simple but engaging. Both her protagonists and many minor characters in 'The Nightingale' are strong and admirable, while also showing a duality of vulnerability.I love historical fiction, especially those with WWII as a backdrop so the story and plot fascinated me from the beginning. As someone with a culinary arts background, one thing that many readers might not appreciate as much as I did, was Hannah's accurate and delicious description of food and cooking that Vianne does throughout the book. It was surprising but wonderful to read it being integrated into the story in a way that was convincing. This was a plot device that was minor, but effective and pleased me tremendously.Also nicely done was Hannah's propensity to write the book in a way that made it feel cinematic, as if she knows the book will eventually be adapted into a feature film (as of the writing of this review, a feature film is in development). In this regard, I was emotionally invested and gutted while reading chapters 22 and 23, in as much that I had to take a short break before continuing onto chapter 24. The story is about two sisters but it's also about the evils of war. Heavy stuff, made more wrenching knowing that although this book is fiction, many things described actually happened to real people during WWII.Though there are aspects of the book I like, there are two negatives I must mention. Two negatives that unfortunately outweigh the positives and brought the book down several notches. First, is that the bravery and heroism of Isabelle was heavy handed, to a degree that felt extremely contrived. In the beginning of the book, her character is annoying, arrogant, and impetuous, with a too-big-for-her-breeches attitude. Later on, Hannah transforms her into what amounted to a mythical, herculean, Mount Olympus Goddess-type heroine whose actions although believable, were forced, for the purpose of dramatization. Melodrama, to appease the majority of readers who like chick-lit. Perhaps the author was trying hard for readers to like the character of Isabelle after her initial behavior in the beginning of the book. This wasn't necessary in my opinion because even with less heroicizing, I would have still appreciated the character. Not as much as I appreciated Vianne, but I would have still appreciated the character nonetheless. I personally don't feel characters have to be likable in order to be effective, so I am surprised that Hannah went to such overbearing lengths to transform her second protagonist.Another plot point that I felt could have been shaved off a lot was the love story subplot between Isabelle and Gaetan. Oof! Pour the honey and sugar until you're drowning in treacly sweet melodrama. It played throughout the book, which made it somewhat tolerable, but it was overly sentimental, to the point of being cloyingly sweet. I'm not a major fan of love at first sight type book plots, nor do I like a lot of romance in my novels. I appreciated their love story but I would have preferred less of it overall. Yes, people fall in love during times of war, but the overuse of plot devices like: "I will go to the ends of the earth for you," or "our love is all that sustains me" type details don't please me one bit. As a matter of fact, they are the usual trappings that spoil books for me. Saccharine sweet writing is juvenile and irksome. To be clear, these lines are not said exactly like this in the book, but what they evoke is present on almost every page. Too much of it here gave me a figurative toothache and lead me to roll my eyes on a few occasions. The Isabelle & Gaetan love story parts of the book were drawn out and made the pace of the plot stall. This pains me to say because the novel's overall pace is good.There were also several inconsistencies in plot details and descriptions that peeved me, in as much that the conflicting details took me out of book, wondering if I had interpreted prior read details incorrectly. This is fiction, I know, but authenticity and consistency is key, to make the story feel real for the short time it is being read. 'The Nightingale' was an ok read for those of us who love historical fiction, as it definitely checks all the boxes of the genre. It unfortunately does not go as deep as it could have. Nonetheless, I still recommend it to readers who love WWII historical fiction, and readers who like fiction that depicts strong women. Nothing too deep here, but it is entertaining.
Reviewed in the United States on July 6, 2018
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