Skip to main content

Review: "The Nightingale" by Kristin Hannah

From Goodreads:  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.


My Thoughts:  The Nightingale is my favorite book of the year so far.  It is an absolutely beautiful story with strong, fascinating characters set against World War II era France.  All of the characters had this depth to them; Ms. Hannah created complex backgrounds for many of the characters to explain why each one felt and behaved the way they did.  There was not a single character in this story that wasn't intriguing in either a good or bad way.

The story focused on the strength of the every day people in war torn France; Vianne and Isabelle were just average women trying to survive and yet they were able to deal with so much horror and did so with dignity.  There was also a heavy focus on the work of the French Resistance.  I know very little about the French Resistance but was amazed at how intricately they worked throughout France to thwart the Nazis.

I found the descriptions of the Nazis to be really interesting.  The first Nazi we get to know is Beck and even though the reader is supposed to hate him, it's really hard to because he seems like an okay guy.  I struggled with my feelings about him because Nazi = bad but he wasn't really that terrible.  However, the second Nazi, von Richter, is pure evil.  I feel like the author was trying to show us that not everything was black and white when it came to the Nazi Army and it made for some serious food for thought (at least for me).

The only thing that I wish this book had was an author's note.  I would have loved some information about the research she did for the book.  Other than that I loved this book so much and it stuck with me for days after I finished it.  The end was so perfect and had me in tears.  This is only the second book I have read by Kristin Hannah but you can bet I will be reading more in the future.  5 stars.


I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.


Comments

  1. I've yet to actually read a book by Kristin Hannah, but I've been wanting to for a while. I feel like most of her books aren't actually historical fiction, but knowing this one is, makes me think it might be a good one for me to start with.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The other one I've read by her is "Winter Garden". It is also historical fiction and SO good!

      Delete
  2. I always enjoy Kristin Hannah, and I have this on hold at theclibrary, so I'm glad to see so many people online loving it.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Review and Giveaway: "Distant Signs" by Anne Richter

Synopsis: Distant Signs is an intimate portrait of two families spanning three generations amidst turbulent political change, behind and beyond the Berlin Wall. In 1960s East Germany, Margret, a professor’s daughter from the city, meets and marries Hans, from a small village in Thuringia. The couple struggle to contend with their different backgrounds, and the emotional scars they bear from childhood in the aftermath of war. As East German history gradually unravels, with collision of the personal and political, their two families’ hidden truths are quietly revealed. An exquisitely written novel with strongly etched characters that stay with you long after the book is finished and an authentic portrayal of family life behind the iron curtain based on personal experience of the author who is East German and was 16 years old at the fall of the Berlin Wall. Why do families repeat destructive patterns of behaviour across generations? Should the personal take precedence over

Top Ten Books I Recommend The Most

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish . This week's topic:  Top Ten Books I Recommend the Most 1.) The Bronze Horseman by Paullina Simons   2.) Outlander by Diana Gabaldon           If you read my blog at all, you know I love these two books so much!  I am not afraid to suggest them to anyone who I think might enjoy them. 3.) The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins - I was definitely recommending this book left and right when the first movie came out. 4.) The Fault in Our Stars by John Green 5.) A Game of Thrones by George R.R. Martin           These are two books that I just recently started recommending but they are books that can appeal to anyone so they are easy picks when someone asks for a recommendation. 6.) Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead  - I get a little embarrassed when I recommend this book to people but seriously, just because it has vampires does not mean it is like Twilight. 7.) The Giver by Lois

Book Blog Hop (11)

The Book Blogger Hop is a weekly meme hosted by Jen at Crazy for Books .  It's a way to meet other bloggers and check out some cool new blogs. This week's question is:  "Highlight one book you have received this week that you can't wait to dig into!" Okay, I have a confession to make.  I have been so busy this week that I have not had time to get any new books.  I have several waiting for me at the library but I won't be able to pick them up until this weekend.  : ( Did you all get any exciting new books this week?